Now in his 14th year leading the garden, Ernie’s commitment is quietly remarkable. His role is simple yet powerful: to find creative, constructive, and productive voluntary work for people of all ages and abilities within the garden’s vast and thriving space.

What started as a modest community garden has blossomed under Ernie’s care into something much bigger. Today, around 50 volunteers are actively involved, with another dozen waiting eagerly to join. The garden has become a vital part of the local landscape—welcoming, healing, and deeply valued.

Each month, over 10,000 plants are grown from seed. These plants—alongside second-hand tools, furniture, and household goods donated to the garden—are sold through the project’s nursery and garden centre. Last year alone, this raised over £17,000, helping to keep every service at Your Place free for all who need it.

“Gardening and growing people and plants—that’s my passion,” says Ernie, who works in the garden every single day of the year, including Christmas Day. His dedication is born not from ambition, but from care. “I have no plans for the future. Things change naturally here. The only constant in the garden should be change.”

Last year, the Oasis Garden welcomed a record 6,877 visitors—a staggering rise from just 98 visitors in its early days. The garden is often a hub of energy, with volunteers tending beds and chatting with neighbours. But it remains, above all, a place of peace.

“There isn’t enough calm outside the garden gates, in the real world,” Ernie reflects. “But in the garden, even when it’s busy, there’s always peace.”

Visitors come for different reasons—some are referred by outside agencies, others just pass by, catch sight of the greenery and warmth, and decide they want to be part of it. But whoever joins, the expectations are simple: kindness and respect.