Visitors to this year’s Marylebone Summer Festival can enjoy a dedicated family-friendly stand from Harley Street BID, celebrating the legacy of pioneering landscape designer Fanny Wilkinson, who designed Paddington Street Gardens, the setting for this year’s event.
Young visitors will be invited to take part in a hands-on children’s art workshop centred around flowers, plants and the natural environment of Paddington Street Gardens, designed by Wilkinson in 1886. Wilkinson is recognised as Britain’s first professional female landscape designer.
Through printmaking and plasticine activities, children will have the chance to explore creativity while learning more about one of Britain’s most influential female landscape designers.
Leading the workshop is artist and educator Poppy, whose work focuses on widening access to art and encouraging creative confidence through play and experimentation.
“My approach is participant-led and process focused, helping people connect with others, build confidence and have fun,” she explains.
Poppy’s own connection to green spaces began in childhood. “My dad was a gardener, so I spent lots of my childhood in gardens and later worked as a gardener myself,” she says. “These experiences shaped both my worldview and artistic practice.”
During the workshop, children will use leaves, flowers and natural textures gathered from the gardens to create unique plasticine printing blocks.
“Hands-on activities help young people understand the qualities and provenance of objects and materials,” says Poppy. “Engaging creatively with natural materials can encourage a deeper appreciation of the world around them.”
The workshop also draws inspiration from the surrounding plane trees in Paddington Street Gardens.
“They’re kind of like natural AC units,” Poppy explains. “When temperatures rise, plane trees pump extra water from underground, which evaporates from their leaves and cools the air around them.”
She hopes children will leave the workshop feeling inspired and more connected to their local green space and community.
“Green spaces are for everyone,” she says. “Inviting people to do something creative, fun and free in them can support a sense of ownership and belonging.”
Families attending the Marylebone Summer Festival on 14 June can look forward to an engaging and imaginative experience celebrating creativity, wellbeing and community in the heart of Marylebone.
The activity is free with all donations going to the Young Westminster Foundation – the events adopted charity.
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