One prisoner made it his task to build the labyrinth for us... He was released before he had completed it, but still wanted to come back and finish it.' Photo: courtesy of Peterborough Meeting
Eye - 22 March 2024
Elinor Smallman
A peaceful path
Peterborough Meeting’s garden has grown to be a gift for a whole community, after one Friend’s vision of the testimonies in flora.
Linda Elliot is one of the gardeners who developed the garden and shared the story with Eye.
She sets the scene: ‘Early in 2010, an attender had an idea… She was undertaking an RHS Certificate in Horticulture at the time and she noticed that the Meeting house garden was becoming rather neglected. Would the Quakers allow her and a fellow student on the RHS course to develop the garden?’
Happily, the Meeting gave the go-ahead and the Friend shared: ‘How she envisioned the garden being designed around the Quaker principles of simplicity, equality, community, peace, integrity and care for the environment. Different areas of the garden could be planted in a way to reflect each of the principles. For instance, the principle of “Peace” could be represented by planting a circle of seven silver birches (one for every continent) and seating could be arranged in the centre where people could sit and bring areas of conflict in the world into “the Light”.’
Friends employed a garden designer to put these ideas ‘into a coherent picture for the whole garden’. Over time, it began to take shape.
‘There was a great deal of clearing of tree saplings, ground elder, bindweed and bramble to be done first… where plants could be saved and placed elsewhere, they were carefully transplanted into new beds… People in the wider community also donated plants (to go in the equality and community flower beds)… Trees and shrubs formed a new backdrop to the planting, and a labyrinth was also designed and built out of discarded bricks from someone’s drive.’
The labyrinth had some unexpected help: ‘Prisoners on day release from Peterborough prison came to help in the development… One prisoner made it his task to build the labyrinth for us and week by week, he would lay the bricks in place. He was released before he had completed it, but still wanted to come back and finish it. We held a special opening ceremony for him when it was finally done.’
Linda reflects: ‘At times, it seemed that the garden itself led us. The discovery of an old brick path when clearing an overgrown part of the garden became apparent and this is now the main entrance to the garden. Snowdrops and primroses were abundant in the spring, asking to be spread around everywhere in the garden and plants that had been suffocated due to neglect were given space to flourish in new beds.’
Linda writes that ‘a new spiritual life began to grow, based on the garden’.
As well as making connections with the Quiet Garden Movement, Small Pilgrim Places network, and the Langdyke Trust, ‘monthly Quiet mornings were held and Sunday afternoons were opened up for the community to come and enjoy being in the garden with tea and cake’.
‘The Buddhist and Jewish communities that have met in our Meeting house have also found peace and inspiration from the garden. Most recently, asylum seekers housed in a local hotel have made their way to us. During Covid, the garden became a place of sanctuary for local people as somewhere to sit and enjoy the outdoors, and we have had staff from what was then the local hospital come and enjoy half an hour lunch break and be renewed before returning to busy wards and demanding work.’
‘Our garden behind our Meeting house in Peterborough is a very special place. The gates are always open, the welcome is always warm and we continue to hope that it will always bring joy and peace and encouragement to all who visit it.’
