We've got a new garden!!
The cat is out of the bag - we have a new garden!
Photo by Alina Trifan.
This had actually been in the works for a while, so it feels so great to be able to share the news with our community. The new garden is on the same allotment site as the original Bloom garden and it is 5 plots big aka MASSIVE! The garden has always been a community plot and has been managed, previously, by a range of organisations. However, it has been vacant for a while now, so the council have been looking for an existing organisations to take over its management. The garden consists of a large orchard, a woodland area and an open space. It is very green, secluded and quiet. It has some old structures and features remaining from previous owners, some of which can be restored and some of which need to be knocked down - I’m looking at you three-sided composting toilet. This garden will have a very different feel to our flower growing plot and we are hoping to transform it into a pleasure garden and green resource for our community.
The garden is actually located next to the entrance gate, but access is currently only through the lanes of the allotment. This is something we are hoping to change. The plan is to put in a gate on the external allotment fence so that we can have access (including wheelchair access) to the new garden from the road. The council had agreed to this proposal, but it is something that we will need to fundraise for. If you would like to donate to help us transform this magical space, you can do so here.
As the plot has been vacant for a while, it is very overgrown and has some enormous trees and shrubs that need tackling (if anyone knows a tree surgeon that would be up for helping us, please get in touch!) There is a lot of work that need to be done on the plot to get in ready for planning and planting. With that in mind, we will be having some work days to help us get on top of it. Our first work day will be on Saturday 15th October from 1pm - 4:30pm. This day is to help clear and prepare our newly acquired community garden. It is very overgrown, so we will be working together to chop, clear, dig and prepare the space. We will be welcoming all who are happy to help to this work day - come one, come all! Currently, the garden is very overgrown and uneven so please wear sturdy shoes, long trousers and bring any tools and gloves you have. If you have any petrol powered tools that you'd be happy to use, please bring them along. We will have tea and cake to keep us fuelled. If you’d like to come along, please sign up to our eventbrite so we can track numbers. Hope to see you there.
The plan for the garden is currently in its infancy and we want to hear from you about what you would like to see! Please get in touch with any ideas you have. We are hoping to make use of the abundance of fruit trees and we would love to team up with other organisations to make fun and interesting things happen.
With love and thanks to Alina Trifan for capturing our new garden.