Volunteer and visit us

Come to our Open Garden, or volunteer with us, 10am – 4pm, every Tuesday, and on the third Saturday every month.  Walk in our woodland and enjoy tea and biscuits in the garden. Families welcome. Just drop in.

Saturday 19 October – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – Bulb Planting Day – 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 22 October – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 29 October – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 5 November – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

The garden house is available to book for parties and meetings

New memberships are available for the year ending 31st August 2025

 

A two-acre oasis of greenery in Islington, north London.

Over time, a herbaceous garden, an orchard, a pond, a series of vegetable terraces, a small meadow and an acre of woodland have all emerged from a railway embankment.

Under an agreement with Islington Council which owns the land, the volunteer-run Charity – Olden Community Garden – maintains the garden area, with the object to promote a community garden for the benefit of people living or working in the London Borough of Islington. Olden Garden gives local people opportunities for education and recreation, with the aim of increasing involvement in the community and reducing isolation.

A self-sustaining garden

We use harvested water, we compost all the green waste and create wildlife habitats from woody debris.  There is a fruitful orchard and a flourishing vegetable garden.

Latest Posts

Planting for Spring!

On Bulb Planting Day, Caroline, our gardener, led 20 volunteers planting snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, miniature iris, wood anemone and allium. We hope the squirrels don’t dig them up! Just in case, some bulbs were planted in pots and safely stored in our greenhouse. Volunteers without gardens were given daffodil bulbs in pots, to grow on their window sills at home. Homemade cakes and tea were enjoyed by all.

On Saturday 20th November, 10am – 4pm, we need volunteers to help with leaf gathering to make ‘leafmould’, our own compost.

Andrew retires as our gardener

We marked Andrew’s last day as our gardener with coffee and Jill’s delicious cake. For over 10 years Andrew gave advice to our Committee and guidance and encouragement to our volunteers, helping to develop and maintain Olden Garden as a valuable community resource. We will miss him.

With thanks for our grants from

Awarded National Lottery Funding

Developed in 1986 by Patricia
Tawn and supported by Islington Council