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Triangle Garden Blog |
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25th April 2010: After a damp start, the weather brightened up and we enjoyed a warm spring morning at the Garden on Sunday. Today was billed as 'planting a food forest' but the Garden isn't nearly ready for that and there were loads of other things to do. We cleared one of the raised beds ready to sow some colourful annuals, and we planted wild strawberries under the soft fruit to make a good groundcover. The forget-me-nots are in full flower all over the place and look amazing so new volunteer Vicki moved some clumps outside the garden so they can be seen from the Rec. Rachel got in the river and planted a load of yellow flag irises and some bog bean. We're creating 'riffles' along the river in places - short stretches of rock and stone under the surface which churn up the water, aerating it downstream, and reducing the speed of flow upstream, allowing marginal vegetation to take hold and creating new habitats. Dotted around the sensory garden we planted some cardoons - big artichokey things - and Verbena bonariensis - which will have tall purple frothy flowers beloved of butterflies (see pics below). Rosie spent the morning tending the wishing glade, clearing the cow parsley from the centre and giving the new bluebells space to thrive. We topped up the pond which is looking very healthy - there's a huge clump of marsh marigold flowering away and the waterlily leaves are unfurling. Lastly we started to clear out the old compost bins with the help of some young skater lads who were passing and got roped in - thanks guys! The new bigger compost bins are now in place thanks to the Growing Ability Thursday group and are filling up fast. The idea is to fill one bin to the top before starting to fill the second - that way the first bin will compost down quicker and we will be able to use the finished compost without having to drag out all the fresh stuff. The hazels under the limes have taken nicely and the ferns are looking good, thanks to diligent Friday watering. The pear trees we moved last month are blossoming happily and are almost high enough to form arches as planned. The pheasant eye and hawera daffodils (see pics below) we planted last year have come out and are looking very elegant. We also discovered some cowslips that local resident Stuart had planted along the riverside footpath. Stuart is a real help to the Garden as he pops in and mows the grass and cuts the hedge every now and again. |
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28th March 2010: Undeterred by the awful forecast, we went out in force on Sunday and were rewarded by beautiful sunshine. With several new volunteers and a good crop of regulars, we managed to get through loads of enjoyable tasks including making a four storey 'bug hotel' (pics below), and planting ferns and anemones around the stepping stones. We also moved some hazels under the limes to create hazel arches over the stepping stones, and dug up several pear saplings that had been temporarily planted in the raised beds (for a few years longer than first envisaged!) and are now forming arched entrances into different areas of the garden. As well as all that, we fished some rubbish out of the river, weeded a raised bed and finished the pond deck! What a satisfying day, made all the more enjoyable by meeting some lovely new people and filling up on Sandra's homemade tealoaf. It was good to see the bulbs we had planted last autumn flowering brightly away, particularly the little blue Chionodoxa dotted about (thanks to Bowles & Wyer for donating the bulbs). Next month we'll be pulling down the old compost bins to make way for a mini food forest, and preparing the ground for a new footpath and pergola off the central circle. There'll also be seed-sowing and woodwork to be done. |
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6th March 2010: Saturday's activity day went well, if a little slowly! The weather was gorgeous unlike last Sunday when we were supposed to be doing this activity. We managed to put up four posts at the allotment, which will eventually form a pergola, over which we can grow a grapevine. We had hoped to build some raised beds of varying heights around the pergola too but the site was not quite the same dimensions as the drawing (typically) and none of the angles were right angles, so we had to spend a long time thinking afresh before we actually got to digging any holes - much to the amusement of those who turned up late, to find we'd hardly started. While the two Johns, Tom, Rachel and Sandra dug holes, pint-sized helpers Jack and Maisie were busy filling the raised beds at the other end of the allotment, supervised by Dad. Cake and doughnuts were much appreciated at tea break, thanks to John and Sandra. The Thursday Growing Ability group are going to help build the rest of the raised beds over the next few weeks, which will be at various heights to suit different users' needs. The idea is that they will provide an area similar in size to a small garden, where we can demonstrate how much veg and fruit can be grown in a small space, with minimum work. Our 'Grow Your Own' food growing workshops will be held here. Thanks to Bowles & Wyer who donated the timber. |
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28th Feb 2010: February's activity day was postponed due to bad weather, but the previous weekend, several of us did the introductory weekend of our Permaculture Design Course. We learnt about the principles of permaculture, the importance of observation, and, amongst other things, the 'parable of the chicken' - this exercise compares the battery chicken-keeping to permaculture chicken-keeping and shows how every small part of a process can be harnessed and used positively, if the initial planning has been well-thought out. Each afternoon we had a period of observation firstly as a group and then individually, which felt strange at first but threw up some interesting experiences. Here's what one of the participants had to say about the weekend: "I arrived on the Saturday morning a little apprehensive with a vague idea of what the next two days might be like. I left on the Sunday evening feeling energised, enthusiastic, positive and hopeful having learnt a lot and as an added bonus met five great women." |
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Jan 2010: January's activity day was cold but refreshing. We pruned our much-loved willow maze, and topped up the bark paths through it. We also made the pond secure by putting in a new chestnut paling fence behind the hedge we planted last year. Although the hedge is doing well it'll be another year or two before its thick enough to stop children reaching the pond unsupervised. And we finished the base of the pond deck so that when we are at the Garden, people can safely access the pond and enjoy looking for frogspawn and suchlike. We've still got the rails to do though. Last job of the day was to prune all the willow around the bmx area so it will grow long and straight and be suitable for basket weaving and other willow weaving activities. It is the most amazingly vibrant golden orange colour. Later in the week we planted some English bluebells in the wishing glade, and some winter aconites under the lime trees which are just coming into flower - beautiful yellow anemone-like flowers. The snowdrops are looking lovely too and we're looking forward to seeing all the other bulbs we put in last autumn coming up over the next few months. Spring is coming ... at last! |
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Annual Report 08-9
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