Sunday 29 April 2012

Sowing the seeds at Nowton Park


A representative from our Growing Well group joined other floral enthusiasts at Nowton Park for the launch of 'Britain in Bloom' this week.

Thousands of wild seeds were sent to groups across the country to plant. The idea is that the seeds will be sown to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

In Bury St Edmunds a mix of corn poppy, corn marigold, corn chamomile, corn cockle and cornflower were sown over a designated area at Nowton Park.

The colourful flowers are hoping to attract plenty of wildlife including bees and butterflies.

Julia Rackowe, the campaign manager for Bury in Bloom said, "What a lovely way for us to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee as well as the exciting 'in bloom' season for Bury."

I am sure I can speak for us all when I say I can't wait to see the outcome. 



Judging day ideas...

The judging date is soon approaching for Bury In Bloom. 


In order to impress the judges here are some thoughts a few of us have been thinking about...

* A plant pot in every garden...

One idea has been to get all of the children in Well Street involved. Along with adult assistance it would be lovely if we could have one very inexpensive plant pot in every garden.

* A growing well flag...

As we have worked so hard to put our group together we could make a small flag to go into each garden pot (above)

* The bridal shop...

This one is a bit of a surprise!

If anyone has any further ideas please post them!

Thursday 12 April 2012

Getting hands on

Reminder - come along to the Old School Hall this weekend (14-15 April) and help to clear weeds, plant up a pot or two and celebrate the start of National Gardening Week.

Please bring tools and gloves if you have them.

If we have time, we might have a go at clearing some rubbish and weeds from around the back of Cornhill Walk too.

Weather's looking good, see you there!

Bury In Bloom launch

Several of the Growing Well team were at the Bury In Bloom launch this evening, at Bury's beautiful Unitarian Meeting House.  Stephanie Eynon from the RHS spoke about their Community Gardening programme which covers the "In Bloom" movement and the "It's Your Neighbourhood" scheme.

There were useful reminders about the core values of IYN - community participation, environmental responsibility and gardening achievement - and about using the RHS website to access all sorts of useful resources such as their plant selector and plants for pollinators.  Of particular interest at the moment is gardening in a drought.

Thank you to Julia Rackowe for the invitations!

Friday 30 March 2012

The younger members of the Growing Well team got busy yesterday cleaning up some troughs that had been donated by a neighbour who no longer needs them.  Getting stuck in with brushes and water they worked hard for a whole five minutes before Mummy had to step in and finish off!  The troughs now look brand new and are destined for the Old School Hall car park at the bottom of the street.  The lovely ladies at the Marie Curie office are going to plant them up with nasturtiums which will creep through the fence and tumble down the wall into Well Street.  They are also taking two large pots which they will fill with strawberries and tomatoes for lunchtimes.

Not wanting to leave out the other charity which resides in Well Street, a generous neighbour has bought a lovely new window box for the Samaritans office at the top end of the street.

In both cases the staff and volunteers at the charity offices will "adopt" the planters, watering and maintaing them, and even providing some of the plants.  So we have been able to involve people who work in Well Street, as well as those of us who live here.

Friday 9 March 2012

Bye Bye Holly Bush! By Rachel at Number 40...


A few weeks ago I felt very inspired by our 'Growing Well' group so I decided to get my green fingers out (with a little help from Archie.)

After moving into number 40 a few years ago, we had yet to put our own stamp on our garden, (except painting the front door and planting a box hedge out front for privacy reasons.)


After what has felt like a long cold winter, one afternoon the sun finally came out and the weather heated up, so I decided to jazz up our garden, and my main task was getting rid of our holly bush that was continually pricking our visitor's.

I stopped by the garden center to buy a range of treats to spruce up the garden.


With a little assistance from Annie, who kindly lent me a spade and some garden sheers, I was on my way...

... At first, I thought I would be able to dig the roots up... no luck. It was then, I had found out they had in fact invaded an old pipe that lay underneath the soil.


I then decided to get the saw out. This help get the bulk of the holly bush down but the route was still thoroughly grounded.

We then borrowed our next door neighbour (Sue's) axe. Still no luck of getting out the stump.

Hopefully we will get it out once and for all by a professional when we have some black railings put up shortly.

Until then we managed to work around it - by accessorizing with a few pots and plants...  and this is now our garden.


I even found a little time to give the back a slight bit of TLC too.


It was great fun and nice to contribute to the look of the street too.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Gardening in a drought

Hearing in the news this week that we are in the middle of a drought crisis, I was pleased to find information from the RHS about gardening in drought conditions.  Care for the environment is a key component of the It's Your Neighbourhood assessment (and something we should all be thinking about anyway to make the best of our gardens whilst using as little water as possible.)

  1. Soil cultivation is of key importance. Gardeners should dig in large amounts of garden compost, manure or other organic matter. This will help improve soil structure and in turn will help water retention and water availability to plants.
  2. Plant new plants when they are still small. They will then develop much greater resilience by adapting to their conditions from a young age. Planting in autumn or as early as possible in spring could also be beneficial: the sooner roots can start exploring the soil for water before dry weather arrives, the better.
  3. Mulching after planting can help limit water loss from soil. This will help the retention of moisture while plants establish. All new plants should be thoroughly watered and kept watered in the first season in dry periods, to ensure they establish well. Once established they will become more drought tolerant.
  4. Choose the right plant for a particular garden soil. If a plant is growing in the soil most suited to its needs it will be more tolerant of varying climatic conditions. It will also be more resistant to pests and disease. RHS Plant Finder is an ideal tool for gardeners wanting to select plants suitable for their local soil conditions, and also for the particular aspect where the plants will grow.
For the full article see here

Saturday 11 February 2012

Wildlife friendly ideas

Have been reading a really handy little book:  "Gardener's World Magazine: 101 ideas for a wildlife friendly garden" bearing in mind that the It's Your Neighbourhood scheme looks for care for the environment in our planting and gardens.

Some of the best ideas are below.

You can also get lots of information from the RHS website, such as this brilliant list of "plants for pollinators"  Plants for Pollinators


WILDLIFE FRIENDLY GARDENING


Make fluff balls for nesting birds to collect nest material from.  Use natural materials in neutral colours.  Fluff, wool, thin strips of fabric, hair, down, feathers, shredded paper etc.  Make into a loose ball and hang in the garden from late winter onwards.

Solitary bees need nest sites.  Fill an open fronted untreated wooden box with short lengths of cane 7-9mm across with the holes facing outwards.  Place in a sheltered sunny spot angled slightly downwards.

Put a lacewing hibernation box in the garden to encourage this pest-eating insect.  They are available from garden centres.  Put fresh straw inside in mid-June.  In very cold snaps, bring into a cool shed and put out by March.  They like a warm sunny sheltered spot away from trees and buildings, facing away from the prevailing wind.  On top of a post or fence is ideal, near plenty of vegetation.  You can buy an attractant chemical to help them find the box.

Butterfly friendly plants: petunias, trailing lobelias, white alyssum, million bells, bur marigold, verbena x hybrid, zonal pelargoniums, twinspur.

Give butterflies a drink.  They like a shallow saucer of muddy water in a sunny spot, with flat dark stones nearby for warming in the sun.  Adding sugar or a very small amount of animal manure to the water adds extra nutrition.

Make a wood pile for bugs.  Use fresh logs still with the bark.  Dig a trench so that some of the logs are buried.  Allow to rot naturally and add new logs on top as necessary.

To keep ponds clear of algae naturally, use barley straw.  Use 50g of fresh barley straw per sqm of pond surface.  Net loosely into a ball and float on the pond surface.  Start in early spring before algae takes hold.  Once working (6 weeks) the effect should last several months).



WILDLIFE FRIENDLY PLANTS (FOR HOT DRY SITES)


Hebes

Lavenders

Wallflowers

Honesty

Sunflowers

Heliotropes

Calendula (pot marigold)

Aliums

Scabious

Bergamot

Sea holly (Erygnium)

Black-eyed Susan – rudbeckia fulgida

Michaelmas daisies

Sunday 5 February 2012

Snow business!


Well Street was blanketed in snow overnight last night and we all woke up to a pristine sparkling wonderland. 

Aware that snow can be as much of a danger as a delight, as one or two residents began clearing their paths and the pavement outside their homes, more joined in and before long (with the aid of Sue's biscuits) the entire pavement was cleared on the eastern side of the street.  Rosy stepped in with a supply of salt and now we have a safe pavement, as well as a beautiful snowy street.

A snowy Well Street

As Saturday evening came, the temperature dropped further... suddenly we were greeted with a white blanket of snow!

While this rare event was happening it was a perfect opportunity to capture the street in the snow! Here are some images!



Saturday 4 February 2012

Making a start

Rachel, Lynda and Annie braved the cold today to sort through some unused pots and troughs donated by Well Street residents.  Ably assisted by the youngest member of the group, and Alfie the puppy!  Tim and Lynda later collected yet more pots and tubs which will be used in some of the communal areas that we hope to look after.

It was really inspiring to see how, in such a short time, our project has strengthened links between neighbours as we all worked together.

Our Facebook page...


Rosy has kindly set us up with our very own Facebook page.

If you have Facebook and would like to share our progress please join the group here...

Join Facebook Page >

Latest Photos from the start of the project




Friday 3 February 2012

Last nights committee meeting...

Last nights committee meeting was held at our chairmans house.

Lynda did a fantastic job of accommodating us all, and kindly provided some drinks and snacks.

We discussed the progression from the last meeting.

Since then, we now have a brand, this blog, a twitter account, a wonderful facebook page that Rosy has created plus we have arranged a meeting to set up our bank accounts on Saturday morning.

We also discovered than a few of the Well St residence already have some window boxes that are not being used, so in order to help those who may not be able to get their own boxes themselves, we can donate to them and help with the set up.

What we are beginning to realise is that it is not about making our gardens look pretty, but it is bringing people we may have never have got round to meeting together, and helping our community.

After-all many of us have been here for sometime, or will be, so isn't it a beautiful thought that by signing up for something like this scheme we not only get to know our neighbours, but we get to make some new friends.

There were hints of this at our Royal Wedding party back in 2011, however this was just one event. Now we have the committee the regular reminder of community spirit is truly with us.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

How you can help us!


Help offered 
 
Watering a neighbour’s tubs or pots when they away

Helping a neighbour with their garden on an ongoing basis

Clearing and weeding communal areas as part of a one-off work party

Planting up communal tubs or troughs

Watering communal tubs or troughs

Sharing gardening knowledge with beginners and giving practical help

Spare greenhouse space to share with a neighbour

I can shop for someone at the garden centre, or offer them a lift when I visit

I have/will have some spare plants to share

I can help with fundraising ideas/events

Other:

Other:



Help needed

I would appreciate help with watering pots or tubs when I am away

I need help with looking after my front garden or window boxes on an ongoing basis

I can’t to get to a garden centre and would appreciate a lift, or someone to shop for me

I am new to gardening and would love some advice and practical help

I am interested in using spare greenhouse space

If anyone has any unwanted plants I could give them a good home

Other:

Other:


GROWING WELL NEWSLETTER


Issue 1 – January 2012


First meeting a great success!
13 residents were joined by Debi from Bury Bridal Rooms at the meeting on 19th January and real progress was made with setting up the group.  Ian (No 29) came up with the name for the group: “Growing Well”.  Rachel (No 40) has created our new logo and Twitter account and Rosy (No 29) is organising a Facebook page.

An informal committee was elected consisting of: Lynda (No 30) – Chair; Annie (No 34) – Secretary; Mark (No 27) – Treasurer; Rosy (No 29) – Archivist; and Rachel (No 40) – Publicity.


How to get involved
Now that the group is up and running it’s time to find out who would like to get involved in practical ways, and which residents could use a little help with all things green fingered.

Please let us know by using the form on the back of this newsletter.


Window boxes
Many of us in the street don’t have front gardens but if you would like to “get growing” as part of Growing Well, it can be in all sorts of ways – maybe just a pot on your doorstep or perhaps a window box.  We have been talking to “Wood ‘n’ Things” – a social enterprise based in Bury who have agreed to make wooden window boxes at a great price if we order more than five.  As a guide, a 2ft box made of tanalised (treated against rotting) wood would be £35.  They can be made to any dimensions so if you are interested in getting a no obligation quote for your requirements please fill in the form on the back of this newsletter.  That said please note that your choice of window box and where you buy it from is entirely up to you!


Fundraising
If we are given permission to include the rear of Cornhill Walk in our efforts, perhaps by way of installing troughs and tidying up the bushes already there, we will need a small fund.  Money could also be used to buy a window box and plants for the Samaritans office or spruce up the Marie Curie car park.  All ideas for fundraising are welcome, and if you wish to make a personal contribution, you can do this anonymously via Mark (No 27).


Next meeting
Lynda has kindly offered to host the next planning meeting on Thursday 2nd February.  Everyone is welcome but please let Annie know in advance so that we can make sure we all fit in!

Annie: annie.page@btinternet.com  01284 767529

Welcome to our blog...


Back in 2011 a few of us got together to walk around the gardens of Well Street.

With this years Bury In Bloom just around the corner, we decided to create a committee.

Our first meeting was held at Ounce House last week, and our notes are to follow on the next post.  We decided on the name 'Growing Well' as we wanted to mention the street name within the groups name.

We hope you enjoy reading about our progress.

Growing Well.