After a few years of mostly desk-based work, the LION crew decided it was time to get on the land. In Autumn 2023, we started looking for community gardens to collaborate with and visited various projects before landing at Glengall Wharf Garden.
Dandelion is our growing space for Black and People of Colour, based at Glengall Wharf Gardens in Burgess Park in South East London. Currently, we’re growing in 6 raised beds at the site, 3 of which are in a poly tunnel. We are also able to enjoy the rest of the site, which includes a food forest, bees, chickens and a bonfire for chilly nights. Community Sauna Baths are also located in the garden with two woodfire saunas. Glengall Wharf Gardens is a green oasis in the middle of the city, with space to grow, rest and connect to nature.
Dandelion Gardens is coordinated by Marcus and Sam from our core collective and our Dandelion collaborator Naomi Terry. In autumn 2024, we opened the garden for our regular volunteer drop-in and seasonal gatherings. As of summer 2025, our Dandelion Garden community has more than 70 volunteers involved.
Join us at 3-6:30 pm, every other Friday during the growing season. Find out when our next volunteer session is on our instagram page.
Dandelion Garden
Meet the facilitators
Naomi
I am excited to be growing more chillies this year. It amazes me how one seed can become a plant that contains so much heat and flavour. I also love all the herbs and garnishes. Like the purslane, basil and this year we are trying epazote.
The garden is for BPOC here in London; for anyone that wants to try food growing for the first time, or anyone who grows already but wants to do that in community.
We are growing whatever we love to eat! Growing crops from different Dandelioners lands of heritage can also be a very healing practice. Reclaiming connection to food plants that are thought of as British can be equally powerful. For example not many people know that the leek was an important crop of ancient Egypt.
As well as Dandelion I work on a community farm where we have to be incredibly productive in our approach to food growing, which at times obscures the more reciprocal relationship with nature that I want to centre. The time I spend with people at Dandelion helps me re root in slower and caring land relationship.
Sam
Last year we sowed a surprise seed that turned out to be a bottle gourd. It took over the polytunnel and their soft leaves and white flowers crawled everywhere. We also had lots of purple sweet potatoes from only a few cuttings that some folks from Glengall gave us. It was surprising how sucessful they were! We grew lots of corn, beans, cucumbers, squash and potatoes too.
When we started last year (2024), I was a bit intimidated to lead on this project. I've been growing on and off for years but was always working with others who have more knowledge. But it’s given me an opportunity continue my learning, connecting with the land and plants, and healing my relationship with food growing.
I love Dandelion. It's one of my favourite parts of the work, and a way to connect with other BPOC who want to grow food. Often community gardens are mixed spaces but are usually dominated by white volunteers and staff. So we wanted to create a space for and by BPOC.
Marcus
This year we are growing some unusual things like Crimson Okra, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet and Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans. I always like to experiment by growing culturally appropriate foods, in particular Black and Indigenous Caribbean and North American foods. I love a challenge when growing, especially because Britain has such a traditional formal idea of what to grow and how to garden, but because of climate change we are able to grow things that are more favourable in warmer climates.
I like to use ways of growing that are considered permaculture techniques, however, most of these are Afro-Indigenous growing techniques that have been appropriated. At Dandelion Garden we are growing ‘Three Sisters; which is Milpa, a traditional Mesoamerican agricultural system that intercrops maize, beans and squash.
I believe that Dandelion is a glimpse into the future of LION, a microcosm of our collective dreams and goals. It's a really exciting and grounding space to be in and I fully encourage everyone to come down and spend an afternoon with us on the land in our little corner of Peckham.