The Rebirth Of A Community Garden - 2 September

When we celebrated the opening of Grapes Hill Community Garden just over a year ago, several volunteers from the Belvedere Community Centre came along to the Grand Opening and asked whether we could help them with their own garden.

This was the start of a year's work by volunteers to revamp the Belvedere Centre's garden, which was originally laid out about twenty five years ago, but had become overgrown and neglected.

Volunteer work parties removed brambles and perennial weeds and Norwich City Council gave us permission to prune and thin the trees, to allow extra light to reach the garden. We built a new compost heap and leafmould bin and then in early April we planted up a sunny, herbaceous border and a shade border. During the spring and summer we worked on the centre of the garden and have laid new slate paths, to allow people to walk between the trees.

At last the preparation work is nearly done and we will celebrate the rebirth of the garden with a Garden Open Day on Sunday 2nd September 2012 (12 noon - 4pm). There will be a barbecue, tea and cakes, live music and craft and garden information stalls. Admission is free.

We are setting up a Belvedere Centre Gardening Group to look after the garden, which will meet for the first time on Friday 21st September 2012 (10am - 12 noon).

The Belvedere Community Centre, Belvoir Street, Norwich, NR2 3AZ. Registered Charity No 295729.For further details phone 01603 616894 or e-mail belvederecentre@yahoo.co.uk.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photo: The sunny herbaceous border in The Belvedere Centre garden, by Jeremy Bartlett.

Grapes Hill Community Garden: Poetry In The Garden - 12 August

During this last week we've been enjoying some summer sunshine at Grapes Hill Community Garden, which is a mass of colour at the moment.

We celebrated our First Birthday Party on Sunday 8th July and we're now looking forward to our next event - Poetry In The Garden on Sunday 12th August, from 2pm to 6pm. The afternoon will feature Norwich Poetry Group and wildlife poet Richard Bonfield, with music by Lucy & Dee, an open microphone slot, games, competition and quiz. Bring your own refreshments and something to sit on. Read your own poem or bring a favourite to read.

The Grapes Hill Community Garden Group has recently received Group Award in the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Awards, in recognition of our "visionary project to create a community garden from a tarmac area in the heart of Norwich". We've also been given a Green Flag Award for being a high quality public space.

We continue to have garden tasks on Sunday afternoons (2pm - 4pm). Our next dates are 5th & 19th August and 9th & 23rd September 2012. The garden is open every day from 9am to 6pm in the summer (9am to 4.30pm or dusk from the end of October).

For more information about the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photo by Jeremy Bartlett

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update - 29 July

Grapes Hill Community Garden is a mass of lush vegetation and colourful flowers as the wet spring continues.

Highlights of the garden in early June are the magnificent grass Stipa gigantea and patches of Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis), lupins, various types of hardy Geranium and Salvia 'Mainacht'. There are the contrasting foliage shapes and colours of Hostas, golden Lemon Balm, Heucheras, Sage, Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum), Marjoram and Mints.

As summer begins there will be yet more colour and the garden should be looking good for our First Birthday Party on Sunday 8th July, the day of the Norwich Lanes Fair. There will be food, a licensed bar, music and plant sales, from 3pm until 9pm.

The flowers and the wildflower meadow are doing their job of attracting insect life into the garden. We've just been told that the garden has won an award from Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership. We don't have more details yet, but it is good to know that the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group's work to create a haven for people and wildlife near Norwich city centre has been recognised.

Our raised bed tenants are beginning to harvest their vegetables, though it has not been the easiest of growing seasons so far, with lots of cold weather.

We continue to have garden tasks on Sunday afternoons (2pm - 4pm). Our dates for the summer are: 15th & 29th July and 5th & 19th August 2012.

For more information about the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photos by Jeremy Bartlett

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update

The recent rain has done a lot of good at Grapes Hill Community Garden and areas of the garden which where the soil was baked hard are now bursting with plant life.

The woodland flowers have been lovely: primroses, wood spurge, Anemone blanda and sweet woodruff. As summer approaches the mixed planting of ornamental and kitchen herbs will bring a wider range of colours as well as more pollinators such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies.The raised beds are filling up with vegetable seedlings, starting with radishes, spring onions, lettuces and peas, to be followed with summer crops such as dwarf French beans and outdoor cucumbers.

We have two big events scheduled for the summer:

On Sunday 8th July, the day of the Norwich Lanes Fair, we will be celebrating the garden's first birthday with food, a licensed bar, music and plant sales, from 3pm until 9pm.

On Sunday 12th August (2pm - 6pm) there will be an afternoon of poetry in the garden, with wildlife poet Richard Bonfield and members of Norwich Poetry Group.

Admission to both events is free and the garden will continue to be open from 9am until 6pm throughout the summer.

We continue to have garden tasks on Sunday afternoons (2pm - 4pm). Our dates for the late spring and summer are: 6th & 20th May, 3rd & 17th June, 1st, 15th & 29th July and 5th & 19th August 2012.

For more information about the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photo by Jo Rice - April Showers

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Spring Is Officially Here- 22 April

Spring is definitely here at Grapes Hill Community Garden and there are lots of flowers to see - Primroses, Daffodils, white and purple Anemone blanda and a beautiful Clematis armandii on the trellis. Our raised bed tenants have started to sow vegetable seeds and I'm gradually filling my windowsills and the greenhouse at home with seedlings to plant out at Grapes Hill and on my allotment when the weather is warm enough. 7-Spot Ladybirds are out in force, along with early Bumblebees and Bee-flies.

We are having garden tasks every fortnight on Sunday afternoons (2 - 4pm) and the next ones are on 8th and 22nd April and 6th May. Please come along to see the garden and, if you like, do some planting or light weeding.

Sunny weather is enjoyable but we desperately need some proper rain. The soil in the garden has quite a lot of clay so retains moisture but it will dry out rapidly as temperatures increase, especially from May when the ash trees come into leaf. We have planted many drought tolerant plants and have mulched the soil but there may be a tough summer ahead.

The garden is open to visitors free of charge every day (9am - 6pm in British Summer Time). For more information see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photo by Jeremy Bartlett - 7-Spot Ladybirds on the compost heap

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Spring Tasks Begin - 25 March

We thoroughly enjoyed our Look Forward To Spring event on 19th February. It was a cold but sunny day and our teas and homemade soups kept visitors warm, as did some energetic nestbox building. Norfolk Master Gardeners and Master Composters came along and we had a seed swap and an RSPB information stall. We now have several nestboxes in the garden.

In March we resume our fortnightly gardening tasks. The first one is on Sunday 11th March (2 - 4pm), then Sunday 25th March and so on. This year we will be part of Norwich's entry to Britain In Bloom and we can hopefully demonstrate how a garden containing lots of edible plants can be ornamental and good for wildlife too.

On Friday 16th March we are holding a talk and slideshow at The Belvedere Centre on Belvoir Street, Norwich, NR2 3AZ, from 7 - 9pm. Entitled Norwich 1850 - 1950, it will be given by Peter and Rosemary Salt, who have an extensive collection of old photographs of Norwich. Admission is free. See http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/events.htm for up to date details of all our events.

Snowdrops started flowering in mid February and our daffodils and primroses should be in flower by the end of March.

The garden is open to visitors free of charge every day (9am - 4.30pm in winter, then 9am - 6pm from the end of March) and we will be holding more events during the year.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.

Photo by Jeremy Bartlett - Look Forward To Spring, 19th February 2012

Grapes Hill Community Garden Looking Forward to Spring - 19 February

It is a dull and cold day as I write this update but we've already started the New Year at Grapes Hill Community Garden with our Annual General Meeting (12th January) and an afternoon's Fruit Pruning and Winter Tidy Up (29th January).

We pruned our apple and quince trees and redcurrants, blackcurrant and gooseberry. We removed some unwanted plants (all the Hemlock and surplus Black Horehound) from the meadow and replaced them with Oxeye Daisy seedlings. Over twenty people came along to help, including new visitors to the garden and most of our Raised Bed tenants.

On Sunday 19th February we are holding an event in the garden called Look Forward To Spring. The event runs from 11am to 3pm and admission is free. We will have a seed swap and garden information stalls such as Norfolk Master Gardeners and Master Composters.

The local RSPB Group will hold four nestbox building sessions: 11am, 12 noon, 1pm and 2pm. These are free of charge but places are limited so please book in advance by phone (07729 540 482) or e-mail (contact@grapeshillcommunitygarden.org).

The garden is open to visitors free of charge every day (9am - 4.30pm in winter) and we will be holding more events during the year. See http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/events.htm for up to date details.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.
http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/

Photo by Jeremy Bartlett - Witch Hazel, currently in flower in the garden.

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update

In December we had our first real frosts of the winter and had our last gardening task of the year, clearing tender plants such as Nasturtiums and Achocha. We've left the dry skeletons of our herbaceous perennials and climbers as a winter hiding place for insects, such as clusters of 7-Spot Ladybirds.

The surfaces of the raised beds are covered in leaves, which will prevent nutrients from being leached out of the soil. We've now allocated each of the beds to local families, to give those without a garden of their own space to grow vegetables.

And so, the garden is resting for the winter, though it is still open to the public every day and evergreens, dried seedheads and the occasional flower provide continuing interest.

The end of the year is a time for reflection and so we've put together a brief video of the creation of the garden as a summary of what we've achieved so far. It is amazing that a year ago the garden was still a building site and, before that, an area of rough tarmac.



We wish you all a Happy New Year.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page.

Jeremy Bartlett.
http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/

Film by Jeremy Bartlett, featuring photos by Jeremy Bartlett, Vanna Bartlett and Jo Rice.
Music - "Urban Oasis" by Dave Sturgess.

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update

The exceptionally mild autumn continues and, as I write, our annual flowers such as Cosmos, mallows and Helichrysum continue to flower in the absence of frosts. The ash trees have shed their leaves and we're using them to make leafmould. We've also created a log habitat pile for hibernating insects.

On Wednesday 16th November Rob Hopkins paid us a visit and then on Saturday 19th November we had a very successful fundraising concert at The Belvedere Centre, featuring Saxobility, Norwich Ukulele Society and Norwich Accordion Band.

Now is a good time to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group (GHCGG). We've just launched our members' newsletter, which features articles about the garden and its plants, people and wildlife. And on Saturday 10th December we will have a celebration in the garden for GHCGG members, featuring mince pies and mulled wine.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page. Jeremy Bartlett.

Photograph by Jeremy Bartlett - Rob Hopkins (second right) with Charlotte Du Cann, Mark Watson and Christine Way.

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Deep Beds To Rent

A year ago the Grapes Hill Community Garden was a building site and the block paving was being laid and our nine deep beds were being constructed.

During the first year members of the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group looked after the deep beds and we shared out the produce amongst volunteers on garden work days, from courgettes, runner beans, French beans and beetroot to more unusual crops such as tree spinach and achocha.

From 2012 onwards we will be renting out deep beds, giving preference to people in the surrounding area who don't have their own growing space. If you're interested, fill in an application form by 1st December 2011 and send it to us. You'll also need to join the Gardening Group. Group members will receive a regular newsletter and invites to members only events in the garden, such as barbecues. For more details, including forms and where to send them, see the Get Involved page on our website.

The garden is now slowing down as winter approaches but there is still plenty to see and we've been preparing for spring by planting Anemone, squill and daffodil bulbs.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page. Jeremy Bartlett.

Photograph by Jeremy Bartlett

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Task Day 23 October

Summer is becoming autumn in the Grapes Hill Community Garden, but there are still late flowers and vegetables to see. The meadow has been cut and we will be adding Yellow Rattle seeds this autumn. This beautiful plant, with its yellow flowers in June and dry rattle-like seedheads, is a semi-parasite on grasses, so will keep the height of the meadow down once established. The seeds need cold to germinate, hence the autumn planting.

There are two task days in October: Sundays 9th and 23rd. We will be in the garden between 2 and 4pm on those days - come and meet us and join in!

The garden has been open all summer, 9 - 6pm every day, but winter opening hours will start on Sunday 30th October, when the garden will close at 4.30pm. Admission is free.

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page. Jeremy Bartlett.

Photograph by Vanna Bartlett: Rudbeckia and asters give late summer colour.

Grapes Hill Community Garden Update - 25 September

The Grand Opening Day at Grapes Hill Community Garden on 7th August was a great success and was attended by a wide range of people. Will Giles officially opened the garden, then we enjoyed a day of food, drink, music, plant sales, face painting and information about the garden. We recruited lots of new members.

August has seen the garden at its most productive, with plentiful crops of courgettes, French and runner beans, spring onions, parsley, nasturtiums, Alpine Strawberries, Japanese Wineberries and more unusual vegetables such as Tree Spinach and Achocha.

Some of the hardy Geraniums have been flowering for months and have now been joined by Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Soapwort, annual Mallows and Michaelmas Daisies.

It is always great to meet new members of the public and show them around the garden and this is why the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group now meets on alternate Sunday afternoons (2 - 4pm: 11th and 25th September 2011). Do come and see us!

For more information on the garden see our website and Facebook page - we now have over 140 followers!

Grapes Hill Community Garden is open every day (admission free). Summer opening hours are 9am - 6pm. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Grand Opening Day - 7th August 2011. Photo copyright Jo Rice / Grapes Hill Community Garden Group.

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Grand Opening Day - 7 August

Since the Grapes Hill Community Garden opened its gates to the public on 2nd July it has proved a hit with people and wildlife alike.

We had a great evening in the garden on Sunday 10th July, after St. Benedict's Street Fair. On other days people come in to enjoy the garden's peace and tranquility. People appreciate the garden's wealth of vegetables, herbs and ornamentals, with the wildflower meadow being a particular favourite.

The garden is attracting birds and insects too. A pair of blackbirds nested in a courtyard backing onto our garden and the parents foraged for food here. Bumblebees, butterflies, moths, ladybirds and hoverflies are moving into the garden and we're keeping a note of what we see.

On Sunday 7th August we have our Grand Opening Day. This starts at 11am when Will Giles from Norwich's Exotic Garden officially opens the garden. There will be food, drink, music, ice cream, face painting, competitions, plant sales and information about the garden, until 3pm.
There will also be a one-off chance at this event to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group for half price until the end of 2012 for £5 (waged) or £1.50 (unwaged).

Admission to the garden is free - please come along and see Norwich's newest green space. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Drinks and food in the garden - 10th July 2011. Photo copyright Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website or our Facebook page for more information.

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Opening to the Public - 2 July

On Saturday 2nd July the garden opens to the public and during summer it will be open every day between 9am and 6pm, with shorter opening hours in winter. Thanks to lots of hard work by volunteers it is now looking lovely. The wildflower meadow is a mass of blue, yellow and white (cornflowers, corn marigolds and corn chamomile) and the borders are full of herbs and flowers. At the top of the garden the raised beds are full of thriving vegetables, with the promise of later crops (tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers) to come.

The Grapes Hill Community Garden Group will have a stall at St. Benedict's Street Fair on Sunday 10th July and a collection of photographs of the garden will be on display at the EXPOSURE Photographic Exhibition at St. Margaret's Church in St. Benedict's Street between 5th and 16th July (admission free; closed Mondays).

Later in the day after St. Benedict's Street Fair we will have an evening of food, drink and music in the garden from 6 - 9pm. Admission is free. Come along and see our Urban Oasis! Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Grapes Hill Community Garden, 27th June 2011, photo copyright Jeremy Bartlett.

Grapes Hill Community Garden - We've Finished Planting - 23 June

We've now (more or less) finished planting up the Grapes Hill Community Garden.

Highlight of the garden at the moment is Salvia superba 'Mainacht', whose spikes of violet-purple flowers are proving a big hit with bumblebees. We've had three species so far, including Bombus hypnorum, which only started to colonise the UK in 2001, and is steadily moving north.

We've spread mulch in the garden. This is well-rotted compost from Shrubbs Farm at Edgefield and it is a lovely dark backdrop for the plants. It will help to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. We have a watering rota to keep the garden alive in the current drought.

Our gardening tasks are now every fortnight on Thursday evenings (6 - 8pm) as we prepare to open the garden to the public from Saturday 2nd July. And we're preparing for an evening of music and food on Sunday 10th July (after St. Benedict's Street Fair, 6 - 9pm) and our Grand Opening Day on Sunday 7th August (11am - 3pm).Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Bombus hypnorum on Salvia 'Mainacht', photo copyright Jeremy Bartlett.

Spring at Grapes Hill Community Garden - 26 May

The Grapes Hill Community Garden Group has been busy planting up the garden and we now have lots of hardy perennials and over thirty different sorts of herbs, from some dramatic pyramidal bay trees to more unusual varieties like Anise Hyssop, English Mace and Corsican Mint.

We've had to do a lot of watering too, with the exceptionally hot and dry weather this April. We've been rewarded with our first flowers, including Dog Violets, Primroses and Wood Anemones under the ash trees and the beautful blooms on our Quince tree, by the gates.

With the lighter evenings, we'll have evening garden tasks on Wednesday 4th May, Thursday 26th May and Thursday 9th June (6 - 8pm). Come and join us! For full lists of
events and plants in the garden, see our website. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Our Quince in flower, photo copyright Grapes Hill Community Garden Group.

Grapes Hill Community Garden

Grapes Hill Community Garden is near the bottom of Grapes Hill in Norwich. It was an area of tarmac until September 2010, when hard landscaping work began.

The garden has been planted up by volunteers during spring 2011 and is open to the general public every day (during daylight hours) from Saturday 2nd July 2011.

The garden contains a large number of edible plants - fruit trees and bushes, herbs, vegetables and edible flowers, such as French marigolds (Calendula) and day lilies (Hemerocallis).

We have planted a small apple orchard, fan-trained cherries, a fig, cordeon pear trees, four grape vines, a plum, an apricot, raspberries and blackberries. More unusual fruit include quince and medlar trees, honeyberries, Japanese wineberries and alpine strawberries.

There are four large ash trees and these provide shade in summer. In the shadier areas we have planted woodland wildflowers such as primroses, snowdrops, bluebells and Welsh poppies.

Underneath the apple trees is a small meadow area with wild flowers and grasses.

We are also growing ornamental shrubs and flowers to make the garden attractive to people and wildlife alike.

There are several seats and a lawn area where visitors can relax and enjoy the garden.

If you'd like to become involved in the garden, you can join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website, http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/, for more details.

Come and enjoy our urban oasis!

For further details contact Grapes Hill community Garden website.