A new look for Siam Gardens

It has been 12 months in the making, and now Siam Gardens has been officially reopened with a new centrepiece and a new look.

All of the work in Weavers Piece – Siam Gardens – is related to the silk industry which still flourishes in Sudbury.

The tree carving represents a silk worker holding up skeins of silk. This was carved from the tree that was being suppressed by the yew tree and the position of the tree carving was determined by the branches and what could be made of them.

The structure in the garden is an interpretation on a loom. The weave pattern on the bottom was produced by Humphries Weaving for Watts Studio. This required the design to be interpreted from old black and white photographs. The back panel of the structure is intended to represent threads in the colours of the base pattern. This is made up of text which is only apparent on close inspection!

The structure was intended to be seen from outside the garden and to encourage, as with the tree carving, inquisitive visitors to come into the garden to see what is there. The back tiles include panels from Bulmer Brick and Tile and bird tiles from Smoke and Fire (Darsham).

The Dye Garden has been laid out with a new path through the area behind the structure. This allows both for visitors to explore and also to make future maintenance of the borders simpler!

Sudbury in Bloom help to maintain various planted areas around Sudbury and work with volunteers and other groups to make the most of the town’s floral assets. We hope that you enjoy your visit to the garden which sits on the route between the Heritage Centre at the town hall and Gainsborough House.

The work was supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government without which it would not have been possible.

The development of weavers’ piece has been supported by The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Pocket Park Grant.
Project management sponsored by SB Surveyors and with support from Babergh District Council and Sudbury Town Council.
Planting design by Herbaculture CIC.
Leaflet design by DL Design and Print and Motivation Matters.
Thanks also to sponsors including Bulmer Brick and Tile, Keyline and Smoke and Fire (Darsham) and
other individual contributors.
Contractors including John Moore Tree Services, Escar UK Bronze, Activlives, A J Smith and D J Waspe. Plan and explanatory panels by Robin Drury.