Room to Breathe

There are also new community gardens designed with the Royal Horticultural Society, and built with local volunteers, right in the heart of the town. The showpiece gardens illustrate exemplar techniques and are the fruit of an exciting partnership to inspire a wider love of gardening.

They feature edible hedges, a human sundial and model lowcost gardening for allotments, a biodiversity garden with a focus on encouraging wildlife and a sustainable garden emphasising organic gardening.

A further showcase garden is based at Standalone Farm, having been on display at the RHS Hampton Court Palace show. This garden celebrates 50 years of the UK’s biggest community gardening campaign, RHS Britain in Bloom and was designed by multi-RHS Gold medal winner Jon Wheatley. It charts the history of Britain in Bloom and community gardening, from the bedding plants popular in the 1960s to sustainable modern gardens.

Elsewhere, greens inspired by English medieval villages can be found in places such as Westholm, once again seamlessly merging homes with the green open spaces for which Letchworth is famous.

Also worth a look…

The Greenway – a wonderful walk encircling the town where it meets the country (see page 24)