Volunteer and visit us

NOTE: Our Open Garden and volunteer gardening will be taking a break during December and January, resuming on Tuesday 4 February.

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. 

Tuesday 4 February – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 11 February – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

Saturday 15 February – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm

Tuesday 18 February – 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

Volunteer with us on Saturday 16th, help with spring gardening and prepare our new habitat for insects and birds

Caroline, our gardener, will welcome your help with April tasks, dead heading, watering the pots, weeding and mulching. And we need your help to prepare the way for our new habitat for insects and birds, our new bug hotel, wildlife log pile and hedgerow.

To make space for this new habitat we first need your help to dismantle the compost bays, and clear and bag rubbish. We need lots of help. Join us for an hour or two, or longer. Coffee and biscuits will be available.

Potato planting day at Olden Garden

Special thanks to the children who braved wind & rain to help Lynne dig channels, earth up the mounds & protect the beds from potato loving squirrels and baby foxes. In spite of terrible weather, we planted four beds – the ones that generally get dug up by foxes and so are not really any use for other crops.

Volunteer with us on Tuesdays, help with spring gardening and prepare our new habitat for insects and birds

Maria and Caroline, our gardeners, will welcome your help with April tasks, dead heading, watering the pots, weeding and mulching. And we need your help to prepare the way for our new habitat for insects and birds, our new bug hotel, wildlife log pile and hedgerow.

To make space for this new habitat we first need your help to dismantle the compost bays, and clear and bag rubbish. We need lots of help on our volunteering days this month, every Tuesday and on Saturday 16 April, any time between 10am and 4pm. Join us for an hour or two, or longer. Coffee and biscuits will be available.

Join us for volunteer day on Saturday 19 March

Come along and join Caroline, our gardener, on Saturday 19 March, any time between 10am-4pm. Lots of volunteer tasks are available. We will be tidying the woodland, reducing unwanted saplings and cutting some of the ivy growing on trees.

Coffee and cake will be provided.

Remember to wear suitable footwear and if possible bring your own gloves.

Daffodils are everywhere! You can also find Anemone blanda (blue), Corsican hellebores, Camellia, and Leucojum (snowflakes). And you might even see a great spotted woodpecker!

With thanks for our grants from

Awarded National Lottery Funding

Developed in 1986 by Patricia
Tawn and supported by Islington Council