Top of the City garden wants you to know it exists
The day garden today.
Mel Lee-Smith moved from South Carolina to Waterford in 2017. She lives in an apartment on Morrisson's Road. Coming from South Carolina, Mel is used to “wide empty spaces, full of nature”, so moving to Waterford city centre has been quite an adjustment for her. In 2024, she found out about the 'Top of the City' Community Garden, and it has been her passion ever since.
Now, as Public Relations Officer for the garden, Mel invited Nicola Spendlove from Sláintecare and the Waterford News & Star to do a tour of the space and share their plans for 2026.
Founded during COVID by Justyna Traore, the community garden is an oasis in the most built-up part of the city. There are very few trees around the Barrack Street area, and no green spaces nearby either.
Located just around the corner from Boyle Sports, the space used to be an old gun platform and a place where cannons were stored in the 1800s.
According to Mel, in 2020, Justyna “found” the derelict space, which hadn’t been touched since 1939, and one year later, they opened to the public as a community garden.
The garden has an event stage where they host live music performances, a pizza oven, and four lovely, unnamed chickens.
The chickens live in a mansion of a coop, and friends of the garden can buy eggs during the summer – half a dozen for €2.50 is not a bad value at all.
Although the garden is open to everyone every Saturday from June to September, it also only costs €10 per year to become a ‘friend of the garden’, which gets you invites to exclusive events, as well as a wealth of gardening knowledge plus access to eggs!
Mel considers the garden to be “Waterford’s best kept secret”, and indeed, on the day I visit, it is bright and sunny, full of thriving plants and lovely places to sit.
The only negative? Unfortunately, people litter in the garden by throwing rubbish over the fence into the green space.
Every element of the garden serves a purpose, from the ‘Swap Shed’ where you can leave or take seeds, books and other items, to the 14 vegetable beds, which you can rent for just €30 a year and grow your own food right in the heart of Waterford City.
Mel tells me that one man only grows rhubarb and strawberries on his bed, “to use for his cheesecakes”.
Mel “managed to snag the last bed” and uses it to grow radishes and carrots.
For the cherry on top, the compost used for the beds is delivered by Gracedieu Stables, which processes horse manure and turns it into compost. According to Mel, the quality of the compost is “super good”. The garden also has pear and apple trees and a brand new herb garden.
All of the sheds often have dual purposes depending on what that season’s community wants. A shed can be an exhibition space, a place to store tools, a coffee kiosk.
Like every good gardener I know, the garden is never ‘finished’ for Mel. Right now, she’s excited about an "insect pond in progress".
The garden will be open every Saturday from 11am-5pm starting in June. It’s a great spot to bring your dog, your kid or even just a coffee and a good book.
