Community Garden
You may have noticed some changes happening in the land around the Ampthill Mission Hub church building as we create a Community Garden for Wildlife & Wellbeing.
We will be growing plants that will benefit the local wildlife, with lots of flowers for the pollinators.
We have already planted 3 varieties of mint and some lemon balm in planters at the front of the church.
There is now a place for you to sit, and we will be adding
feeders for the birds, and a bin for your litter!
We want this to be a garden for all our community to share, and there will be plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in a range of different ways. If you see us working in the garden stop and say hello and ask us about what’s happening.
On Friday 26th April Ben and Silas started work on clearing the ground.
After checking the holly for live nests (there weren't any) Ben got to work with his chainsaw to start removing the hedge.
By lunchtime, the hedge was greatly reduced and all the shrubs were out. However, the pile of greenery for the tip was huge!
After a break for lunch, allowing the Katherine Concert to go ahead in peace, it was time to remove the roots. Some were tougher than others and Ben moved to a bigger chainsaw!
They finally packed up for the day leaving a much clearer area which shows what a lot of space there is for the new garden.
On 10th August the next job was to remove one of the trees - so Ben and his chainsaw went to work again.
7th September and the gang arrived to start levelling the ground. Soil was removed and green bags were filled
It was hard going so 'Tony the Digger' came to help out!
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He also made the raised planter for us. Thanks Tony!
Once the ground was level we took delivery of the clover turf and on 1st November, Silas, Russ, Jenny & Roger set about laying it and Ben fixed the new bench into place. It's made out of recycled plastic!
With much help from Sue, the planter has been filled and the turf regularly watered.
We still have a few jobs to finish off the garden - like planting bulbs ready for the Spring. But it's there for all the community to use, so please come along and enjoy the space.
Many thanks to everyone who got involved in making this plan a reality - Ben, Tony, Silas, Russ, Patsy, Margaret, Jenny, Roger, Alison, Mary, Stuart, Charlotte, James, David, Georgina, Debbie & Sue.
And a big thank you to Rookery South for the grant which made all this possible.