Category Archives: News
Volunteers needed for Medfield Street
Have you noticed how the memorial fountain in Roehampton village has been looking lovely of late? The original drinking troughs and basins have been put to new use.
A group of local people and businesses have made trough gardens out of the old water basins. Ongoing maintenance is done by volunteers Vicky Pigott and Val Jones (details below), with water provided by Hungerford Motors, the garage opposite – but they need more help to keep the plants thriving and would love Roehampton Garden Society members – close neighbours – to be involved.
About an hour a month is enough. Interested to join this go-ahead group?
Please contact: Vicky Pigott, chair SW15 Women’s Network at vicky.marie.pigott@gmail.com or Val Jones, Putney (and Roehampton) Society – jones.val@gmail.com if you can help.
They promise becoming a Fountain Friend will be a pleasure, not a chore! Read more about their project here.
Centenary AGM Roundup
Changeover time for the committee at the AGM and prizegiving.
An evening made more enjoyable by Jackie Savage’s engaging talk on the History of the Roehampton Garden Society.
Special congratulations to Helen Finch and Jackie Savage who received a Wandsworth Civic Award pin for their work in keeping the allotments open through the Covid pandemic.
With many lovely pictures of the evening and extracts from the Chair’s annual report, Read the full AGM Bulletin from Carol Martinez here.
Putney Community Gardens Nominated for Award
Congratulations to our friends the Putney Community Gardeners, who have been nominated for a Wandsworth Civic Award. They Say
“We’ve been nominated for a Wandsworth Council Civic Award! Whoop Whoop! Many thanks to everyone who put us forward for this! It’s thanks to all the wonderful neighbors, local residents and regular volunteers, gardeners and growers who keep on loving and caring for the gardens! We’ll be visited by a team of film makers on the afternoon of Monday the 24th of October to make a short film about PCG to screen at the award ceremony.”
Connect with them at https://www.facebook.com/PutneyCommunityGardens/
A Green Space Map to see in Store now
London has become the world’s first National Parks City.
Our map – available to all members to browse in the Store -shows all green spaces and water reservoirs within the M25 area.
The aim of the National Parks City is to encourage more people to enjoy the great outdoors and to support all Londoners, and the city’s businesses and institutions, in making the city greener, healthier and wilder.
More than half of the world’s population now live in cities and the trend towards more urban-living is growing; London is set to be home to over 11 million people by 2050. Cities have to adapt if we want liveable neighbourhoods in the future that respond to the challenges of climate change, help to conserve biodiversity and provide people with healthy, active lifestyles. A study has shown the capital avoids £950 million per year in health costs due to the benefits Londoners gain from using green spaces.
So many places to go and things to enjoy! See much more on this website.
Bruce May
We are sorry to hear of the death of longstanding member and plotholder and Bruce May.
I am sorry to have to announce the death of Bruce May who was a long standing plot holder of plot 102B. His plot was always a delight particularly as it charmingly had a heart shaped narrow grass path at its centre. He was an excellent gardener so, when it became vacant, he was offered plot 103B as additional land. The plot had been horribly neglected but he quickly managed to tame it and made it very productive.
Helen Finch
Bruce was always a pleasant, calm influence on site 3. He helped with plot inspections on several occasions representing the non-committee member of the inspection team. Sadly he was very ill for a couple of years prior to his final demise but his family were able to continue to cultivate his plot and bring produce from the plot for Bruce to enjoy.
He will be missed.
Pictures at an Exhibition
The RGS Centenary Exhibition is in Putney Library from 28th May to 12th June 2022
Part of Wandsworth Heritage week, the exhibition looks at the roots of the RGS, set in local history of its times. There is quite a lot to read, and to see. There are also some lovely paintings of our allotments to see, and Andrew Wilson’s photos of wildlife on our allotments. You are warmly invited to visit. Please do sign the visitor’s book.
Site 2 social space gets an amazing makeover…
A lovely stylish place to meet and enjoy a hot drink – and ideal if it rains! Annie Hardinge and her team have worked hard to make site 2 the place to be. Almost complete, behind the store -so do go and see…
Many, many thanks to Annie and her team: Hannah, Charles, Simon, Trish, Vivian and Greg for all their hard work.
The RGS and Local Schools
In order to make our lovely allotments accessible to children in our area who do not have families with plots or have a garden at home, we often welcome small groups from local schools to visit. Only one school, Paddock, rents a plot but there are visiting groups from other schools. Not only do the children learn about the seasons, the plants and the bugs but sometimes they get a real treat with a difference! Courtney,a pupil at Granard School, wrote:
“On Mondays, we go to the allotments to see all the plants. This week we saw two dogs called Barley and Hugo and a cool cat called Simba. The dogs were cute and friendly to everyone.
When Hugo saw us, he got very excited and started to jump and run around like a raccoon.
Simba the cat is three years old. When Simba saw Barley, he wanted to hunt, but instead he jumped up in the tree. Simba loves going on trips by himself. When he was young, he would squeeze under the gate to reach the allotments. However, now he can’t go under the gate because he is too big. Simba loves going in the trees to look out for food. If you offer him some delicious treats, he will sit down and give you his paw. I like the way he looks. “
with thanks to Jackie Savage
Short Organic Food Growing Course – starting 23rd April
EcoLocal, a Carshalton based charity are running their successful short course to help you to grow your own healthy, organic food without harming the environment.
For further information and to book, visit http://www.ecolocal.org.uk/highlight/organic-food-growing-course/
Comments from past students….
“It’s a great mix of practical and theory so the information goes in twice and ensures you’re more likely to remember!”
“Very knowledgeable tutor”.
“I had only just got an allotment so the 6 lessons were exactly in line with what I needed.”
The course teaches eco-friendly gardening; no-dig methods, crop rotation, organic pest control, making natural fertilisers and more. It’s suitable for beginner and intermediate growers. teaching is a mixture of theory and practice, allowing students to try out the skills they learn, understanding how to plan, so they can make the most of their veg patch or allotment.
Running over 6 Saturday mornings, beginning 23rd April 2022.
The course is face to face outdoors for the practical skills teaching elements, taught on the Carshalton Community Allotments, just a 5 minute walk from Carshalton station. The theory is taught live via Zoom on alternate weeks. More travel information
Getting to know the chickens…
One Monday afternoon in December, when a small group of Granard school children were visiting the Site 2 allotments, Barry was kind enough to introduce them to his chickens. As you can see they were able to hold them and Barry gave the school a dozen fresh eggs which were cooked the following morning. After they had visited the chickens Barry gave a few of the children a ride in a wheelbarrow, ably helped by one of their teachers, Natalya, who is also a plot holder.
The Roehampton Garden Society is 100 years old!
Growing and cultivating never go out of style…..
Throughout 2022 we will be looking at ways to celebrate our centenary. Our allotments were part of the original design for the Doverhouse Estate. You will note that there were 3 areas marked as allotments in the plan. Unfortunately the northernmost and largest site, to the north of Huntingfield Road, was later used for development.