Anne:Seed (anniseed)

Written By Land In Our Names

LION x House of Annetta

An illustration of a crumbling building and spiderwebs with bountiful green pasture, a pear tree, blossoming flowers, and three BIPOCS planting and welcoming birds. The text reads Anne:Seeds/ LION x House of Annetta - Free Events

Image by Sajan Rai

debrief by Marcus MacDonald

In the summer of 2021 Land In Our Names were invited by Assemble collective to renovate the garden of House of Annetta and make it a functional space that can host workshops, events and create a space to grow food and herbs. We were also asked to curate a series of workshops and events in the Annetta garden over the summer and we centred BPOC, women and queer LGBTQIA+ people within these events.

A photograph showing a garden area, consisting mostly of broken stones, and tiles, soil, and very few small patches of green.

The state of the garden

A photograph shows broken tiles and brick in an alleyway/exterior of a building , as well as some pipes.
A big antechamber holds piles of wood, ladders, and other assorted pieces of furniture and wood that are stapled and lying around in different conditions.

The first phase of the project was landscaping the garden, this involved clearing out rubbish, repurposing wood we found at House of Annetta to create a floor in the garden room and a decking outside. Annetta Pedretti often used materials that would be thrown away for her DIY projects. We also cleared the rooftop garden of weeds and restored the soil health for planting of medicinal herbs, pollinators and shrubs. Our planting design was designed to encourage wild life back into the garden, encourage bees and other pollinators to visit, herbal medicine and plants visitors could forage and smell. This was all inspired by Annetta Pedretti and her interest in beekeeping and foraging and preserving wild foods. 

A person stands on a roof garden with flourishing herbs, surrounded by a bamboo fence.

the roof gardens before

A photograph of an exterior of House of Annetta, where greenery and shrubs grow along a little raised wall below the windows.
Exterior photograph of decking in progress, wooden planks laying over an area of soil next to large pillars and windows. Carpentry tools lay on the wooden planks, as well as a cup of coffee.
A photograph of the completed outside decking. Wooden planks cover the entire soil area next to the pillars, creating a solid raised area to walk on. Next to the decking is a tree.

outside decking complete

The second phase of the project was curating a series of workshops and events that focused on practical skills like carpentry, beekeeping and herbal medicine, this again was influenced by Annetta’s personal interests. We wanted to prioritise BPOC, queer, women/non-binary folks to lead and participate in the workshops and events.

A group of BIPOCS attend a carpentry workshop in the exterior yard. They are making small planters and benches.

Carpentry

BIPOC participants attend a Bee workshop in an indoor antechamber, observing as the facilitator explains bee hotels.

Bee workshop

A group of BIPOCS attends a herbalism workshop, two participants have their hands in the same bowl as the others look on.

Herbalism

Three BIPOCs sit in a row on the almost completed benches and planters, the first on the right covering their eyes, the second their mouth, the third their ears, in a "see no, speak no, hear no evil" pose.

The almost completed benches and planters

A dark room with a film showing on a projector.

Film screening

The workshops and events were

  • Bee Urban facilitated sessions with candle making, honey tasting and bee hotel building workshop over 2 days.

    • They also designed and supported attendees of the event in making solitary bee hotels which are currently located on the rooftop garden ready for spring.

  • Herbalists Randa Toko and Kirstin Wu facilitated a workshop where they shared their knowledge, stories and skills with herbs and plant allies, the workshop included tea tasting, mixing teas and making a herbal balm.

  • Carpenter Imani Qamar led 2 days of carpentry workshops building planters and benches for the garden.

  • We organised an outdoor film screening of the documentary “The Street” by Zed Nelson

  • House of Shango (a black liberation collective of squatter) were invited to host a BPOC only conversation circle sharing knowledge on housing discrimination in the UK, how this relates to the squatting movement, and how we can fight to achieve housing justice. We also had a black vegan chef Sister Woman Vegan cater for the event.

  • A birdfeeder and seedbomb workshop led by Sam Siva and Kieran Kirkwood

Images by Sajan Rai

The programme that we curated was a huge success, tickets for every event sold out and we had excellent feedback from all the participants. There was a desire for more events and we were told that the space felt very inclusive and comfortable for folks.

Photograph of a planter with sprouting bulbs and blossoms.

Bulbs sprouting and blossoming in February 2022

In the winter months we varnished, lined and filled the bench planters with compost. We then planted a variety of bulbs so that by Spring there would be new flowers for the garden. We want to use the ceramic sinks to make wildlife ponds and plant some vegetables in the Spring. 

We will continue to have a relationship with the House of Annetta folks and use the garden and house as a venue for events. We hope to maintain the garden too and want to have more community planting events. 

You can find photos and videos of the workshops and garden on our instagram here.
Land In Our Names https://landinournames.community
Previous

Jumping Fences
Next

Growers Grants for Black and People of Colour