A new community garden available for everyone to help grow flowers and vegetables will open in Wandsworth this weekend.

Community group, Transition Town Wandsworth (TTW), has turned more than 500 square metres of unused land on Bramford Road, near Wandsworth Town station, into a garden for the neighbourhood.

On Sunday, June 6, the group will hold a picnic at the site to celebrate its opening and get residents involved.

Dan O'Neill, Transition Town Wandsworth's founder, said: “A lot of people living in the area have either no garden or a very small garden, so this is a great opportunity for them to do some gardening and meet their neighbours.”

He added: “It is an opportunity for the community to create something beautiful and gives people living locally the chance to directly influence how it will look.”

More than 50 volunteers have already signed up to help in the garden, which will be maintained entirely by the community.

TTW is keen to encourage more to join and plans to invite junior schools for gardening sessions.

“We always need more volunteers to get involved,” Mr O’Neill said. “The picnic is to celebrate our getting the land after a long application process, and to interest more of the community in participating.”

The community will also choose which plants to grow, from native flowers and grassland to herbs, fruit trees and vegetables.

Resident Charity Massey, of Home Road, said: “This sounds like a great idea to get people outside and having fun, especially in the summer. Hardly any of the flats around mine have access to a garden so I think the area will really benefit from it.”

Wandsworth Council has leased the land for 18 months on the condition it is not used as a food-producing allotment, but enhances the appearance of the area.

A council spokesman said: “We’re delighted to be working with TTW on this project, which we hope will enable local people to get involved in creating an attractive community garden that everyone can enjoy.”