Rambling thoughts from the garden…

I’ve just finished my first cup of tea of the day as a robin flew around the greenhouses greeting me. Our routine at the garden has started settling into place, albeit with many interesting turns of events along the way.

One such event occurred a few nights ago. A police helicopter was circling overhead and we presumed that it was simply passing. However, as the nuisance persisted, 3 police cars pulled up at the site explaining that the helicopter was initially passing over until it noticed ‘a commotion – possibly protesters or terrorists’. This ‘commotion’ was in fact some friends from the Kew Eco Village joining us for dinner! Several neighbours and friends including Tracy, Linda, Geraldine and John McDonnell, our local MP, turned up to see what was happening. In the end the police left with their tails between their legs and we even got an apologetic visit from them the next day.

Other aspects of the garden adventure have been more productive. Our kitchen at the back of the first greenhouse is rapidly becoming the social hub of the site, complete with a hammock for lounging. It’s looking very beautiful with our collective artwork sprucing it up. There’s still lots more to do all over the site, but hopefully this weekend, the 27th – 28th March, will be fruitful in terms of numbers of visitors. We hope to build a compost toilet, glaze and repair some of the panes of glass in the greenhouses, and pot lots of fruit and veg. The front area is now clear and raked, ready for us to sow a meadow on Sunday. In the summer it will hopefully be glorious and flourishing.

A couple of pigeons are perching on the top of the greenhouse as I write; it’s nice to share quiet times with birds and bees. We couldn’t have got this far without the help, support and donations of countless people. The further we progress, the further our aspirations for the site grow. Who knows, maybe one day soon we’ll even get rid of the mound of rubbish that we’ve cleared out!