Category Archives: News from the Garden

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2013

Hi folks!
Hope you’ve had a lovely break and we’ll be back in the garden blowing away the cobwebs and making some 2014 garden resolutions (tidier polytnnel! more soup cooking! and more!!) on Saturday 4th January 10-2. It’s time to get off the sofa and back in the garden.
Lots more exciting newsw for 2014 coming soon!!
Lucy
 

Countdown to Christmas (carols!!)

December 12, 2013

Just a few day until our gorgeous Christmas event!! We’ll be quite literally roasting chestnuts on an open fire, singing carols to the stars, enjoying hot soup with veg from the garden, hot and spicy local cider, toasting marshmallows and MORE!!  

Next Weds 6-7:30. EVERYONE WELCOME!!

Tis the season…

December 3, 2013

Here’s three things to be to jolly about!!

This Saturday wreath making!
willow wreath making
Which is going to be really fun and if you could bring any ivy, greenery and especially things with berries along that would be really helpful!
THEN on December 18th
carols poster
Thanks to Tony Wilhelm for illustrating this lovely poster, the keen eyed will recognise some of the lovely veg from the Harvest Fair Poster!  This is going to be a lovely and laid back evening with plenty of singing and chatting and eating of tasty things and staying warm by the bonfire. They’ll be songsheets so everyone can join in and musical accompaniment to (most of) the carols.
Please invite friends and family and tell your neighbours and print this poster out and put it up in your windows, nurseries or anywhere!! AND if you’d like to help on the night handing out song sheets, or serving soup or drinks then let me know – just 30 mins or 1 hour would be lovely.  It’s help from you that makes this all possible!!  Also let me know if you can bake a cake or mince pies!
And finally we are hardy souls but even we don’t like gardening when it’s frosty, cold and dark  so we’re moving into winter opening times for December and January 11am-3am every Wednesday AND committed though we are we’ll be closed Christmas day and New Year’s Day.
Oh and we didn’t win either or the awards we were shortlisted for, but they went to lovely folks and we know we are all winners, I mean, awards are great but pizza and watermelons and having all you guys on board is much much better.
See you in the garden!
Lucy

Winter Wonderfulness

November 18, 2013

Hi everyone

Last week was our first frost in the a garden but we celebrated it by eating one of our last watermelons from the tunnel.  Lots of lovely fun winter things are afoot in the garden to get involved with!

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 Firstly we are having a Christmas wreath making workshop day on Saturday 7th December 10-2. It’s just £10 including materials and you get to take home a lovely and eco-friendly wreath made out of natural materials for your door.  Everyone is welcome along to this as participants or helpers and if any of you have armfuls of ivy, holly, pines comes or lovely evergreen shrubs it’s be amazing if you drop them off at the garden or let me know where to come and get them from.  We are running it on a drop in basis, we’ll be under cover but wrap up warm and please come before 1pm.

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 Secondly we’ll be celebrating the nearly darkest night on Wednesday December 18th 6-7:30  with fire and light at our Christmas celebration.  After the joy of the fireworks night we’ll have another bonfire to keep you warm as well as more toasting marshmallows, roasting chestnuts, loads more hot and tasty soup and hot and spicy apple juice and cider.  There’ll be a veg raffle and MOST importantly they’ll be songs – we’ll be lifting our voices and filling our hearts with cheer as we sing Christmas carols under the stars.  EVERYONE is welcome along to this free event, please bring friends and family and torches and lanterns so you can see the words, and a mug for the soup so we don’t have to use too many disposable cups.  And please let me know if you know anyone who’d like to perform some songs.  I will of course be blowing my own trumpet with my friends and we’ll be providing a brass band backing to the carols but welcome any and all other musicians to join in or do a few numbers.

 AND Diane has come up the FAB idea of a Golden Hill Community Garden Calender!  They’ll cost £4.50 and include lots of the gorgeous pictures of the garden throughout the year.  Please get in touch ASAP if you’d to support your local community garden and buy a copy so we know how many to order or if you’ve got any lovely lovely pictures that we can’t possible leave out then send them to me by Weds if possible.  Great Christmas gift idea!

 Please note we’ll be moving into our winter opening hours for December and January 11am-3pm

 And finally we’ve been shortlisted for in the Bristol Green Volunteers Awards forBest Food Project and *blushes* Best Green Volunteer Coordinator (!).  The ceremony is next Thursday 28th 7:30pm-9:00pm.  Last year we absolutely stormed it and were by far the biggest and loudest rabble there, it’d be great if we could do that again and tickets are free you can get more info and book them here: 

http://www.bnhc.org.uk/home/jobsvolunteering/green-volunteers-awards.html.  

It’d be BRILLIANT to add some more awards to our shelf but winning isn’t everything and also it’s great to go along and meet other people doing similar ace work, all pat other other on the back, clap lots and eat crisps!

See you in the garden or at the awards night!

 Lucy

 Lucy Mitchell

Community Project Worker
The Golden Hill Community Garden: Horfield’s Accessible Allotment and Edible Forest
07506 905 394

FABULOUS FIREWORKS!

November 4, 2013

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Hi everyone

Thank you to everyone who came along on Saturday out to watch (other people’s) fabulous fireworks!! It was a lovely night full of delicious soup and smiling people and yes it was a bit blowy but we were so lucky with the weather AND we took £252.82!!  Especially thank you to all the people who helped make the night so fab especially those who made the soup, did the the pizzas, provided lights, made music, took pictures, built and tended the fire and served the hot drinks in ‘challenging conditions’.  (AND thank you to everyone for not bringing sparklers, falling into the bonfire, or breaking ankles on the slippy decking…

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Out of respect to the local displays we were watching (and not paying for) we didn’t publicly advertise this lovely event but like our page on facebook or drop me a quick email to go on the mailing list if you don’t want to miss out…

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Soooo being in the garden in the dark was so much fun we’ve got another evening event in the pipeline.  We’d love to do an evening of Christmas carols, with another bonfire, soup and pizza etc.  But WHEN?  I’d really appreciate people’s opinion on which night of the week you think it should be. How close to Christmas does everyone start to get too busy? and how early in December is too early to want to sing carols?  Also does anyone know of other things going on in the area that we should avoid clashes with.  I was thinking hot spicy apple juice and more cake and more toasting of marshmallows – anyone got any other ideas we things we could do to make the night special??  AND would anyone like to help to organise it???   I know it feels early to think about it but deadlines to get in the local press are already looming.
 
And in other news Diane and her group did sterling work getting a green roof put on Mr Fruggles the pizza oven, pictures will follow!
 
See you in the garden!
 
Lucy
 
Lucy Mitchell

Community Project Worker
07506 905 394
ghcgarden@gmail.com

October 4, 2013

Hi everyone,

Glorious autumn is definitely here – in the garden we’re all feeling pretty chuffed with work done in our golden summer and readying our wellies and waterproofs for another winter in the garden.  Until then we’re still harvesting the glory of the season -melons! tomatoes! chillies! cucumbers! beans! and loads more!  (Word to the wise – now is a REALLY good time to come and get involved…)
harvest bounty
We’re in the garden this Saturday 10-2 where we’ll be busy pottering around sorting out paths and plants … AND grinning and giving ourselves airs and graces as we look at ourselves in THE WEEKEND GUARDIAN! Look out for us making chutney in the Get Together’s section in the Cook magazine – Whoop!  Fame and Glory!!  Here’s pic of Julia yumming up some of that delicious celebrity chutney.  Still some jars left for sale…julia yumming up celebrity chutney
Next, after all the fun we had in the summer I’m really happy to announce we’ll be running another kids’ activity day Tuesday in half term 29th Oct. Seasonal outdoor, wild fun, games, bushcraft and pizzas for 6-12 years 10am-4pm £25.  Places limited to just 16 so get in touch to book a place!  And please spread the word –  if we are going to keep running these days after the current funding finishes in March we need to get them booked up!!
Oct 29th Activity day
 In preparation for our community eco build next spring we are having a green roof day!  Our very own fabulous Diane Holness will be leading a green roof building workshop.  Participants will get a chance to learn about the how and whys of green roofs, what to plant in and what to plant.  Everyone will get a chance to plant up a small framed section which we’ll be using to green the roof of our fab froggy pizza oven.  There’ll be no need to go up a ladder.  It’s a bargain at £10 and includes a hot lunch from the garden! Sunday 20th October 10-4.  Places limited to just 12 so get in touch.
It’s been nearly a year since we won The Project of the Year Award and the Diversity Award and since then the garden has only become more brilliant.  soplease please spend 5 minutes emailing  mail@thespark.co.uk and nominate us for ‘Best Green Project/Initiative’ :- accessibility! chutney! the Tower of Power! community events! supportive volunteering! kids’ activities!  Mr Fruggles the pizza oven! – what’s not to like!?!   As we go forward into a future past our current funding it’s important we can spread the word as far as possible and so we need to blow our own trumpet.  We need as many people as possible to hear about the garden, book on our workshops, get involved, come to our events and support us financially. So nominate us – it’ll look sad if it just comes from me and you just have to write a couple of heartfelt lines!
So the future is still uncertain but exciting.  I’ll be spending the winter prepping for the next phase: working out ways to stay open to as many people as much as possible, planning a workshop timetable, working with the community eco-build sub group, sorting out the “Friends of..” scheme, working on our crowdfunding bid, plotting a potential green toddlers group and looking for people who care about the garden and want to step up, join our committee and help keep the garden continuing (and maybe even expanding!) it’s important work. If you think you’d like to help with any of the above even if you can’t make it down to the garden let me know!
See you in the garden
Lucy