Get into gardening

Earlier this year, we teamed up with Leeds environmental charity Hyde Park Source to create a biodiverse garden in Lower Wortley that gives back to the community and the wildlife.

We redesigned a communal garden from an underused, uninspiring space into a vibrant place.

We've listened and acted

Local residents offered to help water the plants over summer but asked if we could create a rainwater collection system.

Our gardening team came up with an innovative solution by combining a large water storage container with recycled materials to create a unique collection funnel. The system is now up and running, ready for residents to use on the new planting.

Share your innovations

Tell us about the innovations you've introduced to your garden by sharing a photo on the 'share your gardening photos' tab above.

Some plants such as Bamboo, Fig, Giant Hogweed, Ivy and Japanese Knotweed can spread quickly and cause damage to the environment, homes, and outdoor spaces if they’re not properly managed. If a plant causes issues and originates from outside the UK, such as Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed, we call it invasive.

Learn more about each plant and download images to help identify them.

It’s important to take early action when managing these plants as treating problems quickly can help stop them from spreading, protect wildlife, reduce maintenance costs, and keep people and homes safe. If you notice one of the invasive or problem plants listed above in your garden or a shared garden, get in touch with us.

Well done to the lucky winner of our Your Voice gardening competition who shared some lovely photos of her luscious green garden! Take a look!

We received some fantastic entries, from colourful flower displays and blooming borders to thriving vegetable patches and creative container gardens. It was wonderful to see the care, creativity and pride that customers put into their gardens.

Don’t worry if you missed the chance to get involved in the competition, you can still share your gardening pictures, tips, and even your favourite walks!

Our gardening competition has ended! Thank you to everyone who shared their wonderful garden photos. You can check these out over on the photos section of this page. We're currently choosing a winner, which will be announced soon, so stay tuned!

Our gardening competition is back by popular demand! We loved seeing customers' photos of their gardens last year, so we're bringing the competition back.

Whether it's blooming flowers, homegrown veggies, or a perfectly pruned hedge, we'd love to see it! All you have to do is upload your gardening photos to the photos section of this page by the end of September for a chance to win a £30 prize!

We teamed up with Leeds environmental charity Hyde Park Source to create a biodiverse garden that gives back to the community and the wildlife.

Hyde Park Source worked with us to redesign the communal garden at our older persons' scheme at Greenside Walk in Lower Wortley from an underused, uninspiring space into a vibrant garden. Together, volunteers planted a variety of trees, herbs and vegetables designed to grow and flourish over the years.

As part of the redesign, the garden will also have bug hotels for local wildlife and a vegetable library that invites the community to swap and share fresh produce.

Read the full story

Planting 50 trees to celebrate 50 years of Leeds Federated!

Colleagues and residents from our older persons schemes at Cragside Close and Fewston Court joined celebrations on Friday 13 March and helped plant 10 trees in their community gardens.

The Grounds Maintenance team has been busy planting a variety of trees from Amelanchiers, Hawthorns, Beech, Rowans, Yews and even Cherry blossom across Leeds, Wakefield, and North Yorkshire.

Our Community Spaces team raised a total of £1600 in donations from our partner organisations. We want to say a huge thank you to FAST Waste Solutions, Matt Sellars - Tree Surgeon Leeds, Atlas, White Horse Cleaning Services, and Placeshapers for making this happen.

Service Manager, Mike Jerome says, “As the trees grow, they’ll stand as a reminder of how far we’ve come and how much more we hope to achieve in the next 50 years."

We've been making a positive contribution to the Belle Isle neighbourhood by tidying up the front gardens on Woodville Square.

The Community Spaces Gardening team removed the overgrown bushes and intend to replace them with weed suppressant and gravel. Neighbourhood Officer Sharon also organised free spring flowers, pots/tubs and soil for customers to take and put on the newly gravelled areas to brighten up their front gardens.

We can't wait to see the final result! Stay tuned!

The big RSPB Garden Birdwatch takes place between 23 & 25 January! All you need to do is spend 1 hour of your time recording the birds in your garden/communal garden or local park and record your results to their website!

Find out more about how to take part on their website.

Neighbourhood Officer, Adele Rowley recently hosted another flower planting workshop in Hastings Grove. The event brought customers together alongside colleagues across the organisation to plant flowers and hanging baskets to take home.

The customers had a great time arranging the colourful flowers into baskets.