An Uprising of Kindness Garden

By garden deisgner Bill Butterworth. This garden represents the beginnings of the homeless charity Emmaus in 1954, when Abbe Pierre stormed Radio Luxembourg and appealed to the French public for donations. The overwhelming response, described by Le Figaro as “an Uprising of Kindness”, enabled him to set up the first Emmaus Community in his own garden in France.

There are many references to the Emmaus story within the garden, and some of the features have been made by local artists and Emmaus companions. In particular the 'Lantern' and the 'Frozen Lady' will be created by a glass and light artist whilst the entrance arbour housing the 'Lantern' and the 'Companion Homes' will receive the attentions of a recycled metal working sculptor.

In a similar vein, the central water feature holds nineteen frothing and foaming stacks of plates, each stack representing one of the nineteen Emmaus Communities in Britain.

The garden will be lit by ‘Lighting Sensations’, and a ceramic artist is primed to record her own interpretation of homelessness on the ground plane, where the visitor will be left with no option but to step over the bodies of the homeless on route to the 'Companion Homes'.

The planting in this decorative garden have been carefully selected for their edible value, their symbolic reference to the mission statement of this charity, and for their visual effect in simulating the feel of a typical French orchard.

A primary purpose of this garden will only be fulfilled when it is relocated to the Emmaus Community in Cambridge where it will provide a source of nutritious grains, fruits, vegetables and healing herbs, as well as a soul restoring place to rest and relax. The garden promotes environmental responsibility through the use of reclaimed material supplied by the Emmaus Communities themselves as part of their business activity.

Plants list       

Click any of the plant names below to learn more and to add to your own plants list.

Large herbaceous
Angelica gigas  
Echinops Veitch’s Blue   
Cynara cardunculus   
Delphinium Blue Bird   
Delphinium Black Night   
Delphinium Guinevere  
Anemanthele lessoniana    
Achillea Inca Gold   
Achillea Feuerland   
Helenium hybrid Chelsey     
Hemerocallis Cathy’s Secret   
Hemerocallis Daily Dollar    
Agapanthus Blue Giant   
Rosa Eden’s Apricot Blouse   
Lilium  

Medium herbaceous
Verbena rigida   
Veronica Spicatum Romley Purple   
Veronica hybrid Danvin’s Blue   
Nepeta Six Hill’s Giant   
Centaurea cynanus  
Eryngium Picos Blue   
Geum Princees Juliana    
Perovskia Blue Spire     
Penstemon Sour Grapes   

Small herbaceous
Salvia Blauhugel  
Salvia Caradonna   
Salvia Eveline  
Stipa tenuissima  
Petunia F1 purple  

Lavenders
Lavandula Christiana 
Lavandula stoechas Papillon  
Lavandula angustifolia Hidcote 
Lavandula stoechas Blue Star
Lavandula Imperial Gem   
Lavandula Little Lady   
Lavandula Madrid Purple   

Herbs
Origanum aureum 
Salvia officinalis     
Chamaemelum nobile treneague   
Origanum vulgare aureum album   
Thymus vulgaris   

Climbers
Vitis Cardinal
Ficus carica
Trachelospermum jasminoides
Passiflora caerulea

Structural Planting
Buxus sempervirens (in a parterre stucture - learn more about it here)
Lavandula troughs
Laurus nobilis twisted stems
Olea europaea