• A green roof on a seating gazebo not only attracts wildlife but helps slow rain fall down
• Repeated planting of bamboos along the back wall and dark-leaved Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ at the front give interest and texture to the space

The community of Rochdale has been increasingly affected by flooding in the last few years. Petrus Community is a homelessness charity in the borough and its community allotment PIER has often been impacted.

The service users co-designed the garden to highlight the impact of flooding and reflect the need to go back to nature to find solutions, through demonstrating what gardeners and the community can do to work with water and increase flood resilience. The garden features a rain garden system that collects water from a living roof and channels it into a large pond at the bottom of the garden. The plants included can cope in gardens that experience flooding.

The industrial and farming heritage of Rochdale where water was crucial to the town’s survival has been a key inspiration.

Also sponsored by: The Rotary Club of Rochdale.