A Blooming Success: The Opening of The Keep Community Garden

We are thrilled to share the news of the grand opening of The Keep Community Garden, held during the Keep Summer Fair! Under a blazing summer sun, the community came together to celebrate the launch of a beautiful new space that promises to be a haven of calm, creativity, and connection for residents of The Keep. The official opening was performed by Mayor Noel Hadjimichael and the Mayoress, who gave a passionate speech in support of our armed forces community. The official opening was performed by Mayor Noel Hadjimichael, who gave a passionate speech in support of our armed forces community. It was a proud moment for everyone involved and a true celebration of what we can achieve when we come together.

The idea behind the garden was simple but powerful: many of the families and individuals at The Keep don't have access to a garden of their own. We wanted to create a space where both children and adults could enjoy the benefits of the outdoors — connecting with nature, spending quality time together, and improving mental and physical wellbeing.

The garden now proudly features flowerbeds full of colour, a fun and messy mud kitchen, and a water play zone. It’s already becoming a much-loved spot for all ages!

This wonderful space wouldn't have been possible without the incredible generosity and support of our sponsors and volunteers.  

We want to extend our deepest thanks to:

• Siobhan and Pavel from Ginger Dog Homes, a local building company, for not only donating materials but also giving up their time and energy, along woht their team, to physically build the garden – your dedication and craftsmanship shine through every corner of the space (gingerdoghomes.co.uk)

• ASDA Foundation, a local community-focused charity (asdafoundation.org)

• Matter, a female-led team of structural design engineers (wearematter.uk)

• Palms and Violets, a local florist and plant specialist (palmsandvioletsflorist.co.uk)

• Kingston Physio Group (kingstonphysiotherapy.com)

• SSAFA, the armed forces charity (ssafa.org.uk)

• Royal British Legion (britishlegion.org.uk)

• Lucy White Dry Cleaners – 02085 468513

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The kindness and community spirit from all of our sponsors have made a real difference, they’ve been such a huge support, so let’s support them too!

A heartfelt thank you to Sian Greenhalf, our amazing Programme Director, whose passion and hard work brought this entire project together from start to finish. And a huge shoutout to Aggie from the Army Welfare Service, who generously provided the space for the garden – without your support, this vision could never have taken root.  

We are so grateful to everyone who took part, whether by lending a hand, donating, or simply coming along to celebrate.

The Keep Community Garden is now open — and it belongs to all of us. Here's to many sunny afternoons, muddy hands, and peaceful moments in our beautiful new space.

Thank you all for helping this garden grow!

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