The Edible Bus Stop

Lambeth in central London isn’t the first place you’d think of when you imagine a village green bustling with cheery faces and flowers. But visit the Edible Bus Stop, an urban village green for the 21st century, and you’ll soon change your mind.

This wonderful community project brought together more than 40 locals to transform a miserable-looking patch of neglected land by a bus stop into a wonderful garden full of edibles and flowers too.

Image copyright Mak Gilchrist

The site is by the #322 Lambeth Hospital (towards Brixton) bus stop on Landor Road, London SW9. The group also negotiated with the Council to lease the land, and will be planting fruit trees to create an inner-city orchard.

This is what they have created so far:

Image copyright Mak Gilchrist

By the summer of 2011, only a few months after the group had actually assembled, the garden was a lush oasis. Can you imagine catching a bus from here?

Image copyright Mak Gilchrist

The group also took over five parking bays on the South Bank of the Thames in September for International PARKing Day. They greened them, filling a pick up truck with plants (named the Parking Bay because of the bay tree planted in it).

Image copyright Julie Begon

This year they have even more plans to green even more bus stops. Their eventual aim is to plant up stops along the whole route of the #322, creating the first green bus route in London. If you want to help them out, or want to know more about the wonderful Edible Bus Stop, visit their website.

All images copyright Mak Gilchrist and Julie Begon, as credited. You may not reproduce any of these photographs without prior consent of the photographer.

3 Responses

Lucy Summers April 1, 2012

Hi there, Whoever is tending this wonderful bus stop plot should enter it in to the Chelsea Fringe.

Love Lucy

Reply
- F&F April 3, 2012
  
  Thanks Lucy: I’ll pass that on to the Edible Bus Stop crew.
  
  Reply
Mary Davis September 20, 2014

Wonderful piece of work. We at Dalo Canopies have always admired about a bus stop like this one. It requires a huge amount of effort and dedication.

Reply