The Phoenix garden: A Hidden Park Near Covent Garden

Despite the name, Covent Garden and the surrounding area, is not one I generally associate with green space. However, nestled behind the Odeon on Shaftesbury Avenue is a lovely, tranquil, hidden garden. 

There is a map with the garden’s location at the bottom of the post.

Risen from the ashes

The area in question was a bomb-site following World War Two and subsequently turned into a carpark. You can see the circled area below on a World War Two bomb map of London, with the dark blue and purple indicating ‘damaged beyond repair’.

Community Spirit

In 1984 the Phoenix Garden was established here by the locals as a community garden. It was once one of seven community gardens in the Covent Garden area but is the only one remaining.

The garden has apparently faced closure numerous times since, including as recently as 2016, but has managed to fight back each time.

In 2017 the new community centre opened here: the first purpose-built community centre to be built in the area for decades. 

Designed by the architects Office Sian, the building offers a space for events, school groups and for the community in general. 

For more details and the inspiration behind the design, click here. 

Phoenix Garden Today

Phoenix Garden is a rare inner-city haven for wildlife.

It has a bedrock of thin, rubbly soil and, being in central London, is affected by the urban heat island effect. This means that it has quite specific conditions for the plants to be able to survive in, enabling half-hardy plants such as the Giant Viper’s Bugloss to grow here. 

The garden is also a hotspot for both bird and pondlife.

Winding paths and peaceful corners with benches to sit and appreciate some peace and quiet, make it a welcome escape.

Look out for all the quirky ornaments. 

I visited on a weekend afternoon and the cheerful volunteer gardeners were hard at work. The work they do is, I think, brilliant and very admirable, long may it continue!

Phoenix Garden has a genuine community feel to it, which is really lovely but sadly pretty rare in London. Wouldn’t it be amazing for there to be more of these gardens in London, run by and for the community?

It is a charity and runs through grants and donations, so should you wish, you can make a donation here. 

The garden is open daily from dawn-dusk.

You can find out more on their website here,

Thank you for reading, more of London’s hidden gardens below…