Head of the Curve. An interview with Marie Murray, Dalston Curve Garden.
Dalston dwellers will recognise Marie Murray as the face of the Eastern Curve Garden. Together with partner Brian Cumming and their team of staff and volunteers, this powerhouse of a woman has created a unique environment, a restful sanctuary where everyone is welcome, in what was once a wasteland behind the peace mural on Dalston Lane.
I first met her when the garden first opened in 2010, there were a few raised beds, a Stik on the wall and that was about it. Now, the place is buzzing — with bees and bodies! Over 150,000 visitors a year, with residents using the garden as their own, with added entertainment (and great coffee) laid on by Marie and her team.
Born in Belfast, Marie moved to Hoxton in the mid 80s before settling in her beloved Dalston. She followed up a degree in Politics with an MA in Museums & Galleries at City University, before becoming a garden designer. After a happy stint at the Geffrye Museum, Marie joined the team at the Chelsea Physic Garden, where that she polished up her botanical latin (yup) and curated an exhibition about chocolate (yum). She is a woman of many trades and talents.
Although working in west London, Marie was firmly rooted in the east and became involved in OPEN Dalston, actively campaigning to ensure the council’s master plan for development in the area would include open green space for residents to enjoy. It was out of that ongoing campaign that the Curve Garden was born.
Gardener or Campaigner, which are you?
“I would call myself a horticultural activist”, says Marie. “I’m passionate about the impact of green space on people. About making sure that everybody can experience its positive impact, which is so vital in our urban environment.”
You work really hard (she does). What drives you?
“I love Dalston and I love plants. but the joy that plants give to people is the best thing. The look on their faces when they come into the Garden, how peoples’ shoulders visibly relax, kids dancing to Double Bass Dan on Friday mornings…
“We’re part of an ecosystem here, with residents looking to the garden as a touchstone, a safe place. We’re here to provide that. I find myself in the very lucky position of running this space and work hard to make it thrive”.
“You can’t rest in Hackney!” exclaims Marie, for whom this is obviously a source of motivation. Where others among us would be exhausted, she derives much of her boundless energy from the people she meets in the Garden.
“We never rest on our laurels, our work is never done…Reaching out and making a difference. That drives us on.”
Biggest challenge?
I would’ve thought it was the funding, and of course it comes up — although it would likely be more commercially viable as a beer garden, Marie and Brian remain true to their community values, relying on volunteers, income from the café and donations to keep it a free community garden, open year-round, for everyone to enjoy.
Or the recent mayoral consultations around ongoing development of the area, including the possibility of opening the Garden up to create a public walkway, (something to which garden regulars and visitors are passionately opposed)? “Yes, that’s been really challenging, but the outpouring of public support, reading people’s submissions to the mayor, knowing it’s not just us, that was so encouraging.” This and their #Artskickers Award win provided a much-needed moral boost as they wait to see what happens next.
For Marie, the biggest challenge of all is “making sure new Hackney is for everybody, that nobody gets left behind.”
Marie’s a visionary, she aims high for herself and her community. As to the future of the Garden itself, her vision is to continue to grow it, to inspire more green space in Dalston and to convince others (not least the powers that be) of the value of spaces like this one.
Before we finish, this streetart fanatic can’t not ask about the Stik mural, now obscured slightly by a lush border of beans and flowers.
“Stik lived in what’s now Farr’s on Dalston Lane, when it was a squat and there were tons of his stick characters on the walls before we were here. The first day the Garden opened, we arrived and there he was on a ladder. He just came in and did it, this lucky talisman, and the humanity in his work is very much reflected in the garden. It’s called “putting down roots”
How appropriate. And how lucky this community is that Marie put hers down in Dalston.
Marie’s Hackney hotspots
❤️ Broadway Market on Saturday — “I’m so excited the stallholders think I’m a tourist. I suppose when you work this hard, it doesn’t take much to feel like you’re on your holidays!”
❤️ Columbia Road Market on Sunday, followed by Tapas in Laxeiro
❤️ A rest in the herb garden at The Geffrye Museum, followed by a film at the Rio Cinema
How can you support the Garden?
🌿 Visit, buy a cuppa in the café, donate and join an event
🌿 For a full calendar of free events, visit www.dalstongarden.org
🎃 This October half term sees the return of the pumpkins! Join the fun on Saturday 21 & 22, bring a pumpkin, tools provided. Light show every night till October 29.
🌿 To volunteer (or to donate pumpkins) contact marie@dalstongarden.org
originally published in LoveEast Magazine, October 2017
