Creativity blooms at Incredible Edible Loughborough

Incredible Edible Loughborough are a stand-out group when it comes to creating beautiful signs to adorn their community gardens. We got in touch and asked them to tell us how they came to create such beautiful signage, and why they believe it’s so important for connecting gardens to the communities they serve.

This is a guest blog by Julian Rees and Christine Sweeney from Incredible Edible Loughborough.

We formed a small “signs group” of 5 and soon found we had a fertile place to experiment with designs and different media.  Although we all had different ideas there was no bother about borrowing from each other.  After meeting a couple of times, we worked on our own at home but shared on Whatsapp.  Learning from each other, it was amazing how much artistic talent came out and skills grew with every new sign we created.  Our group then ran two workshops for everyone in IEL.  We got together the materials and examples of what we had already done, they brought the cake and a lot of fun was had on a Saturday morning in January.  

People visiting our gardens didn’t know when or how to pick the crops.  That’s why naming and informing became important.  And of course, education is one of the plates we spin.  Plant labels would get lost as the vegetation got thicker so we set out to make sure everything we plant has a very large colourful naming sign next to it, which on seven gardens is a tall order. 

Christine, shared;  “ Last year, I was a totally new grower and knew nothing.  I’d look at the things growing in our plots, as beautiful as they were, and feel a bit disconnected from them because I didn’t know what they were, or how to use them.  It became obvious that many in our community were having the same problem.  Food looks so different in the ground to the way it does in supermarkets. 

To my mind, it is about much more than education.  When you plant a seed, you are planting a promise, and I wanted the signs to plant the promise of community and sharing. To me that promise is important.  It is not just food, it a promise of joy, belonging and hope and of connection with the earth.  I wanted the signs to reflect that.  I wanted them to be a beacon that drew people in; that told them that this space is your space, you own it, we merely garden it.  We share this space.”  

The larger signs with the name of our group and the seedling logo are the ones we are most proud of and people have praised them.  They are the most creative.  We call these the “brand” signs as they brand the garden with who we are and what we are about.  Our “house style” for these signs is a matt black background, with bright lettering and we use them on all the gardens so hopefully the style is becoming known.  We have to admit we searched the FB pages of other groups for straplines and slogans.  All our signs have appeared on our FB page at some time and any other groups are welcome to copy or use our ideas. 

We have a donor who gives us good quality ply boards but we have also taken wood from skips (with permission of course) and cut to size.  Drop into a wood yard and ask for any waste bits.  It’s amazing what you can get if you say you are a community group.  Holes are filled, perhaps a bit of sanding and then two coats of blackboard paint.  You don’t need to be a joiner!  

Most of us prefer using acrylic paint pens which make it easier to form letters.  But some have used brushes and enamel paints, the small tins used for painting models. Colour is everything and both acrylics and enamel dry to a bright sheen.  We varnish every sign to protect from the weather and the varnish brings the colours alive.   

The use of signs this year has increased people’s involvement in our gardens.  People say the “brand” signs are beautiful.  However, our favourites are the small signs we scatter in the beds telling people how and when to pick.  These are thinner ply, cut to small sizes and we use bright colours for the background and the lettering.   When working on the plots, people have told us how the smaller signs brighten up the beds.  They are the reason our lettuces are now being picked for the leaves instead of pulled up whole.  As one volunteer said, “The signs have taken our gardens to a new level this year”. 

None of us are experts.  We have all been learning on the job and from each other.  The important thing is to get over the “oh, I’m no good at art” syndrome and just have a go.   Do it together, value everyone’s contribution, share ideas, the ones that work and the ones that don’t, and above all, make it fun.