Garden continues to grow!

MR HOOTY the Owl at the heart of the community garden in Failsworth

A COMMUNITY garden in Failsworth is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a party and fundraising plant sale on Saturday.

The garden project saw the community get together to transform the site, outside Failsworth Metrolink stop, from an overgrown mess into a stunning space.

Mather Street Primary School pupils also got involved with the community clean-up, helping to place greenery and shrubs in place.

Now in its 10th year, the garden has been praised in gardening competitions and even appeared on Gardeners' World.

The garden, on Hardman Lane, also features a beautifully carved owl, named Mr Hooty, donated by Transport for Greater Manchester.

Debbie La Selle, from the community garden group, said: "At the start it was a dingy alley with seven foot high weeds and at the time I'd never gardened in my life but decided to get the community together and start to make something off the space.

"We had help from Prince's Trust and we worked on it for over a year but finally finished.

"It's so lovely that everyone pitched in."

To celebrate the anniversary and to raise funds to keep the project going, the community garden team will be selling home-sown plants and baskets alongside scrumptious cakes and delicious home-baked flans from noon until 4pm.