This Month in the Gardens April

This month, Richard has kindly offered to be interviewed.

So what got you involved in the gardening group?

For me, it was when I met Gina. She moved in with me about eight or nine years ago, and she was a keen gardener, and we didn't have a garden, just a backyard. Gina had been in the park and said, "It could really do with some help tidying up." She met Liz Vivyan, and the two of them decided to make a go of tidying up the beds.  I joined as part of the support. 


And so, how long have you been doing that volunteering?

 I don't remember, it must be 8 or 9 years. It's around that time, because we were the first ones in, and we started for some reason on a Monday. It started as quite a small local group, and I said to Gina, I'll come and help, but I’m not a gardener. I think there were about 7or 8 people when we started. It was just basically local people. The council said to us that there was an area of the ground that they didn't look after, which was a big rockery, which came as a surprise. So, at first, that's what we said we would look after. And we just had our own hand tools. We didn't ask the council for anything, and we just started on a Monday, and it was quite clear fairly quickly that every Monday, people wanted to meet up.

So, do you have a favourite part of the garden? 

No, I'm not really a gardener. I just like seeing the garden tidy. I just get out there and do a bit, cut and trim the edges, tidy the paths. So, I don't have a particular bit I like; the parks are looking nice, so it's the overall impression of the park. Which I think is lovely. I worked in the parks department, so it's sort of relevant to that.

What one gardening skill do you think you've learned?

I have no gardening experience at all. I've done a little bit of pruning now, but if anybody says, show me how to prune, I would be very embarrassed. But we have had a little bit of training for the hand tools that the council very kindly offered. We've had the training, of course, we've never used it yet, but a lawnmower has turned up that looks like a good bit of kit I'd like to have a go at.  I'm going to get it out soon and ask you if I can use it.

What do you enjoy most about taking part in the community garden? 

Well, the word "community ", I think it is nice to see the garden, I think you wouldn't do it just for that reason. I think you do it because there's now a group of us, sometimes up to 20 people, all of us have got to know each other. We don’t all meet up when we are gardening, we chat while we garden, but we all meet up and talk once the tools are stored and go for a cup of tea, and a biscuit and cake. I would guess that if you ask most people, the tea and cake is as much a reason for doing it. It's the social side, getting to know people. 
A lot of us are retired, others have got other things that bring us together. But it breaks down barriers, so I think that alone makes it a good reason for going. 


 What does volunteering mean to you? 

Well, I think it's finding something that you enjoy doing. But also, it's an absolute benefit. So, I wouldn't just do the gardening if it didn't give me something. It's got to be 2 sided, and that sounds selfish, doesn't it? But I think if you're going to do it long term, it needs to be something you enjoy doing, that has a benefit to a community or a group of people, and that's why I like doing it.

 Thank you Richard.

What's been happening in the gardens

So April has at last seen some sunny, warmish and very warm days. We hope there is a lot more to come. The gardens are bursting with colour, red and yellow tulips, colour in the borders, blossom and the trees starting to come into full leaf.

Clearing, weeding and planting continue, and we look forward to all that summer colour. Below are some pictures taken over the past month by some of our team.

Anyone happy to share cake recipes, and I will happily post them here with lovely pictures. Go on you know you want to.

Poppies in the Wild Garden

Some of the team

Evening in the gardens

Colour in the borders