Sowing Roots: Caribbean Garden Heritage in South London

This free exhibition is part of the Garden Museum’s Sowing Roots project, a first of its kind journey into the history of the gardening cultures and traditions that Caribbean people carried with them when they moved to the UK after World War II: from breadfruit, provision grounds, and botanical gardens, to chocho, ackee and the green spaces of South London.

How did the horticultural knowledge and traditions of the Windrush generation shape their experiences of migration and community building in the UK? What plants and foods did Caribbean migrants grow – and where? How do their stories enrich our understanding of the power and joy of gardening?

Dates

Sowing Roots was made possible thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded to the Garden Museum in 2019.

After a year’s delay owing to the pandemic, for this intergenerational project young people aged 15-21 are recording the garden journeys of South London horticulturists who came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation.

Their stories will be shared through photography, interviews, the loan of treasured artefacts and the gift of favourite plants, forming the basis of this free exhibition.

Sowing Roots will also include an events programme and an inaugural archive of Caribbean gardening heritage at the Garden Museum.

Entry to this exhibition is free with no need to pre-book online. Visitors who would like to also see the Garden Museum permanent collection and other temporary exhibitions during their visit will need to book their visit.

Images: Sowing Roots participants photographed at Loughborough Farm, a community food growing project in South London started by the Loughborough Junction Action Group. Photo © Federico Rivas/Fotosynthesis

Find out more about the Sowing Roots project

Image: Sowing Roots participants photographed at Loughborough Farm, a community food growing project in South London started by the Loughborough Junction Action Group. Photo © Federico Rivas/Fotosynthesis