This week, we kicked things off an hour earlier to beat the heat. I met Viv, Lumen and the rest of the local volunteers at 10.

The main task of the session was watering, and lots of it. It was a steady back-and-forth with watering cans and wheelbarrows full of water to make sure all the thirsty plants got a good drink.

We also did a bit of weeding and litter picking to keep the planters looking neat and tidy.

Excitingly, work on the planter repairs is well underway! The bed nearest to the park is now sporting some very smart new coping stones—great to see improvements taking shape thanks to all the generous support and fundraising efforts.

This week’s insight from gardening guru Lumin: Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ will stay white in drought conditions—if you want to see those signature red blooms, keep them well watered!

We’ll be back again soon to keep the plants cool and thriving. Come join us if you can! ☀️💧🌿

I was Picking Cherries at Local Allotment for Community.

A fantastic four met Sharon at Ripley Arts Centre this morning to scrub some windows clean. It’s a place with an interesting history and lots going on, including music groups, art classes, poetry and filmmaking. It was almost shut down last year so it’s good to see it’s now still going.

We devised our respective strategies for cleaning the windows and set to work, also using various tactics/ladders to reach the higher parts of the windows. The result was pretty shiny and satisfying! At the end we even had a special tour of the building, learning about the musical family that once lived here and left their marks (literally) in the brickwork…

Another fun and also informative evening at the allotment with Greener and Cleaner, Efi and friends! Tonight the group was busy planting out potted seedlings, pruning the grape vine, giving the potatoes some tasty compost, putting the stinky natural nettle-based fertiliser to use, and giving all the vegetables and herbs some much-needed water. One fig was also spotted on the tree! Various people also went home with some courgette flowers, rainbow chard, vine leaves and seeds to use. Thanks for having us!

Leaonie and I met up with Ian and the Friends of Beckenham Green to clean up the planters by the High Street. We were tasked with extracting the bindweed that's crept in and started to twirl around the plants previously bedded by the Friends.

Leaonie also took on some litter picking - fab stuff!

This week, I joined Viv, Lumin, and a team of local volunteers for a sunny spring gardening session.

With everything coming into bloom, it’s the perfect time to keep on top of the maintenance and help the planters reach their full potential. We rolled up our sleeves and spent much of the session pulling up grass and tackling weeds.

Viv also shared an exciting update on the planter repairs, thanks to generous donations from the community. Work is now underway! The old coping stones have been removed from the bed near the park entrance, and new ones are being installed.

The blooms are just getting started, and we’ll be back again soon to keep things growing strong. Come and join us! 🌼🌱✨