The Speaking Garden is a multimedia installation inspired by the British Library’s Unearthed: The Power of Gardening exhibition, Leeds Libraries special collections and the gardeners and growers of Leeds, created by Buffalo Sound Design.

You can expect a peaceful space for reflection with colourful projected visuals and a soothing soundscape that includes a growing ‘garden of voices’ who will share what gardening or growing means to them and what they’ve learned that they would pass on to others.

The Speaking Garden will be in Room 700, Leeds Central Library from 10th September 2025 - 29th October 2025. It is open during usual library opening times.

If gardening or gardens means something to you, we’d like your voice to be part of The Speaking Garden! We’re in the process of collecting the seeds for our garden of voices. We’re gathering audio clips of the people of Leeds answering two questions:

Why do gardens or gardening mean something to you?

What have you learned from gardening that you’d like to pass on to others?

If you’d like your voice to be part of The Speaking Garden, you can record yourself on your phone or computer answering our two questions and send it as an attachment or link to Leeds.Libraries@Leeds.gov.uk.