Sunday 11th December 2011 – Last Garden Task Of The Year
We held our last garden task of the year and cleared away nasturtiums and achocha (both nipped by frost) and finished tidying the garden for winter. It was also a chance for some of our raised bed tenants to meet one another and talk about what they’d like to grow next year.
Wednesday 7th December 2011 – The Creation Of A Garden
We now have a short film of the creation of the garden, accompanied by ‘Urban Oasis’ by Dave Sturgess. It’s on the home page – hope you like it!
Friday 2nd December 2011 – We Have Allocated Our Raised Beds
At last night’s committee meeting we sifted through the applications for deep beds and decided who will rent one next year.
We chose local people and families without gardens of their own and they will each be given the support of a Norfolk Master Gardener.
Sunday 27th November 2011 – Pruning, Clearing, Planting, Weeding
We had another afternoon in the garden, where we pruned the grapevines, swept up the last of the ash leaves, cleared out the runner beans, planted our last daffodil bulbs and did some tidying. See the photos on Facebook.
Once we have a sharp frost we will have one more garden work task (date to be decided, but probably Sunday 11th December), to clear away nasturtiums.
Wednesday 23rd November 2011 – We have Black Bamboos!
We now have two hefty black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) plants in the garden. They’re very easy to spot – the tallest plants in the garden apart from the ash trees and climbers, and they’re in the north-east corner by the business units.
Thanks to Ros Newman and Chris Wade for donating the plants.
Sunday 20th November 2011 – Successful Fundraising Gig
Yesterday’s fundraising gig at The Belvedere Centre was a great success. It featured Saxobility plus support from Dave Sturgess, Norwich Ukulele Society and Norwich Accordion Band. We made a profit of £314.40, which includes £80 for the raffle.
Thanks to everyone who played and helped out.
Wednesday 16th November 2011 – Visit by Rob Hopkins
Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition movement, visited the garden, which is still looking good in its autumn colours.
Tuesday 15th November 2011 – Three Years of Transition Norwich
We had a stall at today’s celebration of three years of Transition Norwich.
Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition movement, gave a talk about the latest ideas and developments in the Transition movement.
Sunday 13th November 2011 – More Photos of the Garden
The latest pictures of the garden are now on Facebook.
Sunday 6th November 2011 – Reminder: Raised Bed Applications
Don’t forget that the closing date to apply for a raised bed to grow your own vegetables in 2012 is 1st December.
To apply, read the Tenancy Agreement and complete a Raised Bed Application form and send it to us by 1st December 2011.
You must be a member of the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group to rent a raised bed – join using our Membership Application form.
Friday 4th November 2011 – GHCG at Norfolk Pro Help Annual Breakfast
This morning James Cleaver from Andrew Morton Associates and our Treasurer Peter Ellington gave a presentation to the Norfolk Pro Help annual breakfast meeting at Park Farm Hotel, Hethersett.
Business In The Community ProHelp organises support from professional organisations, Accountants, Architects, Lawyers, Marketing companies and the like to charities and voluntary organisations. Peter made a 15 minute presentation showing a picture history of the garden and thanking Clare Wilson from Birketts LLP who helped us back in 2008 with our contract for the land with Norwich City Council, James Cleaver from Andrew Morton Associates who gave invaluable help as quantity surveyors, tendering and managing N D Willan during the building phase and Mark Ashurst from ASquared Architects who charged reduced rates for formalising the garden designs.
The presentation was well received and congratulated as a great example of a successful community project. The event was covered “The Business” in the Norwich Evening News.
Wednesday 2nd November 2011 – Visit from Strangers Hall Garden Group
On another sunny and mild afternoon Strangers Hall Garden Group had a tour of the garden, led by Jeremy Bartlett.
Monday 31st October 2011 – Latest Pictures of Garden
The latest pictures of the garden are now on Facebook.
Wednesday 26th October 2011 – ‘Like’ us on Facebook
The garden now has 150 followers on Facebook.
Our Facebook page includes galleries of extra photographs that aren’t on this website and you don’t need a Facebook account to view it.
Click on the Facebook link on the top left of every page.
Sunday 23rd October 2011 – Another Garden Task
Thanks to everyone who came along to yesterday’s garden task.
It was another fine and sunny afternoon and we weeded, tied in the tummelberry, made leafmould, mowed the lawn and planted wildflower seeds in the meadow: pignut, crosswort, bird’s foot trefoil and lesser knapweed.
The big water tank is now connected up to the gutter by the business units, giving us another source of water for the garden.
Sunday 16th October 2011 – Deadline for Raised Bed Applications is 1st December
The closing date to apply for a raised bed to grow your own vegetables in 2012 is 1st December.
To apply, read the Tenancy Agreement and complete a Raised Bed Application form and send it to us by 1st December 2011.
You must be a member of the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group to rent a raised bed – join using our Membership Application form.
Monday 10th October 2011 – Work To Be Done In The Garden
Yesterday volunteers planted daffodil bulbs, weeded and swept leaves in the garden.
A list of outstanding garden jobs is now on Facebook – please contact usif you complete any of the tasks.
Thursday 29th September 2011 – Visit from Great Yarmouth Library Community Garden
Visitors from the Great Yarmouth Library Community Garden had a tour of the garden, led by Richard Bearman.
Thursday 22nd September 2011 – Latest Pictures of Garden
The latest pictures of the garden are now on Facebook.
Sunday 11th September 2011 – Bulb Planting and More
We had more new visitors to the garden, as a small group of volunteers planted squill, cyclamen and Anemone blanda bulbs and did some clearing up and weeding. We didn’t have time to do all the work that is needed, so please come along and help out on the next task, on Sunday 25th September.
Dates for October and November tasks will be decided at our Public Meeting on Thursday 15th September.
Saturday 10th September 2011 – We Have Worms
We added some worms to the compost bins to help speed up composting. Worms usually arrive by themselves but the compost bins are on rather stony ground so we thought we had better give nature a hand.
Thanks to Jo Parlar for donating the worms from her compost heap.
Sunday 28th August 2011 – Herb Cuttings and Migrant Hawkers
We had another afternoon in the garden and took cuttings from the Lemon Verbena and Blackcurrant Sage. Neither plant is particularly hardy, so we will overwinter the cuttings in a frost-free place in case the original plant is killed by the cold and damp of winter.
We also harvested vegetables (including ‘Painted Lady’ runner beans, pictured left), shared them out and did some weeding.
Migrant Hawker dragonflies sunned themselves on the trellis and Comma and Red Admiral butterflies came to visit the Buddleia flowers on the northern edge of the garden.
Saturday 20th August 2011 – Latest Pictures of Garden
The latest pictures of the garden are now on Facebook.
Sunday 14th August 2011 – Making Hay While The Sun Shines
Grapes Hill Community Garden Group members spent the afternoon in the garden and cut the wildlife meadow, except for two patches of cornfield annuals that are still in flower.
We also put extra wires on top of the pergola to support our fast growing grapevines, weeded, watered and removed bay suckers from our bay trees.
We sampled fruits from our Achocha plants, which we decided taste like pea pods and cucumber!
Thursday 11th August – More Grand Opening Day Photos
We’ve added more photos of the Grand Opening to this website and our Facebook page. Thanks to Jo and Dave for the pictures.
Sunday 7th August 2011 – Grand Opening Day
We celebrated the completion of the garden with a Grand Opening Day.
The Hellesdon and Sprowston Brass Band played outside the gates to welcome visitors from 10am, then Will Giles from Norwich’s Exotic Garden officially opened the garden at 11am.
There followed a really enjoyable day, with music provided by a variety of musicians, food and drink supplied by The Green Grocers, icecream from Ronaldo’s, plants supplied by the Plant-Me plant centre at Snetterton, face painting and sales of greetings cards, hand made jewellery, second-hand gardening and cookery books.
Grapes Hill Community Garden Group members were on hand to provide information on the garden to visitors and we had an information stand with photos showing the garden’s development.
We also had a competition with prizes that included champagne, wine, chocolates, a box of garden produce and an original watercolour painting by Vanna Bartlett.
The Grand Opening Day was featured in the Eastern Daily Press.
Saturday 6th August 2011 – Wildlife in the Garden
List of wildlife seen in the garden (100 kb PDF file) added to site. Please let us know of any more sightings.
Thursday 4th August 2011 – Evening Planting Task
On a rather damp evening six of us planted up the border by the Business Units with shade loving plants such as Woodrush (Luzula), Pachysandra and Epimedium. See our updated plant list for details (100 kb PDF file).
Monday 25th July 2011 – Latest Pictures of Garden
The latest pictures of the garden are now on Facebook.
Saturday 23rd July 2011 – Another Garden Task
We spent Thursday evening in the garden, weeding and tying back plants. The vegetation is very lush after all the rain.
And on Friday night we had a ‘thank you’ barbecue for GHCGG members and people who’ve helped to plant up and look after the garden. View photos on Facebook.
Tuesday 19th July 2011 – Heart and Leaf Sculpture Added to Garden
Patrick Goodall has now installed his ‘Heart and Leaf’ sculpture in the garden, opposite the entrance. The design is based on the group’s logo, originally designed by Danny. See photos on Facebook.
Saturday 16th July 2011 – Follow Us on Facebook
Don’t forget that we have a Facebook page, which includes galleries of extra photographs that aren’t on this website. Click on the Facebook link on the top left of every page.
Wednesday 13th July 2011 – Photos Added For Sunday Evening’s Event
Sunday 10th July 2011 – St. Benedict’s Street Fair and Evening in the Garden
Our stall at the St. Benedict’s Street Fair was a great success. This was followed by a very enjoyable evening of music, food and drink in the garden. Thanks to the bands, The Green Grocers for doing the catering, to all the volunteers who helped out and to everyone who came along.
See photos of the Street Fair in our latest gallery and on Facebook.
Photos of the evening in the garden will be added soon.
Saturday 2nd July 2011 – Garden Open to the public
The garden is open to the public daily from today. Summer opening hours are 9am – 6pm.
Yesterday we prepared the garden for opening, weeding, cutting the lawn and installing Patrick Goodall’s benches. See photos here – and there are more on Facebook.
Friday 1st July 2011 – Visit from Green Party Councillors
A group of Green Party councillors from different parts of England and Wales had a tour of the garden, led by Jeremy Bartlett.
Thursday 23rd June 2011 – Garden Tour
We had a good turnout for an evening tour of the garden led by Jeremy, including weed identification and tastings of some of the edible plants.
Thursday 16th June 2011 – Plant List Updated
See the latest list of plants in the garden, which we’ve just updated.
Sunday 12th June 2011- View Latest Photos
See our latest photos of the garden on Facebook.
Thursday 9th June 2011 – In the Garden and On the Radio
We had another evening’s garden task, with some new visitors, including an EDP photographer. We did some weeding and practised putting up gazebos for our upcoming events.
Earlier in the day the garden was featured in Future Radio’s Community Chest programme.
Saturday 28th May 2011 – Old Photographs of Grapes Hill
We’ve added a gallery of old photographs of Grapes Hill to the site. Thanks to Peter Salt for providing the pictures.
Friday 27th May 2011 – Mulched and Watered
Yesterday saw our first proper rain for weeks and we experienced some of it as we finished mulching the garden on our second evening task. We also dug up the daffodils in the deep bed (to be dried prior to replanting in autumn) and tasted some salad leaves.
Earlier in the day Martin and Patrick built the compost heap.
Wednesday 25th May 2011 – Bumblebees in the Garden
Our ornamental sage with violet-purple flower spikes, Salvia ‘Mainacht’, is proving a great hit with bumblebees. These include the beautiful Tree Bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum, which only arrived in the UK ten years ago, and is spreading north. See Facebook for a photo and the BWARS website for more information on bumblebees.
Saturday 21st May 2011 – Another Shopping Trip For Plants
We went to Taverham Garden Centre and bought three trolley loads of plants for the garden. These included some small shrubs, a fourth grape vine and a range of herbaceous perennials. See our plant list for the new additions.
Many thanks to Stuart Clancy at Taverham Garden Centre for giving us a generous discount on our purchases.
This is our last major purchase of plants for now – but of course a garden is always evolving…
Sunday 15th May 2011 – Weeding, planting, watering and mulching
We weeded, planted more perennials from Robin Tacchi Plants, watered and mulched with compost from Shrubbs Farm, Edgefield. See the photos on this website and on Facebook.
Wednesday 4th May 2011 – Our first evening task
We held our first evening task in the garden, weeding watering and harvesting our first crop of radishes, which were shared amongst the volunteers.
Monday 25th April 2011 – Planting herbs
We planted over 200 plants, supplied by Norfolk Herbs.
We also weeded the wildflower meadow, prepared more deep beds, sowed seeds – and watered.
Saturday 23rd April 2011 – Latest Pictures on Facebook
See photos of our new bay trees (planted 20th April) and other pictures of the garden on Facebook.
Sunday 17th April 2011 – More Perennials Planted
On a beautifully sunny day we planted some lovely perennials from Howard Nurseries, including some day lilies (Hemerocallis), ornamental grasses, hostas, Rudbeckia, heucheras and bronze fennel. We also replanted daffodils from one of the deep beds and weeded out the bindweed growing in it. See the photos on this website and on Facebook.
Sunday 10th April 2011 – Chamomile Path
Today we planted our chamomile path, using plants donated to us by the Sustainable Living Initiative. Thanks to Mahesh Pant for providing the plants.
Wednesday 6th April 2011 – Evenings in the garden
Now the evenings are lighter, every fortnight from Wednesday 4th May 2011 we’re going to have an evening task. From 6pm to 8pm we will be doing a variety of jobs in the garden, including weeding, sowing seeds and planting out our last plants, such as tomatoes and courgettes. Come and join us – dates are listed above.
Wednesday 6th April 2011 – Garden featured in Eastern Daily Press
We are featured in Wednesday’s EDP2 section in an article by Stacia Briggs entitled ‘How communities are creating their own green spaces’.
Sunday 3rd April 2011 – Another Successful Planting Day
Today we planted herbaceous perennials, shrubs and climbers from Robin Tacchi Plants at Garboldisham. These included several lovely clematises, hardy geraniums, bamboo, flowering quinces (Chaenomeles) and two chocolate vines (Akebia). The plum tree is now in blossom and the ‘Ice Follies’ daffodils we planted in December are in full flower.
Sunday 27th March 2011 – Planting Woodland Wildflowers
Today we planted woodland wildflower plants under the ash trees, including primroses, wild garlic, wild strawberries and bluebells. The plants came from British Wildflower Plants at North Burlingham. See the photos on this website and Facebook.
Thursday 24th March 2011 – We Have a Lawn
We spent yesterday and today laying turf on our lawn area and watering it in. Patrick’s log structure is also complete.
We will have to wait a couple of months for the lawn to establish before it can be used, but it should be nicely settled in by our garden opening on Saturday 2nd July 2011.
View the photos on this website and Facebook.
Thursday 17th March 2011 – More Planting
This morning four members of the group sowed a wildflower meadow beneath the apple trees and a couple of patches of cornfield annuals. We also planted the Rosa Mundi rose near the entrance to the garden.
Wednesday 16th March 2011 – See our Planting List
We now have a complete list of the plants in the garden. This will be updated as we add further plants to the garden during the spring.
Monday 14th March 2011 – Public Meeting at Belvedere Centre
At last night’s public meeting at The Belvedere Centre we agreed the format of our update newsletter and publicity postcard, planned more Garden Work Days and welcomed a new committee member.
Sunday 13th March 2011 – Garden Work Day
Over twenty people, including volunteers from Norwich Community Green Gym helped weed, move soil and plant fruit (Japanese wineberries and blue honeysuckles), shrubs and our first vegetable seeds. Thanks to everyone who helped, provided tea, soup and cake and donated seeds (and a tree!).
Sunday 27th February 2011 – Garden Work Day
We enjoyed a sunny day at the garden and spread about 20 tonnes of soil, did more weeding, laid slabs, put up wires to train fruit and planted more shrubs. And we sampled some very fine beetroot and chocolate cake from The Greenhouse.
Thanks to everyone who came along.
Wednesday 23rd February 2011 – Soil Delivery
Two truckloads of soil have been delivered to the garden and will be used to top up soil levels, especially at the north (bottom) end of the garden, after which we can finish planting.
Sunday 20th February 2011 – Master Gardeners visit garden
Norfolk Master Gardeners visited the garden on Sunday, as part of their training day at The Belvedere Centre.
Monday 14th February 2011 – Dates announced for garden opening
We will be opening the garden to the general public from Saturday 2nd July 2011 and will celebrate the opening a month later with a Grand Opening Day, provisionally arranged for Sunday 7th August 2011.
There’s a lot to do before opening. We need to plant up the garden, build compost bins, lay turf, sow a wildflower meadow and then allow time for plants to establish before opening up the garden.
Come and help us on one of our Garden Work Days.
Sunday 13th February 2011 – Garden Work Day
We had another successful work day in the garden, planting rhubarb, weeding and putting soil in the five smaller deep beds.s
Friday 11th February 2011 – Water Tanks Connected
The water tanks at the back of 12 Valentine Street are now connected up and starting to collect rainwater from the roof.
Friday 4th February 2011 – Garden Construction is Complete
The sealed gravel surface of the sitting out area was laid yesterday and the water tanks are in place at the back of 12 Valentine Street (though they still need to be connected up). The hard landscaping phase of garden construction is now complete.
Wednesday 26th January 2011 – Now on Facebook
We are now on Facebook – visit our page here or by clicking on the Facebook logo at the top of any page.
Sunday 23rd January 2011 – Tree Planting Day
We planted fruit trees and bushes in the garden. Thanks to Norfolk County Council for a Landscape Conservation Grant which has paid for our fruit trees.
View the latest pictures in our Tree Planting gallery.
Monday 17th January 2011 – Annual General Meeting
We held our A.G.M. at The Belvedere Centre.
One of the actions from the meeting was to draw up a set of rules for those individuals and groups wishing to rent one of our raised beds. More details will follow soon.
Saturday 15th January and Sunday 16th January 2011 – Bindweed Removal Weekend
Thanks to everyone who took part, including volunteers from Norwich Community Green Gym, who joined us on the Sunday. The garden is now ready for our Tree Planting Day on Sunday 23rd January 2011.
View photos from the weekend’s tasks in our Bindweed Removal gallery.
Friday 14th January 2011 – Transition Norwich Blog and visit to Reads Nursery
Three members of the garden’s Planting Sub-committee visited Reads Nursery at Hales Hall, near Loddon, to choose fruit trees for the garden. We will return to buy the trees next week, nearer to our Tree Planting Day. Our ‘shopping list’ includes apples (including some Norfolk varieties), pears, cherries, a fig, a medlar and a quince. The trees will be a mixture of standards, fans and espaliers.
The garden also features in today’s post on the Transition Norwich Blog.
Wednesday 12th January 2011 – More garden construction pictures
View the latest pictures in our Garden Construction gallery.
Wednesday 3rd January 2011 – Garden featured on ‘Norwich Scoop’
Our upcoming events are advertised on Norwich Scoop (a new local online newsletter for Norfolk people thinking globally). Visit the Norwich Scoop website at www.norwichscoop.dreamhosters.com.