A secluded horticultural gem in the heart of Rayleigh, Treetops Garden opens to the public for the 11th year this August Bank Holiday, and it’s unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Tucked away at the bottom of Great Wheatley Road and overlooking the Great Wheatley Vineyard, the Treetops Food Garden has evolved into one of the most extraordinary and inspiring spaces in Essex. It combines permaculture with traditional English garden design.
Treetops Garden, spread over five levels and four gardens, is based on biophilic design by Monica Yadav Knight (Sustainable Architecture, CISL, Cambridge). It connects indoor spaces with outdoor gardens through permaculture layers that support native ecology and biodiversity.
The four gardens include a Mediterranean space, a traditional rose garden, a potager, and an open communal studio. These are arranged across five levels and contain over 90 fruit trees such as almonds, apricots, walnuts, medlar, cobnuts, loquats, pomegranates, olives, and espalier and step-over apples, pears and plums. The garden also includes 16 grapevines. All planting follows the principles of permaculture layering, from canopy to root, where each level supports the others to increase biodiversity, improve soil health and create a thriving, balanced ecosystem.
The Mediterranean gardens on levels one and two are planted with bee-friendly, low-maintenance and drought-tolerant species. These include more than 200 lavenders, agaves, cordylines, agapanthus, crocosmia and ornamental grasses.
The Treetops rose garden on level three contains 300 mature David Austin roses growing alongside fruit trees.
The potager and kitchen garden on level four is split into two sections. Section one is a no-dig garden with more than 21 English heritage perennial vegetable varieties that are naturally pest and disease resistant. It also features medicinal herbs and pollinator-friendly plants. Section two includes six raised beds filled with heritage annual vegetables. The results of this permaculture-based organic approach can be seen in the abundant harvest, which is shared with visitors, students, neighbours and friends.
UnderTrees Studio on level five is an award-winning biophilic-designed community space, recognised at the UK Pro Landscaper Awards 2024. Monica runs free educational sessions here focused on organic growing and food sustainability. Local councillors, community groups and horticultural organisations such as SEE Org, U3A Eastwood Chapter and RHS Rayleigh Chapter regularly attend. These workshops cover permaculture principles, low-waste growing methods and how to build productive gardens in small spaces. Monica is a certified teacher with the Permaculture Association UK.
Along the garden edges are 50 metres of hugelkultur beds. These retain moisture, enrich the soil and support microbes, fungi and insects. They help strengthen the local ecosystem and provide natural pest control for fruit and vegetables.
The result is a biodiverse, productive and resilient space built entirely on organic and permaculture principles. There is no digging, no use of pesticides and no synthetic fertilisers. Instead, the garden relies on healthy soil, companion planting and a completely natural approach that invites visitors to rethink what a garden can be.
Treetops has become a much-loved part of Rayleigh’s Open Garden Trail. This year, Monica is inviting growers, gardeners and the simply curious to explore the garden up close and discover permaculture as a way of living as well as growing.
“I’ve had so many conversations with people who want to grow more of their own food but don’t know where to start,” says Monica. “Permaculture makes it simpler and more intuitive. It’s about designing spaces that feed both people and the planet.”
Behind its winding paths and layered planting lies a deeper story of biodiversity and local history. The land has been shaped to welcome insects, birds and beneficial wildlife. It now supports an abundance of species that help the garden flourish. It is a pollinator’s paradise and an educational space in one.
Visitors are welcome across the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Saturday 23 to Monday 25 August, between 10am and 5pm. Monica can host groups of up to 20 for informal talks or Q&A sessions. For those interested in visiting outside the main event dates, she can be contacted directly on 07764 902944 or by email at mondav@me.com
Treetops is one of around 20 private gardens opening as part of this year’s Rayleigh Garden Trail. Refreshments and lunches will be served at the Rayleigh Parish Centre, with all proceeds supporting the Friends of Holy Trinity, Rayleigh. Entry to the trail costs £10 per person and includes access to all participating gardens. Tickets and programmes are available from the Rayleigh Parish Office behind the church (mornings only), via the ticket line on 01268 742 215, or online at https://www.parishofrayleigh.org.uk/friends
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