A Secret Garden in North London

Ever been to OmVed Gardens?

We were invited to an exhibition at OmVed Gardens, a hidden-away gem in North London, close to Highgate station. We came to see the exhibition of works by Vivienne Schadinsky and fell in love with the place. In this piece, we speak to Curator and Programme Manager Sol Polo about the gardens, their purpose, and their programme of events.

The meadow of the gardens. Photo by Joanna Ayre

What is OmVed Gardens, and how was it created?

OmVed Gardens is a garden, exhibition, events and learning space in North London exploring the connections of food, creativity and ecology. We do this in the context of health, climate resilience and community making. Om is considered a universal vibration encompassing all sounds, and Ved means knowledge. Therefore, the organisation’s name expresses our desire to pay more attention, listen and learn from our surroundings. At its heart, OmVed is a space to rediscover ourselves within nature, and nature within ourselves.

Our project started in 2017 to transform a derelict and heavily paved site into a nurturing ecosystem for humans and wildlife. Since then, landscape architect Paul Gazerwitz has transformed Omved Gardens into a lush, meandering journey that encourages us to pause, observe, and reconsider our relationship with the environment.

As the gardens grew and evolved organically, so did the activities on site. From connections with the UN World Food Programme to developing a seed-saving network and artistic programme, everything we do at OmVed supports our mission to create the opportunity to come into relationships with each other and our environment.

Below the paywall:

• The importance of art to the gardens

• What is the seed saving network, and how you can get involved

• Future events coming up at OmVed Gardens