One blustery Friday morning in May, Garden Club members set about clearing the waist high weeds smothering the fruit bushes in the Forest Garden. Pulling nettles, cow parsley and goose grass out of the rich, moist earth to uncover half-hidden bushes, discovering snails in unexpected colours and seeing the beginnings of this year's berries, was an oddly satisfying experience on a wet morning.
Activity continues in the Forest and Community Gardens to help plants and shrubs recover from the long period during lockdown when it was not possible for the volunteers to work. More membrane has been removed in the Forest Garden to give the rhubarb and day lilies chance to spread and thrive, and the currants (pictured above) have been thoroughly weeded, opening them up to the light and air. The Cercis (Judas Tree) is nearly in flower with a touch of colour coming through.
Garden Club members have spent several sunny Friday mornings clearing the Forest Garden and rediscovering forgotten plants amongst the undergrowth. It’s been instructive to see how the garden has evolved over the past year with minimal human intervention. Some plants have held their own while others have disappeared amongst the more vigorous weeds around them. As we cleared one sheltered spot of nettles and brambles, the unmistakable scent of mint hung in the air, reminding us of the mint that was planted several years ago.
April is always a busy time for Friday Garden Club. The Forest and Community Gardens have been waking up since early spring with lovely blossom on the almond and apricot trees, ferns unfurling and sparkling blue and white anemones carpeting the ground. A few nettles and brambles are being cleared to allow shrubs, trees, herbs and perennials to hold their own against these more rampant plants.
Treasurer Andrew Green outlines how covid-19 and other factors have affected the Triangle Garden's financial situation:
The year was dominated by the impact of COVID-19 on our activities, and those effects are likely to continue well into the next financial year.
Here's an update from our community events team on what we have and haven't been able to do this year:
As you can imagine this piece on events and workshops is going to be quite short but we hope you enjoy it and perhaps get inspired to join our merry band on the events committee!
Here's a short update on what's been happening at Ransom's Pavilion this year by Vicky Wyer of the TCG premises and safety committee:
After 2018’s injection of funding and redecoration TLC to our wonderful little Pavilion, we were able to really capitalise on its community value last year with a full calendar of workshops planned by Tuuli Parker Jewellery and dye-plant experts Nature’s Rainbow, not to mention the children’s parties that usually book out weekend afternoons. So much promise and so great to see the Pavilion finally being used by the community to its full potential!
COVID -19 has had an impact on every aspect of our work at Triangle Garden,including the Garden Club. Here Garden Committee chair Fiona Dolman reflects on the year more broadly and also talks about the impact of COVID on our activities during 2020:
If you've been wondering what's been happening at our Growing Ability projects since we closed the service in March, we have now reopened (in July) and here's an update from Project Manager Liz McElroy:
Never before has our project been of such benefit and importance to so many people in our community. With the life changing effects we have all been immersed in throughout the pandemic, individuals have come together to form stronger bonds of solidarity and register their appreciation towards the continued support and development of our projects.
In a short blog post Chair of Trustees Vicky Wyer considers some of the positives that have emerged over the last year:
This is the year the Triangle Garden should have been celebrating its 20th anniversary and the Pavilion its 10th. However it’s never good to dwell on what might have been, and a missed anniversary is a very small problem to have had. Let’s focus on the positives:
