The Phytology Medicinal Garden was established at Bethnal Green Nature Reserve in 2014. This urban physic garden provides free food and medicine for local and surrounding communities. Generally regarded as weeds, the plants we grow have been selected for their historic and ongoing use in phytotherapy*, traditional and conventional medicine. The garden has been sown with over thirty varieties of plants common to the streets of London and urban ecosystems across the country. 

Plants include: Yarrow, White Dead-Nettle, Common Mallow, Marshmallow, Ribwort Plantain, Broadleaf Plantain, Dandelion, Red Clover, Feverfew, Chamomile, Cowslip, Elecampane, Mugwort, St John’s Wort, Cleavers, Comfrey and Common Nettle etc. Visitors are invited to harvest from the garden with the support of the Phytology team. The meadow grows in pollution-free soil to ensure our plants are safe from contamination and suitable for daily use. Phytology is a community-led project exploring the value of complex ecosystems within the urban landscape.

The Bethnal Green Nature Reserve is a cultural institute focused on ecological research and community learning in the heart of East London. We host an annual residency for researchers working across the humanities, architecture and science. Our public programme actively engages with the environmental and social complexities of the surrounding urban landscape. This space is a WW2 bomb-site that has been cared for since 1977 by local residents, volunteers, staff, trustees and its non-human inhabitants. The Nature Reserve has a delicate and complex ecosystem of plants, bats, birds, trees, soil, fungi, amphibians, insects, invertebrates and mammals (including people). We collectively want this space to exist and nurture a diverse urban ecosystem for many years to come.