About OmVed Gardens

OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events, and learning space in North London exploring food, ecology, and creativity for climate resilience. Through regenerative gardening, seed saving, and food advocacy, we support communities, enhance biodiversity, and promote ecological education through creative practice. Join our mission to build a healthier world: www.omvedgardens.com

Our Mission

As a registered Community Interest Company, all our activities prioritise social and ecological objectives. Whether collaborating with chefs, creatives, gardeners, or schools, OmVed Gardens is a hub for education, connection, and action. We aim to inspire individuals and communities to reimagine their role in building a healthier, more resilient world.

We work to increase biodiversity - of species, seeds, food systems, and participation, through regenerative gardening, seed saving, habitat creation, and ecological education. Our space serves as a living example of how urban areas can be transformed into thriving ecosystems that support both human and non-human communities.

Sign up for our monthly newsletter for tips from the garden and kitchen and hear about our upcoming activities: https://omvedgardens.com/newsletter

OmVed Gardens Transformation

Since opening in 2017, OmVed Gardens have worked to share knowledge and host experienced voices
in urban growing and ecology, nature led creativity, wild learning and regenerative kitchen practices.

Through sustainable events and conferences and community outreach the organisation has welcomed
global voices in indigenous knowledge, expertise in growing and soil health and developed community
groups of all ages.

Now the new dedicated spaces on site will allow the gardens to remain open year round introducing
sustainably designed buildings to transform the potential of this popular destination.

Developing an earlier design plan from former architectural practice HASA, Piers Smerin of Smerin
Architects has designed a series of buildings that embrace the open access welcoming ethos of OmVed
Gardens whilst creating sustainable technically innovative spaces with a unique silhouette. The buildings
framed in Douglas Fir and clad in Western Red Cedar mostly share a pyramid like profile with the
exception of the kitchen building which hosts an accessible rooftop garden. Exposed timber beams with
ingenious framing support welcoming honest spaces as raised roofs provide a natural ventilation akin to
traditional oasthouse and dovecot designs. Passive design principles informed the build with sustainable
materials used as much as is practically possible while placement on site has been considered to
maximise passive solar gain during the winter months.

Landscape architect Paul Gazerwitz was responsible for the original rejuvenation of the landscape at
OmVed Garden creating a series of pathways down the hillside linking the buildings together with lush
and carefully organised planting. The new hillside landscaping is designed to create a wooded area
complementing the existing garden spaces including the wildflower meadow, permaculture vegetable
garden, ponds, willow circle and orchard. As it matures, the tree planting will both create an element of
discovery approaching the buildings giving a sense of a rural village while the network of paths are
designed to facilitate chance meetings and interactions between visitors to the buildings.

The organisation’s mission to work holistically across food, creativity and ecology, and their impact on
health, climate education and community wellbeing continues to facilitate global connections with the UN
World Food Programme and The Chefs’ Manifesto whilst also building relationships with the local
community through a series of events and workshops.

Vivienne Schadinsky: Into the Seeds of Time

To celebrate OmVed Garden’s transformation a major solo exhibition of new works by artist Vivienne
Schadinsky will occupy the new spaces. The award-winning artist combines films, sculptures and
Japanese ink paintings documenting the journey of beans from seed to harvest for her exhibition: Into
the Seeds of Time. The exhibition designed by PiM.studio Architects traces Vivienne’s year long
residency at OmVed Gardens where the humble bean becomes a lens through which to explore ecology,
culture and community.