88
88 A message from
Kingsbridge Community Garden Spring Watch
Now the noisy winds are still April’s coming up the hill! All the Spring is in her train Led by shining ranks of rain Mary Mapes Dodge (1831-1905, American children’s author)
What the weather will be like in April is at present unknown, but the last days of February are unseasonably warm and sunny. A couple of optimistic butterflies (a small Tortoiseshell and a rather wing-battered Peacock) are exploring the blackthorn, and the apricot blossom on the south facing wall, and the bees are very active in the morning sunshine, heading directly over Trebble Park and into the unknown…
..perhaps they know where to find nectar amongst camellias and late catkins.
Signs of spring in the garden are further evident. Clumps of primroses are opening everywhere, replacing the fading snowdrops, and in the wild garden pulmonarias and celandines, together with the first wood anemones, brighten up the lower canopy. The frogs have been very active in the pond,
leaving behind tell-tale lumps of frogspawn amongst the lily pads. A solitary hedgehog, found sleeping deep in a patch of montbretia earlier in the year has now deserted its winter home, despite having its own private notice, advising visitors ‘not to disturb’!
Crowns of fresh green rhubarb are our first pick-able crop of the season and these have benefited from intensive weeding of their beds, together with the raspberry canes . The old strawberry patch has been cleared, and new stock has been planted in the former artichoke bed. A number of different varieties have been chosen, to extend the picking season of this popular soft fruit. Maybe this summer there will only be a small harvest, but we look forward to bumper crops in future years.
Once again we have played host to groups of Year 9 students from Kingsbridge Community College. For the first time they have received certificates to acknowledge their con- tribution to the Volunteer programme and their efforts to wheel-barrow compost
around the site, to clear the paths and help with bonfire preparations. One week in the early Spring they harvested and graded some the willow. The most pliable rods have been used to make attractive low hedging around the soft fruit beds. Others may well be used as border stakes to keep perennial plants tidy, as we attempt to make use of all our natural resources.
Once again we will be holding our own PLANT SALE (on Saturday May 11th) in the garden in Fore Street, so make sure you put the date in the diary. Already early sow- ings of annual vegetables, such as runner beans and broad beans look healthy. There will be plenty of these to purchase, as well as unusual perennials and shrubs from local gardens. See you there from 10.00am. In the meantime good gardening!
www.k
ingsbridgegarden.co.uk
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