CMK Green Gym

Updated July 2026:

Work is ongoing in Fred Roche Gardens on a replanting project which is being carried out by CMK Green Gym and the Fred Roche Foundation and is kindly funded by CMK Town Council. We've also had valuable assistance from our partners at MyMiltonKeynes and Milton Keynes City Council.

When the gardens were first laid out, this area included a pond with a fountain. With the passage of time, it was no longer feasible for the fountain to be operated and the pond was filled in with soil.  We looked at various options for remodelling this part of the gardens, and settled on a scheme which features a variety of plants, chosen in part at least to be more drought resistant.

The planned layout for the planting is shown here:

Work completed:

The old rough grass has been removed, and persistent weeds have been eradicated.

The soil has been improved with compost and the a number of trees and shrubs were planted last year.

Late Spring 2026 saw the start of planting which was finally completed in June.

Below are some images from a couple of the planting sessions - with a big thank you to the volunteers from Network Rail who joined us on 2nd June! We'll add more images as the plants develop.

Our work doesn't stop here as the heatwaves of this year have made watering even more important. The hosepipe ban will make it more labour-intensive for us to give the new plants the start they need until they are established.