This week we were back at our favourite secret garden. Tucked away by the railway tracks at Edge Hill train station, this really is a hidden gem, but had become somewhat over grown during winter.

There were several tasks to be getting on with so we split into teams to tackle each: clearing the ivy from the sign and gate, weeding and cutting back to make the path way more accessible and tidying and sorting in the hidden archway. Along the way we found all sorts of treasures - an old bird bath, some mint and lemon balm and even a corkscrew hazel!

With the help of the Metal team we were able to make short work of it and leave the site ready for a tree surgeon to come and cut back some of the heftier plants, in preparation for some upcoming events.

The garden was looking fabulous by the time we left and we cant wait to be back again soon!

A dark, damp evening fooling around by the train tracks sounds like the beginnings of a bad horror movie, but in our GoodGym world it means the beginning of something beautiful, rediscovering the utter delight that is the Edge Hill train stations secret garden!

We were first here in August last year and with the ongoing struggles that most third sector organisations have been dealing with as we all work to recover from the pandemic, the place had got a little overgrown once again.

We lost our run leader at last minute to a gas leak emergency, so the three of us met at Edge Hill and joined the director of Metal (who curate the garden too) Jenny. The four of us got stuck in, loosing the light and gaining the rain as we went, chopping down the growth, weeding and sweeping and being entertained by the passing trains in and out of the famous Edge Hill Station (don't worry, there was a garden wall between us and the actual tracks!!)

We managed to clear quite a bit, creating space for the community groups to begin planting their gardens. But there is still a lot more to do, so we'll be going back again in a couple of weeks to continue getting this enchanting space back on track!

This week we returned to a wonderful community garden managed by Metal Liverpool; tucked away right by the railway tracks at Edge Hill station, its a real hidden gem!

The garden has become quite overgrown in recent years so our task was to cut back, weed and level a path. We managed to cut back a huge amount of foliage (see the pictures) as well as clearing space for planting beds and laying out some bark chips on the path.

After all the hard work the garden was much clearer and should be safer and more usable for the community. Good work everyone

Arriving at Edge Hill Train Station and you wouldn't have a clue there was a garden nestled between the train tacks and the railway arches, a hidden delight of a winding pathway with plants and edibles growing on either side, plus a lovely seating area halfway down, and the hide-aways under the arches used for storing and working out of the rain. You can see this secret garden has had a lot of love and joy over the years, but 18 months of lockdowns has see it grow just a little wild!!

We set to with brooms, rakes, shears and a lot of welly! As we cut back the overgrowth and cleared the pathway we had gorgeous finds of decorations and curiosities alongside blackberries, fennel, lemon balm as well as spiders and caterpillars!

Fab to have Heetu join us for her first session, welcome Heetu, and Steph returning for her second amongst GG regulars.

Metal are an arts organisation that are based in the old station buildings on the platforms at Edge Hill Train Station and have also taken on this space to create this gorgeous little garden in an area with very little green space compared to the rest of Liverpool.

Jenny Porter, Senior Project Manager for Metal said:

"We had an amazing session with the people from GoodGym today. Our garden is a volunteer-run space, and we have needed a bit of a boost in getting it back to a manageable growing space after a year off. The team came, weeded, cut back and cleared the paths. It was fantastic to get the support and to meet some new people and get out in the fresh air together."

The history of Edge Hill station is fascinating, it's the oldest passenger railway station in the world and Metal are instrumental in keeping the buildings in use! You can read more about the station here if you are interested in knowing more!

We're planning a return visit at some point soon so keep an eye out for the listing!