Great news we have had our first item swapped on the group and spring hasn't sprung yet! Ms. Pope, a keen gardener and wildlife enthusiast from Neville's Cross had posted an advert for a large compost maker and hedgehog house! It was great to see that Ms Meredith of Crossgate Moor had replied to the advert within the hour and now has a new hedgehog house in her garden! It has been reported by the RSPB that there were 30 million hedgehogs in the UK in the 1950's and now there are less than a million. This is especially tragic when you consider that hedgehogs are so helpful to us gardeners as they are a natural form of pest control. My husband Matthew (pictured on the left seen showing our daughter hedgehog food), bought a hedgehog house last Autumn and he wore latex gloves when handling the bedding that went inside the house to avoid leaving human scent. Matthew says "It is important not to overfill the house as the hedgehogs like to bring in their own bedding, so I've left out some meadow hay and some dried leaves in our garden for the hedgehog to retrieve itself". The nightvision wildlife camera we recently bought it ready to capture an image of our prickly friend once it is out of hibernation! To advertise your own items or do see what else has become available please get into contact either by email or via facebook group 'Neville's Cross Gardeners and plant swap,' to advertise your gardening equipment, plants or seeds. We are a friendly group and we are open to your ideas, why not join in the fun and keep up to date with our quest to establish a community garden :-)
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Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Hannah Murray Leslie of Growing Durham, a what a very inspiring and helpful she was! Growing Durham is a project that encourages and provides support for people to get involved in growing some of their own food. In the quest in creating a gardening community, I thought it would wise to meet with Growing Durham and learn about existing community groups and how they came to be. Hannah told me a great story centred in Todmorden, a town in West Yorkshire. They started an 'Incredible Edible Movement,' and all with no paid staff, no building and no public funding but through what they called a "radical community building in action." (They sound like my kind of people!) It started by one person having a herb garden in their front garden - and the owners erected a sign inviting people to help themselves. The idea took off and slowly it had grown into a full-blown movement where the whole community took to the idea and resulted in the residents growing their own veggies. The town of Todmorden is now a tourist attraction! (The local school even has it own aqua-garden!) The group in Todmorden wrote: "We are passionate people working together for a world where all share responsibility for the future wellbeing of our planet and ourselves. We aim to provide access to good local food for all, through • working together • learning – from field to classroom to kitchen • supporting local business" Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could replicate this success in Neville's Cross, Durham? Please do leave a comment or join and share your ideas on how to build our network or join our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/795891187284739/ Growing Durham: http://fooddurham.net/growing-durham/what-is-growing-durham Incredible Edible: https://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk A renowned botanist, who is based in Neville's Cross will showcase his national collection of Corydalis this Easter Sunday (Sunday, April 1st). Brian Whitton, a retired Durham University professor, has hundreds of the plants which he has been colllecting for over 20 years, including species from all over the world. Brian is welcoming visitors to his garden, at 74 Archery Rise, Durham City, on Sunday, from 2pm to 4pm. Please email Brian to notify him of your intention to visit. Email. [email protected] |
AuthorMandeep Smith, novice gardener! Archives
July 2018
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