How does our garden grow? is an art project which aims to uncover the connections between our current habitats and those of the past to understand what has survived on the site of the Friern Manor Farm Estate in East Dulwich – from flora biodiversity to land use – in 160 years of urbanisation since this dairy farm was sold in 1865.

I am inviting the local community to join this citizen science project during April-June 2024 by asking individuals and institutions to leave an area of their garden, lawn or land untouched to encourage flora to grow.

The project was inspired by my four-month study in summer 2023 to see what grew in my back garden when I didn’t mow the grass or do the weeding. I documented over 20 plants – from Bulbous Oatgrass to French Crane’s Bell – through clay, drawings, photographs, film and sound, but now want to connect this to historical research of the area in terms of biodiversity and land use to discover whether any plants growing in the catchment of the old Friern Manor Farm Estate existed when it was pastureland.

As well as helping to increase carbon capture and protecting biodiversity, participants can help the project by recording all the wild plants, grasses and flowers that grow, using an identification app, so they be can compared to botanical data from the mid-nineteenth century.

We are lucky that the Horniman Museum and Gardens falls within this catchment area, as their archives have provided some useful plant guides of the surrounding area during the mid-nineteenth century and Charles Dickens wrote about the farm and pastures for The Morning Post in 1850.

In addition, I draw on a selection of artistic and research-based practices such as: psychogeography; soil science using London Clay; and maps to identify links to the past through historical research, archives, biodiversity and land use.