This Month in the Gardens

When does Spring start? Meteorological seasons offer a simple and consistent way of dividing the year. In the UK, meteorological spring always begins on 1 March and ends on 31 May. Looking at some of the pictures members have taken, it looks like we are getting there. One feels that the gardens are now waking up, and we look forward to the new season with planting and seeing more colours.

Frog Spawn in the Wild Garden Pond

A Birthday

And some colour supplied by our members.

This Month Liz Vivyan has given us an insight into what got her interested in MeGA and what keeps her motivated.

What first inspired you to get involved with the gardening group?

When we first moved to these houses, there was a young ad hoc gardening group which met on a Sunday morning. In 2018, the City Council was putting together a bid to the National Heritage Lottery Fund to restore and improve the rather neglected and dilapidated Memorial Gardens. They needed to demonstrate that there was strong local community support for their plans. We organised a very well attended public meeting in the library & MeGA was formed with the aim of being a 'critical friend' supporting and influencing the Lottery bid The gardening group was sort of a spin-off in a way, which has now completely taken over. The lottery bid was successful and the work's been done, and we had quite a lot to do with influencing that, which was good. Now that element of that work is over, we're now much more of a gardening group. A flourishing garden group as well.

How long have you been volunteering? 

It was about 2018 when we started the organisation. We had a public meeting. I think it was the end of 2018, or thereabouts. So, since then, seven years.

And do you have a favourite part of the garden?  

I like the rockery and the wildlife garden.

What one gardening skill or piece of knowledge have you gained since you joined? 

I knew quite a bit anyway, but I certainly learn a lot from others.  I think probably the skills I've learned have been the wildlife skills because the temptation is to keep things tidy but you have to say no, we're going to leave this to grow up over the winter and die back, it'll give a habitat for something.  You learn what habitats you're providing, which has been good.

 And what do you enjoy most about gardening as part of the community? 

Well, I think it's being part of the community. You meet so many different people, and this group, although there are quite a lot of local people, there are people that have joined and been consistently supportive and involved from all over the area, really. There are people you might not meet in your normal life. It provides support and companionship for lots of people.

What does volunteering mean to you? I think it's good because, as volunteers, you make a commitment. I was also taught by my mother that if you're involved in something, you've got to stay committed to it. You don't dip in and dip out. So what I think volunteering means to me is that it's something that you enjoy doing. You don't have to do it, but you make a commitment to it and try to make it consistent. Involving the rest of the group as well, I think that's quite important.

Thank you, Liz.

Until next month, happy gardening to you all.