Recycle for County Durham (Durham County Council) are running their sunflower and pumpkin growing competition again this year!
County Durham Schools and community groups can get involved over the summer in growing the tallest sunflower or the largest pumpkin, for a chance to win a £100 voucher for gardening equipment for the school or group. To enter the competition please email [email protected] with your school/group and contact name and how many people will be involved by Saturday 12 May and we’ll send you free seeds and more competition information. The competition will be judged in October 2018. Happy sowing!
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Gardener's social, soaking up the 22 degrees weather. Glorious! Neighbours meeting each other and making friends.
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending an event arranged by Merryoaks WI on 'Edible flowers and herbal teas', which was presented by Dianne Brown of Polemonium Plantery. The presentation centred on growing a range of plants which can be used fresh or dried and stored to provide organic teas and fresh salads.
The highlight for me was sampling the different varieties of mint. Who knew there is a chocolate peppermint plant that tastes and smells of mint chocolate, two fruity flavoured mints called 'Jessica's Sweet Pear,' and Strawberry Mint and lastly Vietnamese fish mint! If you are interested in meeting Dianne, you will have an opportunity at the Neville's Cross Ecofest! Ecofest 10th June 2018, St John's Church, Crossgate Peth Neville's Cross Merryoaks WI - Meetings take place every second Tuesday of the month at 7pm. It costs £3 per session if you are not a member. Polemonium Plantery Many congratulations to Susan and Glen Walker from the North East Humanists who organised a delightful plant sale in aid of the charity Equal Arts in the heart of Neville's Cross. There were a selection of delicious home made cakes and hot drinks.
The Walkers have a wonderful garden including a wildlife pond and a chicken coop. Also of interest was the living/sustainable drive-way which featured spring bulbs and a lawn that was supported by gropla. Susan was delighted to announce "thanks everyone for making this a succesful event we raised £178.60 for Equal Arts". Thanks to the Walkers for inviting the community to their lovely home and for organising such a lovely event. https://www.northeast-humanists.org.uk https://www.equalarts.org.uk Our first Gardener's breakfast meeting at the Duke of Wellington Pub, as a great success, we had a great turn out and it was wonderful that people from all different sections of our community attended and contributed their thoughts and experiences.
We discussed what we'd like to achieve as a group. Themes included:- Help with digging due to physical impairment Benefitting wildlife What will be available for children Meeting neighbours and becoming friends Fundraising opportunities Community gardens Bring our neighbourhood closer Planting pollinator plants Advice exchange Permaculture Growing veggies to eat Social trips to each others gardens Improving the appearance of Neville's Cross Flowering plants At the end of the meeting we asked people to write on a poster with their ideas on "What I Want From A Community Garden..." - Wildlife & pond - To be self-sustained (food-wise) - To learn new things & meet new people - Tasty organic vegetables - Picnic area - Growing vegetables & herbs - Learning to compost - Knowledge - What to grow / when to grow - What works in our locale - Plant swaps - Sustainability ideas (low water / reduced use of plastic) - Bees - Plant swap & herb garden - Sensory garden - Japanese garden - Working with nature - Lots of signatures for support on letter / petition |
AuthorMandeep Smith, novice gardener! Archives
July 2018
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