The Brooke Road Junction rain garden is part of Hackney Council’s broader scheme to create safer, cleaner and quieter residential streets in the borough. By replacing sections of the road with permanent planting, the project helps reduce vehicle dominance while encouraging cycling, walking and spending time outdoors.

Our goal was to create an engaging planting scheme fit with interactive features to establish an inviting landscape that can be enjoyed all year round.

The project features over 730 perennials, shrubs and ornamental grasses in two permanent rain gardens made up of four colour-themed planting zones. We also included boulders, stepping logs, stepping stones and a balance beam throughout the four planting quadrants.

The four distinct planting palettes were each designed to create a unique seasonal display.

Green and white

Anenome x hyrbida ‘Honorine jobert’, Libertia grandiflora and Euonymus japonicus ‘Green rocket’

Yellow and orange

Helenium ‘Moerheim beauty’, Kniphofia ‘Papaya’ and Achillea ‘Moonshine’

Red and pink

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, Echinacea purpurea and Pittosporum ‘Tom thumb’

Blue and purple

Salvia ‘Amistad’, Verbena bonariensis, Geranium ‘Rozanne’

The planting design brings structure, colour and biodiversity to the junction. One of the gardens is divided into four distinct planting zones, each celebrating a different colour palette whilst creating seasonal variation and interactive spaces with natural play features.

The completed Brook Road Junction rain garden project has transformed what was a once vehicle-dominated junction into a greener and more welcoming public space. The new permanent planting enhances the streetscape and creates new spaces for pollinators, residents and people passing through the neighbourhood.