I last visited Ms E in Hammersmith to help with her garden back in 2020. She had taken so much pride in maintaining her garden and likes to keep the gardening tools tidy and well organised. As it had been so long since the last time I saw Ms E we spent some time catching up.

Then we went out into the garden and Ms E showed me which areas she wanted tidied first. Some of the bushes have grown over more than Ms E would like. I got to work clearing and neatening things up and Ms E was pleased with the progress, removing old piles of leaves and clearing the path to the rear gate.

One more session in a couple of week’s time should help to trim the overgrown bushes and help her beloved rose grow again.

On a warm evening, we made our way on foot and by bike to lend a hand in caring for the historic cedar trees at Chiswick House and Gardens.

With the lawns showing the strain of recent summer heatwaves, our task was to refresh the bases of the trees with a protective layer of woodchip.

We got into an easy rhythm of spreading and chatting and levelled two piles around the large cedar.

Just in time, Lucy arrived to lend a hand and orchestrate the all-important group photo at the end.

With the final barrow emptied it was time to head to the pub to raise a glass on the eve of Remy's birthday, and tuck into another much heralded birthday cake made by Eloise. So good Emily hot footed it across London to try some.

Happy Birthday Remy!

On a bright and sunny Sunday morning, I volunteered to help Ms G’s in Hounslow with her front garden. Ms G enjoys spending time there, but because of ill health, it had become difficult for her to manage.

Armed with gloves and plenty of sunshine, I spent the morning weeding and tidying up the garden so she can to sit and enjoy it again.

Meanwhile, her cat Lilly— known as Lilly Savage—decided to take a different approach to the day. She stayed curled up in the flat, having a lazy Sunday morning on Ms G’s bed, clearly leaving the hard work to me!

Ms G was grateful for the help and to see her garden again. Lilly Savage remained blissfully undisturbed in her nap, no doubt dreaming of her next adventure.

Last night we were back at Cultivate London, a local horticultural charity, for round two of an unbe-leaf-ably big task. One that has a big impact though! Cultivate have been collecting all the leaves that fall into the playground at a local school and bagging them up so they turn into mulch. They then sell the nutrient rich mulch to local people and the profit goes back into the charity. Neat, right?

They needed a hand getting all the good mulch bagged up - enter GoodGym! So after a warm up where we cheered Eloise for an epic triathlon at the weekend, we set off on our run.

We arrived to find Romina waiting for us with tools and bags, and got to work. Despite it being just leaves, the filled bags turned out to be surprisingly heavy so it was quite the workout. Michelle, Steph, Eloise and Luis formed a great team to lift and squash, taking inspiration from the noble art of grape crushing. Unfortunately they did not produce any wine this time.

After 40 minutes of solid work we had made an enormous dent in the pile - I'd say one more session should do it! We were rewarded with a tree groaning with plums, and spent a happy few minutes enjoying the delicious fruit before heading back for fitness (just as fun?).

The workout last night focused on lower body, core and arms, and all muscle groups got a good challenge. Next week we're back at Chiswick House for another session in the beautiful grounds. Until then, happy GGing!