How Small Urban Gardens Can Transform Lives and Landscapes

Having grown up around a garden and watched my parents care for it, I realized that I had inherited the green thumb. It all began in 2011, shortly after I completed my Permaculture Design Certification (a spontaneous and defining decision that I have never turned my back on!). I recall standing outside our home, gazing at a small, dry berm by the parking lot, a space most people overlook......and thinking, what if we could revive this patch? From what I understood then and still believe now, even the most challenged land holds potential, and that's where we start to demonstrate that this concept truly works!

I didn’t have acres of land or a large farm to work with or test out this "new permaculture stuff" I had learned, but I had this one forgotten slope of soil. And that’s where the story began really.

We started working with the soil up, bit by bit, and started planting a mix of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, flowers, and creeping plants to start off with, anything that could take root and build life back into the soil. It wasn’t glamorous. For the first three years, it was slow, often discouraging work. But soil regeneration takes time. You wait. You learn patience. You celebrate every earthworm, every sprout.

Then something shifted. The tiny berm began to change over time. The vegetables came up more strongly, the moringa, lucaena, and banana trees reached for the sky, and the once-barren patch became an oasis of abundance. Neighbours and friends began to notice. It was the one spot you couldn’t walk past without stopping,  to breathe, to watch, to feel connected to. That small experiment became my living classroom, proof that transformation doesn’t start with large tracts of land, but with intention and care, right where we are. Over time, that berm has grown into a lush microclimate, one that provides shade, fruit, flowers, and a sense of hope.

While creating this food forest with a variety of trees from fruit trees, nitrogen fixers, vegetables, ground cover, cover crops, and herb layers, I began to think about our family home's front yard too at the time. It already features a beautiful mix of old trees, flowers, plants, potted plants, rock gardens, and a small lawn, primarily designed by my dad with the staff at the time and maintained by him on weekends for the past 35 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as our work and consulting slowed down and we took on smaller jobs, I spent a lot of free time converting old boxes into productive edible gardens, enhancing the existing diversity. This time, I focused on growing everyday produce closer to the main house as the food forest area continued to develop. I then made short videos online, providing simple information for those interested in growing their plants and food at home during this period. Many people began gardening during the pandemic but were unsure how to start or didn't realize the upkeep involved. So, I decided to create and share these videos, which led to invitations to participate in community webinars teaching the same concepts. Eventually, I worked with a virtual sustainable academy for a few years part time until a couple years ago, teaching online permaculture, which was fantastic! The edible urban container gardens were a success, and I started growing more varieties of vegetables, catching the attention of a former colleague at Business Daily. They wanted to feature this in their gardening spread, and I agreed. It was great to showcase this and inspire people to use any available space to grow plants, flowers, and edible gardens.

A couple of years later, we were featured again, this time focusing on a couple of friends whose front lawn we transformed into permaculture gardens, which provided excellent exposure for this meaningful work.

Six years ago, after spending 7 years with the non-profit Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya, I founded Harvesting for Good East Africa with the conviction that every space, no matter its size, can support both us and the environment. In Nairobi, where rapid development with high-rise buildings is occurring with little planning for green spaces, often at the expense of mature trees, the goal is to evolve into a thriving metropolis. However, achieving this requires a commitment to replanting, re-wilding, greening, creating microclimates, and planting shade trees, among other efforts.

Our work is deeply rooted in the mission of bridging the gaps that often exist between urban homes, passionate gardeners, and the innovative principles of permaculture design. We believe that it is entirely possible to create functional, edible landscapes that not only serve practical purposes but also enhance the aesthetic beauty of these urban spaces. This convergence of utility and beauty is essential, as it resonates with the desires of many city dwellers. At the heart of it, isn’t that what everyone wants?

Our approach has always been about empowering people,  gardeners, homeowners, and community leaders  to rethink space, to grow food in harmony with nature, and to spark that ripple effect across their neighbourhoods whether urban, or taking it back to their communities. And it works. There’s no shortcut to regeneration. It takes time, patience, and a lot of observation just like tending to a garden.

At our current home now, our balcony garden now thrives under the shade of an old mulberry tree that we never meant to plant, and now it anchors the space, creating a lovely guild. Beneath it, layers of bushy climbing roses, and bougainvillea create a wild canopy that feels like a small English cottage garden in the middle of Nairobi that we hoped for. There’s nothing better than coming home to this sort of oasis. I spend a lot of time observing, re-twining plants and adding more diversity at any given chance. Our dog simply digs this too, she’s often nestled under the mulberry tree or on the balcony alongside the shamba.

There’s a sense of calm, of life, that these spaces bring. They’re not just gardens,  they’re sanctuaries.  Honestly, nothing is more humbling than this. We are already so fortunate have this home nestled within a forested canopy, so creating even more green pockets within it feels only natural and fitting to give back.

Urban gardens are powerful. They remind us to slow down, to reconnect, and to nurture something that gives back oxygen, food, beauty, and biodiversity. They cool our cities, store carbon, and create homes for pollinators and wildlife. They remind us that kindness, to ourselves, to others, and to the earth,  begins with small, consistent acts.

And today, on World Kindness Day, I can’t think of a better symbol of kindness than a garden.  Gardens and re-wilding  teach us patience. It offers without expectation. It gives life, even when no one is watching.

So, wherever you are,  whether you have a balcony, a wall, a driveway, or a forgotten corner, plant something. Start small. Watch what happens. The transformation may take years, but it will be worth it.

Because every green space, no matter how tiny, is an act of kindness, to the earth, and to ourselves.

 We’re just an email and a phone call away if you would like to get started. Reach out if you'd like to set up a meeting with us in the new year.