Big Bloom - New Garden Progress!

Since the announcement of our new garden, we have been working so hard to make preparations ahead of next year. We wanted to share some of the progress that has been made so far by our staff and volunteers.

In the run up to our first Big Bloom work day, the Bloom staff came together to make the place safe! It was so overgrown that you couldn’t even walk around it, let alone sit down and have a cuppa anywhere. So, we armed ourselves with shears and loppers and cut a safe path all the way around the site, so people could explore.

On our first work day we welcomed 21 people to the new garden. It was such a fun day and everyone was so enthusiastic about clearing the space. Jim came down from the allotment society to help us strim the long grass and we had different small teams working in keys areas. We managed to cut back a HUGE snowberry hedge, cleared the orchard ready for bulb planting and chopped down loads of ivy to unveil a beautiful on stone wall.

We also had a few people visit us who remember the garden before, when it was another community garden and even before that when it was actually an old farm. It was fantastic hearing everyone’s stories and memories and getting a better idea of the space’s history. We also had a fantastic opportunity to talk to our community about what they would like to see from the garden and what they would like us to provide. Some ideas were; woodland crafts, forest school, parents and babies groups, willow/hazel weaving, yoga sessions and much more. We are working very hard behind the scenes to raise money for the new garden and to secure funding for its development. We launched a fundraising campaign recently to help us along the way, so if you would like to donate and help us you can do so here.

We also have a few of our very talented volunteers helping us digitally map out the space and plan it’s layout, so that we can make the most out of what we have already. We will keep you updated. In the new year, we will also be recruiting for a new volunteer team to help us look after this new garden. So if you are interested get in touch via the volunteer form.