How can it be more than six months since our last blog? Busy, Busy!
April and early May saw much work on our historic buildings: the repairs to the garden seat were underway, as were the plans for removing roof moss and building a new fence. Alongside the physical work, it was pleasing to hear Vanessa is making some progress with HMRC in reclaiming VAT for the materials bought for the new utilities building.
During late spring we had visits from the Herb Society and the Buxton Crescent team, who admired our lovely borders, and the magnificent Chinese Rhubarb in bloom.
We are grateful for the donations given by both these visiting groups; and we hope to visit the Buxton Crescent in return – when we can settle on a date…
The hope is to combine the trip with the delayed team lunch.
A couple of new projects are still in the planning stages: a Sensory Garden, to be located near the Badger Bench, and Children’s Activities. Perhaps Theresa’s new Bug Houses will feature in the latter! Meanwhile, we are preparing the garden for our annual May Open Day.
Despite the forecast, we were fortunate with the weather on Open Day, and we were delighted to welcome Kay Wesley, the new Mayor and candidate for the Women’s Equality Party.
For the first time, this year we offered tea and cakes for sale, which worked well and brought in more money, despite the visitor numbers being a bit down on previous years. The cakes were made and donated by volunteers – thanks to all! We provided tea and coffee, via Air-pots borrowed from Congleton Museum. It all went more smoothly than feared!
Caroline Daniel from the Herb Society took visitors on the popular herbalist tours: our regular speaker Barbara wasn’t with us this year as she is taking a step back from some of her Herb Society activities.
We have recently had some enthusiastic discussions with the Congleton Museum team about joint activities, and are looking forward to further collaboration. Meanwhile, as May turns into June, we are nearing the final stages of our Information Board plans. Laura’s design was well-received, and we have identified the best place for the board. This, as well as a map of the site, will feature the history, the plants, and more!
We are becoming ever more involved in community activities. In addition to the Congleton Food and Drink Festival, we will be giving a presentation to Barthomley WI; and a Probus group is visiting us soon. We have also been invited to have a stall in Congleton Park to celebrate the town’s 60 years of In Bloom success.
The weather wasn’t great, at the Food Festival in June, and we were tucked away round the corner from the main action, so takings were a bit down on previous years. This was offset by the number of new visitors who discovered us on the festival day. We also found out about a group of Roman Battle re-enactors. One of their members gives talks about how they would have treated their wounds: we hope to make contact soon.
The Sensory Garden project is coming along nicely. We cleared a patch of ground around the bench, and bought a range of suitable plants. Spark Lane Nursery kindly donated half a dozen different kinds of mint.
Some of the plants we’ve chosen for Touch are the soft and strokable ones such as Lambs Ears (Stachys byzantina), Angel Wings (Senecio candidans), and Mullein (Verbascum); plus some soft grasses, offering both Touch and Sound. For scent, we’ve planted Lavender, Thyme, and Chamomile – and Chocolate Cosmos! We’ve also added Rosemary, whose stiff leaves provide a tactile aspect to its delicious scent.
NOTE: These images illustrate Angel Wings, Lavender and Rosemary; but aren’t taken from the Sensory Garden in its present form.
We are having a good season for visits and talks. We earned donations from the Herb Society, Buxton Crescent and the Probus Group visits; and did a WI talk too. Vanessa was approached at the Food Festival to do a talk for a garden group near Stockport. Branching out! And a group from the Cheshire Gardens Trust will be visiting us soon.
Away from the joys of the garden, Vanessa has her struggles with HMRC. At last, after a long and tortuous process, we have managed to get about £1500 back, on VAT paid for building materials. There is one more quibble to be sorted out, after which Vanessa will celebrate her victory and hope never to cross swords with them again!
The construction of the new utilities building was a major drain on finances, and a huge project for the team, and so was the long wished-for paving around the Bath House. The former is now a reality – and a boon for the volunteers. The latter task is coming to an end at last, and the team should be justly proud of their efforts.
To keep the site free of charge we are constantly in need of new ways to fund our work; and as ever, we are grateful for the grants received from local charities. One such will pay for new fencing near the composting area. We’ve also bought a stepladder, and a new lawn mower. This one is battery powered and cordless, quieter and self-propelled: it will be much easier to use. We will keep the petrol mower as backup. but won’t now need to keep fuel on site, which is an advantage from a Health & Safety point of view. Howard has been most helpful with this purchase.
Synchronised Mowing!
The new lighter mower comes into its own, near the rockery; while the heavy duty one continues to keep the terraced lawns under control.
A new event this year was held in Congleton Park on 7th July, in which we were invited to participate.
This is from the Friends of Congleton Park website: Congleton Park hosted a special celebration on Sunday 7 July, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom competition. This free event, organised by Congleton in Bloom, Congleton Lions, and Friends of Congleton Park, was a memorable day brimming with fun and community celebration.
And here is the main picture featured above this text: Vanessa and Linda with our stall! As our aim was to promote BHPG and recruit new volunteers, we hope to see the results in the coming months.
It has been a strange summer, with winners and losers in the garden as a consequence. Sunflowers missed their namesake, and the shady side of the meadow was almost bare. The rest is dominated by an unexpected flush of Corncockle, while Poppies and Cornflowers hardly feature. On the other hand, extra rainfall has encouraged the plants around the pond, producing 6ft tall Meadowsweet and Purple Loosestrife.
Our new collaboration with Congleton Museum has paid off with a delightful event: Art in the Garden on Saturday 10th August. The Museum team initiated this idea, and possibly arranged the lovely weather too!
The next event will be the Jazz and Blues Festival at the end of August, and then we will be in full preparation for our annual Heritage Open Days event, earlier this year on Saturday 7th September. How quickly the year goes by, and we hope the next few months are as successful – and the weather kinder and more predictable!
Thanks to everyone: volunteers, visitors and funders, who have helped to make this summer such a very enjoyable one.
