Summer Garden Update
The summer here at Bloom has been a very different one to what we had imagined. We were planning on a garden full of wonderful women, but Covid had other ideas. So we have been trying to spread the floral love as much as possible. We’ve been busy making and selling flower bunches around Sheffield each weekend. You may have seen us at Dyson Place Market, at Zeds, or at the allotment gate. Thank you to everyone who has bought a bunch of flowers from us this Summer. We are a not-for-profit organisation so all of the money made from our flower sales goes straight back into the garden, and into developing the site into a safe space for women in our community to learn and grow together.
However, I’ve been at the garden most days and want to share with you some of the changes. In terms of flowers the dahlias and snap dragons have been the stars of the show for me. They just keep on giving! The snaps were looking a bit weedy and pathetic when I planted them out in the Spring, but they grew into really strong plants and produced the most gorgeous flowers! The dahlias have been the show stoppers, we have grown only ten plants this year, but will be packing the plot full of them next year. My favourite has been Cafe Au Last, which made it’s first appearance on the first open day since we reopened.
The back of the garden is also being transformed. We have not really tackled that area since we got the garden, so it has turned into a dense jungle of thistles, brambles and comfrey. We have slowly been chopping it back to see what lies beneath. We will be covering the ground with cardboard over the winter to suppress the weeds, ready for it to be developed in the new year. A female garden designer has kindly offered to redesign the back for us, so we are hoping to develop it into a more traditional garden. Think brick paths, climbing roses, seating area and lots of gorgeous perennial plants. We just can’t wait!
We are also really happy to welcome our amazing team of volunteers to the Bloom family. As we are growing, we are needing more support and help from local women. So we have welcomed Isobel, Meryn, Christie, Esther, and Charlotte to the team. They will be helping out at open days so hopefully they will get to meet lots of you.