The real high point of the weekend was the arrival of our FANTASTIC new honesty stall, designed by Andreas Lang of Public Works and also one of the founders of the Friends of Abbey Gardens. We immediately stocked it on arrival and it made a brilliant focus at the entrance (also with new gate!) to the garden.
I love the photo of 'team FOAG' from the Open Garden Squares weekend. We had about 100 visitors across the two days. Some were familiar faces but quite a few were new locals finding us for the first time. A handful of folk also came from much further afield via the bigger scheme.
Dasha did us proud with a dill and broad bean pilaf making the most of the first real harvest of the season.
Sri Lanka is definitely no senocd string team in this Zim Tri Series .They are a very good mix of young cricketers with most of them, except just a few may be, who lack more exposure .Having lost to India fairly & squarley this is no excuse !! (0)
We had a very busy Summer Fair today as our first day of Open Garden Squares weekend : we're the only site in Newham, we have enough tea and cake to feed most of the borough and a brand new honesty stall & webcam (see opposite!) come down on Sunday and visit. We're open 10 -5, free entry and all welcome!
Don't forget this weekend is your chance to visit too!
Come and enjoy Abbey Gardens for the Friends of Abbey Gardens Summer Fair on Saturday 12 June, midday - 4pm
Bring a picnic, take a tour, buy plants for your garden, see the FOAG nature and wildlife photography exhibition, taste our first produce. We'll be serving teas, coffees and cakes. At 2pm there will be speeches celebrating the completion of the Community Spaces grant which has funded repairs to our fence and gate, new grass, fruit trees, honesty stall, sustainable energy provision and many other useful things for the garden.
If you can't make the picnic we're actually open all weekend as we're also taking part in Open Garden Squares, a London-wide event on 12 and 13 June. 10am - 5pm on both days.
... Antje and Fernando weren't the only people to visit last week - the day began with the cyclists from West Ham church starting their Abbey to Abbey ride.
...is a favourite BBC Radio 4 programme of mine. Here's an interesting edition on the appeal of gardens and gardening, on the iPlayer here
We had a really good day at the garden this Saturday - lots of regulars working to get the site up to scratch for next weekend plus a very nice surprise visit from artists Antje Schiffers (from Germany) and Fernando García-Dory from Spain, both were over in the UK for the Grizedale Arts Late at Tate event.
We're excited to announce that Abbey Gardens is taking part in Open Garden Squares Weekend, a London-wide event on 12 and 13 June, we are open 10 - 5 both days. We will be the first garden to open in Newham! Visit www.opensquares.org for more information.
As part of this weekend the Friends of Abbey Gardens will be holding a Summer Fair on the Saturday afternoon (12 June from midday to 4pm) and hosting a giant picnic. There won't be so much produce to eat yet from the garden (unless you REALLY like radishes!) so we would like to ask everyone to bring their own picnic and hopefully we will enjoy a nice early summer day in the garden. There will be a plant sale, a photography exhibition by the Friends of Abbey Gardens, garden tours by Karen, Hamish & I, children's games and, of course, the ever popular tea and cake stall.
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