A little while back I wrote a piece called Beauty Behind Closed Doors, talking about the wonder of finding the doors to a building I had often peeped into open to the public for a wonderful art installation. The installation highlighted the beauty of nature taking back its rightful place from man, the juxtaposition of nature and the man made and the beauty in the broken.

I am delighted that the project is now continuing, but in an altered form. Now the house, which I have discovered is from the 19th century, is the site of art installations and an urban garden. A few weeks back locals were encouraged to take their seeds and cuttings there and these seeds and cuttings are now taking root. The urban garden experiments with techniques, reusing plastic bottles, old tires and many other materials (like the bath below) that are otherwise seen as waste and therefore useless. It is place where people who are interested can be inspired by techniques that they can use themselves.

I popped by today and the house is still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever, its peeling paintwork and bowing metalwork juxtaposed with the dry grass growing from its walls, leaving me speechless. Despite the intense heat that we have been having in Oaxaca, combined with the lack of rain, the plants are flourishing and vegetables are growing.  I feel inspired extra to set up my own roof garden, moving myself a little closer to nature and more self-sufficient living.

Susannah Rigg is a freelance writer and Mexico specialist. Her work has been featured in BBC Travel, CNN Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, AFAR and The Independent among others . Check out her portfolio here. Contact Susannah by email, info [at] mexicoretold [dot] com and join her on Instagram and Twitter.