The garden, which received planning consent earlier this year, introduces an exciting new community space to the Totterdown Gate at Arnos Vale cemetery, enabling visitors to meet, learn and grow produce. We provided concept sketches and design advice to the estates team, as well as plans and sections for the successful planning application.

The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Jos Clarke, officially opened the garden at a sun-filled ceremony in July, welcoming local community groups, sponsors and donors. The team of staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to create the garden were present to guide everyone round.

The garden features raised beds, vibrant herbaceous borders, fruit trees, sustainable water harvesting, bird and bat boxes, and a wildlife pond with dipping platform. The garden was built by a hard working team of staff and volunteers, and will be maintained by this team and local community groups.

We were pleased to provide our Landscape Architecture services to the Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust, who we have continued to work with over several years. Our design advice helped in the development of the layout of the garden, and our sketch design and planning drawings were used to promote the scheme to the local community.

Nicholas Pearson Associates was part of the team that originally restored the historic cemetery after it fell into a state of disrepair at the turn of the century. We won a Landscape Institute Award in 2010 for our work, which restored the cemetery’s historic character, introduced new visitor routes, and incorporated and enhanced the rich ecology that had developed through its dereliction.

We look forward to seeing the community garden take shape and grow over the coming months and years.