The Big Day!

Here is the Growing Garden on the morning of our big opening on June 22nd, positively glowing in the early morning sun. Sun which was to be very good to us all day, popping in and out but always accompanied by a pleasant cooling breeze so it was never too hot either for our flowers or our visitors.

And here is the patio, all ready for the fray with Michael’s herb garden in the background now complete with its bug hotel below. Lots of holes for all those solitary bees to make into homes.

And here are the cake ladies…… Elizabeth and Karen ready with LOADS of delicious cakes! I am delighted to say that we had 160 visitors through the door over the day and we raised over £1200 for the National Gardens Scheme charities.

Down in the garden Paula and Jacquie, one of our mums, were ready to tell our visitors all about the Growing Garden project…..

…not to mention Steve’s brilliant slate ‘finger fountain’ which just got itself finished the night before the opening….

Or, of course, they could also have been admiring the raised bed of tomatoes – the sign made by the children a couple of weeks ago.

Meanwhile in the ‘big’ garden next door visitors were being entertained by the Secret Life Saxophone quartet.

I am afraid that in the ten days since the opening, the salad leaves have somewhat got away from us – but the chard is going strong, providing enough for me for supper every night.

The corn and the beans are growing like mad – although I am a bit confused about what is meant to happen next! Watch this space…

The cucumbers are galloping along although I can’t see much sign of a cucumber yet….

But the new crop of radishes and leaves in the pergola planter is coming along a treat.

And – I am delighted to say that the plants in our ‘recovery ward’, all of whom had either been munched by slugs or had just not liked where they were put, are doing well. Not sure that we will get much in the way of flowers out of them this year but next year?….

We are now only three weeks away from the end of term so the children will not really get a chance to do much in the garden this summer. But once they come back in September, we will be looking at what we can grow over the winter – and get our firepit going.

Meanwhile, Paula has a group of rangers coming round soon to see what we have done and what could therefore be done elsewhere if a small space was available. If anyone else would like to come and take a look or discuss the project with Paula, please contact her at the Urban Forest Tribe.