AT LAST ... I have waded through the plant database bed by bed checking that everything from last year has at the least a photo, an 'in' date and an 'out' date. This may not sound like a big deal but believe me with erratic records it was a massive task!
So why should you care?
Well this means we are now ready for Karen to do the next level of 'grooming' to add the 'top level' info for these plants (Latin Names, if you can eat them etc.) which will (we hope) eventually let us build up a page of our stock plants with links to recipes etc. This also means Dorian can now make the transition to this season's database with only perennial plants (or those we have still to remove) carrying over and with our first season archived.
This also means we have to label everything this year and add it
as we go along :-( !
If you are still not sure why read Karen's excellent post from a
while back here.
If anyone would like to review their high spots from last year and leave comments for posterity on your favourite flowers and veg. it's not too late and it helps to build a nice picture of the garden ...
So click and comment away ... (but maybe save your recipes for this years exciting new area!)
My only remaining sadness is it seems I have no photographic record of Turnip "Golden Ball" any offers out there? And before anyone points it out I know I have to take photos of the Green Manure ...
Topics: [Abbey Gardens] [archive] [database] [history] [labelling] [records]
A massively warm welcome to our newly appointed Garden Club Leader Hamish Liddle - it's great to have you onboard. The post was hotly contested and we're really delighted to have such an experienced person to guide us through our second season.
Hamish will be starting THIS WEEK! as we resume the weekly garden club sessions:
Saturdays 10am - 3pm
Tuesdays 1pm - 3pm
Thursdays 4pm - dusk
Why not come along and see the garden at the start of the season and say hello? Hamish will also be at the wildflower event on site this coming Saturday the 20th of March.
Topics: [Abbey Gardens] [FOAG] [Hamish]
Many thank to Andy Webb for all his hard work on Saturday when we enjoyed a one-off (almost) rain free day at Abbey Gardens ... and despite the very soggy conditions managed to dig and prepare the fruit tree trench, sort out the compost and FINALLY get the wonderful metal What Will The Harvest Be? sign on the back wall!
This sign is a good example of the number of hoops you have to jump through to actually get anything on site at Abbey Gardens, the site is a scheduled ancient monument so everything has to first go past English Heritage, then it goes past Newham council and in this case the councillors, then you have to work out if you have enough budget, then how to make the thing and then where to get it made etc etc etc. Suffice to say we were originally going to paint this message on the wall back in the early days of the project when we were still naive and optimistic! Anyway there were a few 'bright isn't it' comments from the Friends group but personally I think it's a triumph and for once through the convoluted permissions process we have in this case ended up with something much better than the original design. It was made in the end by 4met a company near St Neots in Cambridgeshire very near where I grew up.
After all this we all retired to Dasha's house for celeriac soup and mulled wine to toast our first fantastic season and say good bye to Chris our Garden Club Leader for the year who is going to be much missed.
The card FOAG made for Karen and I is so great I might have to take a photo and post it up!
Topics: [Abbey Gardens] [Chris] [Garden] [sign]
Hi Nina,
It is bright isn't it but I think we have all concluded that the sign is actually very good and it enhances the site and it will look good among the plants and trees. So well done for pushing this along!
Hi Nina,
We visited Abbey Gardens yesterday on our walk - the new sign is very visible from the bridge and looks great - it really marks Abbey Gardens from afar. Louise x
A big belated thanks to Andy Findlater and Bam Nuttall for the amazing portacabin they donated to the project which now forms our very posh shed.
I've been waiting to post a picture until Karen and I's 'pimping' of the beast was complete. As you can see it now looks great and the Plaistow Landgrabbers can watch over us as we garden!
Topics: [Abbey Gardens] [landgrabbers] [shed]
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