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.
Tuesday 26 November – Open Garden and Volunteer Gardening – 10am – 4pm
NOTE: Our Open Garden and volunteer gardening will be taking a break during December and January.
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.
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Open Day and volunteering Saturday 17 August
We need volunteers to help with a variety of summer tasks in the garden, including watering, deadheading and spreading bark chip on the paths.
Or just come and visit us, walk in the woodland and rest on the patio.
Everyone welcome! Just drop in – 10am-4pm. Tea and cakes provided.
Stag beetle larvae emerging
We found fantastic stag beetle larvae emerging from old wooden sleepers while preparing to renovate the vegetable patches, with our grant from the National Garden Scheme Community Garden Grants. We carefully relocated the larvae along with their wood. It can take 3 to 7 years before the larvae become adults. The stag beetle is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Renovating our vegetable beds
Our volunteers have started work on our project to build 13 new raised vegetable planters part funded with a grant from the National Garden Scheme Community Garden Grants. Landslip over the years has caused the vegetable beds to disintegrate. We are starting by removing old planks, sleepers and debris from the designated area. Alongside the project we are stabilising flower beds and terracing.