Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast
It was an absolute pleasure speaking to Andrew O’Brien on his Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast.
Andrew is an online garden coach, podcaster, blogger. He spoke about Lemon Tree Trust’s garden at the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in his first ever podcast, and so it was great to join him for this episode, three seasons in.
Jennie Spears from Lemon Tree Trust chats to Andrew about her own gardening background, and some of the people who are gardening against the odds in refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Plants bring joy and help to transform a shelter into a home, no matter who you are or where you live.
Aveen Ibrahem is Operations Manager at Lemon Tree Trust, overseeing our community gardening and cooking programmes across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Her work supports activities in Azadî Community Garden in Domiz 1 camp, as well as outreach and coordination across the nine camps where Lemon Tree Trust currently operates. Having lived in Domiz 1 … Continued
Inside the polytunnels at the Hêvî Community Garden in Gawilan refugee camp, Garden Manager Othman Qewas carefully selects fruit trees and flowering plants grown from seed. Joined by Hamid Abdullah, Lemon Tree Trust’s Horticulture and Landscape Consultant, the plants are loaded into the car before setting off to visit families across the camp. As part of our ongoing children’s outreach programme in Gawilan camp, … Continued
Bringing together residents to celebrate the home gardens they have grown, tended and transformed over the past year, Lemon Tree Trust’s 2026 Annual Garden Competitions have taken place across nine refugee and IDP (internally displaced people) camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This year’s competitions introduced a greater emphasis on welcoming new participants alongside … Continued