Spring Cafe

What a fantastic day at Abbey Gardens. Huge thank you to the incredible team from State Street for joining us for their CSR day. Honestly, we couldn't asked for a more hard-working, joyful group of people. We got so much done, and improvement in the gardens is already visible. We tackled everything from weeding the wildflower beds to clearing the fence line and giving our olive tree some breathing room. We even got some fresh lavender into the ground. Here's a look at what we achieved together: * Build brand-new bee boxes and frames, and prepared a special seed pockets for World Bee Day. * Sifted a mountain of compost tocreplenish our flower beds, trees and greengouse plants. * Planted baby artichokes and sowed wildflower seeds across the garden. * Weeded the main beds paths and created a beautiful circle from the wood logs. The energy was just infectious. Not only did everyone work with a smile, but they were so thoughtful - even bringing all the tools back to the workshop so we didn't have to hunt for them at the end of the day. The highlight for many was definitely cooling down with some of our fresh cold-brew mint and cleaver tea - the perfect reward for a job well done. State Street, you are absolute legends. Thank you for helping us to make our garden more beautiful and for being such a joy to work with. You are welcome back anytime. #abbeygardens #communitygarden #volunteering #csr #londongardens

Another successful seedling delivery! During our community sunflower planting project @cockpitstudios Deptford and @thealbanyse8 , we planted over 300 sunflowers which were distributed at local community gardens, churches and in local estates! We delivered 20+ sunflowers and some nasturtiums to School 360 for their community garden session on Saturday! 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Celebrate nature’s vital pollinators at the World Bee Day Festival 2026, hosted in the stunning Abbey Gardens! This vibrant community event offers an unforgettable experience for everyone, blending education, art, and movement in the great outdoors. Dive into the secret lives of bees during our expert Bee Talk or explore the landscape through an ultraviolet lens in the "How the Bees See" treasure hunt. Marvel at spectacular performances by My Ballet Academy, then get hands-on in our creative workshops: craft beeswax candles, design sun-printed cyanotypes, or blend bespoke infusions at the herbal tea station. Fuel your day with delicious, planet-friendly vegetarian cuisine served fresh by Spring Cafe. We invite all guests to dress in bold bee colors—yellow, black, and gold—to create a buzzing human swarm! Don’t miss this "un-bee-lievable" family celebration of vibrant biodiversity, creativity, and our community spirit. The event start at 12pm till 5pm.

Easter Sunday gardening session! 12pm-4pm Thanks to everyone who joined the session. We painted ‘eggs’, hunted for Eggs! In the garden we repotted tomato’s & planted squash, cucumbers and courgettes into the ground. We also prepared a community plot, planted some blackcurrant bushes! On the menu was a chickpea and tomato stew, with fresh rosemary, thyme and wild garlic. Served with red onion pickle, wild garlic sauce, hummus and pita! Productive, Tasty & Fun! Happy Easter 💚🐣🪺🥬🫐🍓💚

Thanks to @_abbeygardens propagation team, School 360 are getting a beautiful selection of flowers! Cuttings and seeds were sown, at Abbey Gardens then delivered to local school gardens. Thanks to everyone at Abbey Gardens, volunteers, staff and trustees involved in the project. Delivered on @assemblybike @zeroemissionsnetwork

We couldn’t organise a daytime event from and not have food for our community! We are delighted to welcome back the lovely people at @springgardenlondon who provided the food at our church event last year! Spring Cafe, in their own words: “Rediscovering and reconnecting with nature, allows us to revive an instinctual ancient knowledge and dependence on the natural world that predates our human existence.” Spring Cafe was founded in 2021 in Abbey Gardens. They offer vibrant seasonal dishes crafted from locally sourced garden-fresh produce. Their focus is to provide simple yet delicious meals, prepared where possible with local organic ingredients, infusing each humble dish with rich and culturally inspired flavours reflective of our diverse city. In collaboration with Abbey Gardens, Spring Cafe hosts regular gardening workshops, educational and creative activities and events with the aim to teach local people to grow their own foods and learn about the natural world focusing on health, wellbeing and unity. Spring Cafe is a young, family run, business and we are very happy to support them. Come hungry!

On the 21st of March, we gathered to welcome the Spring Equinox with Spring Tide - our first event this year at Abbey Gardens. Under a beautifully warm and sunny sky, it felt like the most wonderful start tocthe gardening season. The garden is already blushing with early blooms, creating a gentle sanctuary for an afternoon woven with poetry, live music, and experimental sounds. It was lovely to watch you allvwander freely through the pathways, finding moments of stillness in the sound corner, and sharing fresh food and drinks lovingly prepared by Spring Cafe. A beautiful highlight of the day was seeing so many curious faces gather around the bee enclosure. Watching our little pollinators work so diligently, bringing early nectar and pollen back to their hives, was a sweet reminder that the earth is waiking up again. Thank you to everyone who came to rest, play, and share incthis calm, joyful atmosphere. You brought such a peaceful energy to Abbey Gardens. Here is to a season of deep roots, bright blooms, and growing together. #abbeygardens #springtide #springequinox #communitygarden #mindfulmoments

Anchoring words as we enter the spring equinox! We’re so excited for the collective celebration of springs generous offerings! 🌸🌺🌷🌼🌿🌹🌱🍃 We offer our deep gratitude through the transformations and celebrate with full hearts and grounded feet! We’re looking forward to seeing you all there! Link in bio for Tickets/Donations! Love! 🌼 🎶ital is vital - Shabaka

We’re so excited to announce our next event will be in celebration and welcoming of the Spring equinox on March 21st! Held at the beautiful Abbey Gardens in Stratford. 🌷🌼🌸✨🧹🍃🌼🌸 Experience a range of sound art, installations, tapestries, painting, performances, poetry, drumming & movement exploring the themes of growing, entangling, connection & expansion amidst the blooming flowers. 🌻 Enjoy fresh food & drinks from Spring Cafe! Beautiful artwork by @_prajvi_

SUNFLOWERS! 🌻 Calling all budding community gardeners, families and community groups! Starting today, for the next 2 months, Zaida (The Albany Gardens) and myself Xuân (Spring Cafe) are hosting a community sunflower planting project, throughout March and April, on Fridays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. Seed sowing dates: Friday, March 6th, 3:30pm - 4:30pm - Cockpit Studios, 18-22 Creekside, SE8 3DZ Friday, March 13th, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: The Albany, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG Friday, March 20th, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: Cockpit Studios, 18-22 Creekside, SE8 3DZ Friday, March 27th, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: The Albany, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG Planting dates: Friday, 3rd April, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: Cockpit Studios, Crossfield Estate: Meet at Cockpit Studios, Spring Cafe, 18-22 Creekside, SE8 3DZ, 3pm-3:30pm Friday, 10th April, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: The Albany: Meet at The Albany Cafe, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG, 3pm - 3:30pm Friday, 17th April, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: Cockpit Studios, Crossfield Estate: Meet at Cockpit Studios, Spring Cafe, 18-22 Creekside, SE8 3DZ, 3pm-3:30pm Friday, 24th April, 3:30pm - 4:30pm: Peace Garden, St Nicholas Church: Meet at The Albany Cafe, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG, 3pm - 3:30pm If you’d like to get involved just turn up, bring yourselves and gloves if you want! Feel free to get in touch if you have any further questions. We look forward to sowing with you! Happy Spring! Xuân & Zaida

​We had a fantastic CSR day with the amazing team from Fitch! These enthusiastic folks showed up bright and early, ready to work at Abbey Gardens. They helped us clear weeds, sieve compost, and get the soil ready for a fresh start. ​A huge thank you for all your hard work painting our storage and planters by the bee enclosure, fixing baskets, and building an edge for our wildflower area. We even got to collect some seeds! ​And a special shout-out to Spring Cafe for the delicious meal of sourdough sandwiches and refreshing herbal tea that kept everyone going. ​Thanks to the Fitch team, Abbey Gardens is even more beautiful and enjoyable. We truly appreciate your hard work and positive energy! #csrday #volunteering #abbeygardens #communitygarden #gardening #ourelba #corporatesocialresponsibility #autumngardening

Serving food today at @innervisions_alchemy at the Community Fundraiser for Palestine! Come and try our selection of salads, toasties and parathas and homemade lemonades! Profits will be donated to support the people of Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸🇵🇸