Hopefully we are giving neighbours skiffs and clippers.
The local school is doing great work - the kids growing veg and herbs. We have a strong allotment showing. A new project is starting at a local psychiatric close by run for staff and in patients - putting in a drought tolerant, low maintenance, dry garden. They face the perennial, standard issues of changing staff, waves of interest, no budget, aiming too high too fast etc. It will be interesting to really focus on keeping aims truly sustainable, so that staff and vols can change and the garden will be ok in the long term.
In the main pavement bed, it's good to see the summer coming through. The verbena bon is starting, and nasturtium. Those last were advertised as 'red' but of course they are orange. Hmmm. With the sandy soil I hope we will get a good amount of flower and not be over-run with a jungle of leaves (and blackfly).
It's been so dry and we have no hose access, so it's been hard to get seeds going. We put in a load last autumn with not much success. Timing is all.
Alchemilla being floofy. Something else more.... showy should probably have that sweet spot in the middle.
It's heartening to see a lot more wildy planting popping up in the front gardens along the streets. Hopefully this means that more and more people will reclaim their front gardens. Poppies, verbena and erigeron are seeding in the pavements - not that you could ever get the seeds to do that in a hundred years.
The verbena bon. in the community plot is doing well, although it doesn't do well in wind or heavy rain. The rigida (at the front) has come back, which is surprising and fun.
We tried to get "Play Streets" off the ground on my road. Once a month we would close the road for two hours to let the kids play and the parents get to know each other. We live in a road that doesn't go anywhere and there are each ways to bypass us in the next street. There was a lot of opposition. We tried it, but the plans didn't go anywhere.
It's disheartnening when there are great models about of what we could try - to build community and greening and kids play spaces but loud voices shout them down.
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We had a Halloween Play Out in theneighbourhood last year which was a great success. The kids get giddy having a great stretch of street to skate on and to run about. The parents brought out tables and sat out with drinks, chatted. What's not to love?
It would be great to build a "Sunday Street Garden" right there for the day. Neighbours bring their pots out and deck chairs and little tables....
[Permission was given by the parents to share the picture]
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/local-council/parklet-car-park-norwich-nelson-street-little-park-9152250
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.