Welcome to our garden newsletter!

📅EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🍂Saturday, 28th February, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Family Nature Connection session with Jane, a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors » TICKETS 

🌾Sunday, 1st March, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm - Guildford Seed Swap - Trinity Centre, GU1 3RR - INFO

🥄Sunday, 8th March, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm - Bodgers Day in the Hub - Closed group, please get in touch with Guildford Spoon Carvers for details

🌱Saturday, 14th March, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Introduction to Gardening Workshop (Part 1) with Lynne and Clare - email: guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com

🌿Wednesday, 25th March, 7:00 pm - Zero AGM - Further details via Zero

🍂Save the Date - Saturday, 2nd May, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Family Nature Connection session with Jane - A perfect event for families to slow down, explore and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors - email: guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com for info.

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🐌GARDEN UPDATE

by Clare Millington

Although January and February have been pretty wet, it’s good to get it off its chest and top up the water tables, ponds and butts ready for the summer. Some welcome sunshine and warmth have set the birds tweeting and the signs of spring are everywhere. The cherry trees and blackthorn are coming into flower, there are catkins on the willow, and we've got something spicy popping up in the forest garden!

Clue 1: It arrives quietly in late winter.
Clue 2: It loves dappled shade and woodland edges.
Clue 3: Crush a leaf gently between your fingers and it gives itself away.
Clue 4: In a few weeks, it will be carpeting the ground with starry white flowers.
Clue 5: It’s delicious in pesto, soups and butter!

Community

I’ve been thinking about the true meaning of community gardens, and it’s been interesting visiting local projects and hearing their stories and visions. I realise that each project is unique. Some are purely for wellbeing through growing and the joy of being outside together. Some focus on growing and providing local food, and some offer education opportunities.

This network of projects is also a wider connection for community. Sharing ideas and resources with each other takes us back to a time when we bartered and swapped, and money wasn’t the objective.

This month

We donated our amazing willow wands to the Ripley Nature Reserve for their hedge laying, and Glenda, who made us our beautiful stained glass bee.

I helped out at the Garden House Project and learned valuable pruning skills for our orchard. I’ve also came away with some beautiful coloured willow to plant at Rosamund.

Farncombe Community Garden shared valuable advice about how they started and designed their lovely space, and we will donate willow for their woven fences.

We now have a source of woodchip supplied by a local tree surgeon, Angus in Chilworth, and manure from Amanda’s horses next door.

Rob Stringer will supply our tree stakes from his coppice nearby in exchange for some tomato plants.

Clandon Wood Natural Burial has donated all the clay for our Hub building.

Wassail

The Wassail event was a really successful afternoon of dancing, singing and blessing the orchard, led by the fantastic forager, spoon carver and wassailer Sue Webber in her crimson robes.

Sue invited some members of her Shakti Singers choir, who sang to us in the Hub (video here) while we ate the delicious cakes supplied by our DofE bakers.

We had a good turnout and it was lovely to see people from 9 to 90 enjoying the fun. Shin supplied enormous marshmallows for toasting, which went down a treat with the youngsters.

Big thanks to all who came and contributed.

Seed Swap

We’ve saved lots of lovely seeds from the garden last year, so do go along to the Guildford seed swap on Sunday. There will be lots of interesting local seeds to buy and swap.

Orchard

We enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon pruning our fruit trees. Last year they were damaged by rabbits, so we decided to let them recover and didn’t prune. Consequently, there was a lot of new growth to sort out. We had a good turnout to reshape the trees and mulch them with a mix of manure and woodchips

Surrey County Council donated three pear tree saplings for our orchard, which we planted and mulched, and the DofE students knocked up some great signs.

With the Wassail and all this attention, hopefully we’ll have another bumper crop this autumn.

What’s occurring in the fruit cage

Kate has done a great job of pruning the currants, grapes and berries, and they’re all budding away in the fruit cage.

Last year we noticed that the autumn fruiting raspberries that hadn’t been pruned, runners that had escaped the cage, all fruited much earlier in the summer. Kate has carried out an experiment and tried a mixture of pruning approaches to hopefully get a longer cropping season, so watch this space for results.

We’ve also decided to plant some kales and brassicas in the cage where there are gaps, to protect them from birds and caterpillars. We’ll plant a mix of perennial kale and broccoli, along with some annual curly kale.

Groups

Our growing community of group members is thriving, from the resident Guildford Spoon Carvers to the young people from RGS and GHS sixth form, Pond Meadow SEND School, and Nudge Education working one-to-one with children to experience nature.

The Growth Team from Surrey Choices have spent the winter tree popping in the meadows.

Other News

Clare has secured funding from SCC Your Fund and Mark Brown, joint owner of the site, to pay for a Certificate in Community Orchard course through The Orchard Project. This will qualify her to run workshops at the garden and provide support for other orchard projects.

Lynne from Zero will be running a series of four workshops at the garden to teach beginners how to grow from seed to harvest. This will be a low-cost course and will cover most aspects of organic growing. People can either book individual days or the whole course.

Margaret is sourcing native plants and seeds for the bog garden and pond margins, so we’ll be arranging some planting dates in the next couple of months.

We’ll also be offering some free cobbing workshops this spring, so watch out for these great opportunities to learn how to build with cob and meet new people.

🐮LOOKERING

by Sarah Davies

A beautiful, cold, but sunny spring day saw some of the 'Lookerer' volunteers head out and help Surrey Wildlife Trust put up the next lot of electric fencing, to help protect the Belties and Sheep as they graze the next set of fields at Pewley and Rosamund Meadows. Thanks, Lucy at SWT, the tea and biscuits helped to keep us going!

👩🏻‍🌾MARCH JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Mulch beds with compost

• Start to sow seeds in poly 2

• Clear brambles and scrub around trees

• Make dead hedge edging

• Use woodchip to top up paths and on trellis area

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH - LESSER CELANDINE

by Helen Harris

Ficaria verna

Description

With glossy, dark-green and heart-shaped leaves with long stalks and shiny, yellow star-like flowers with eight to twelve petals, lesser Celandine is a cheerful harbinger of spring found throughout the United Kingdom. It can be found in woodlands, hedgerows riverbanks, and meadows from February to May. It is a member of the buttercup family, not to be confused with Greater Celandine, which is poppy family. Lesser celandine is not a geophyte (a plant with a bulb – e.g. snowdrop) like most other very early emerging flowers, however it does have a cluster of small tubers at the stem base which explains how it manages to regrow and flower so early in the year. 

Ecology

Lesser celandine is an important early nectar source for pollinators such as bees and hoverflies. The plant thrives in moist, shady environments and often forms dense carpets, which help stabilise soil and prevent erosion along waterways.

Medicinal Uses

Lesser celandine has a notable history of medicinal use in the UK, particularly for the treatment of haemorrhoids—hence its alternative name, pilewort. Traditional herbalists would prepare ointments and poultices from the plant's roots, which contain saponins and tannins believed to soothe inflammation and promote healing. Incidentally, the shape of these tubers explains lesser celandine’s other common name: pilewort. The tubers mentioned above were also considered to resemble that of haemorrhoids or piles. Under the ancient ‘doctrine of signatures’, God was held to have marked each species to indicate its use to humans, so this resemblance was considered a sure fire sign that celandine would cure piles.

Folklore

William Wordsworth, the famed Romantic poet, was so taken by its golden blooms that he penned several poems in its honour, even requesting the flower be carved on his tombstone. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, celandine carpets the land when Aslan is resurrected and the eternal winter ends.  In rural superstition, some believed it could predict the weather: if the flowers closed before midday, rain was expected. Others associated it with luck and fertility, incorporating the blooms into spring celebrations or using them to decorate homes for protection and prosperity.

Sources: 

Woodland Trust Wildlife Trust Forest Garden

🎟️JOINING INFO

https://www.guildfordcommunitygarden.org.uk/

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2026!

📅EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🍎Saturday, 7th February, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Wassail With Us - Free and fun event. A Wassail is an Anglo-Saxon tradition of blessing an orchard to ensure a good harvest. The celebration involves decorating a tree, singing, poetry and apple juice and snacks. Limited to 50 spaces, so grab a ticket HERE 

🍂Saturday, 28th February, 2:00 pm-3:00 pm - Family Nature Connection session with Jane, a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors » TICKETS 

🌾Sunday, 1st March, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm - Guildford Seed Swap - Trinity Centre, GU1 3RR INFO

🥄Sunday, 8th March - Bodgers day in the Hub - closed group, please contact Guildford Spoon Carvers for details.

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🐦‍⬛ALAN’S TWITCHING NEWS

Have you ever looked up at Rosamund and wondered who else is sharing the space with us?

Helen suggested that if anyone should jot down a few words about the birds of Rosamund Gardens and Pewley Down, it ought to be one of our regular watchers. Enter Alan, frequently spotted in the area with binoculars in hand. We are delighted that he has agreed to contribute regular updates. Thank you, Alan.

From a Barn Owl roosting in the loo to Firecrests zipping through the hedges, from migrating Ring Ouzels to the unexpected glide of a Red Kite overhead, Pewley and Rosamund are far busier than we might realise.

In this reflection on what was seen across 2025, Alan shares the highlights, surprises and shifting patterns that tell a bigger story about migration routes, changing seasons and our warming climate. It is a lovely reminder that our garden sits within something much wider and wilder.

Read on below to discover the highlights and perhaps be inspired to start your own…

CLICK

🐌GARDEN UPDATE

by Clare Millington

With the lengthening days and milder weather, the volunteers have been working on various projects around the garden to get things ready for the growing season.

The salad plants have been trimmed and weeded in Poly 1 to encourage the new growth flush in the next month. They’ve done well over the winter and we’re looking forward to the usual bounty when things warm up and the days get lighter.

The DofE students have been making lovely new signs for the trees and plants in the garden. We hope to get all the permanent and perennial plants labelled this year.

The new Bronze award students had a fun session in the Hub, making willow crowns for this Saturday’s Wassail event.

Some of the kids have taken on the new beds under the trellis and made a great start weeding and mulching with cardboard, ready for the compost, which will be ready in Feb.

Chris Harlow from Fully Charged Guildford came and offered his expertise to finally put the tin roof on the storage area, which looks very smart and is now water-proof. Thank you!

Ann is sorting through the seeds and making a list of things we need to order for the sowing season. We managed to save a lot of seed last year, so hopefully we’ll have lots to share and plant in the garden.

The Hub

Things are moving along nicely with the tricky sections at the tops of the walls being filled with wire frames and wool ready for another session of daubing.

Malcolm and I have completed half the bamboo guttering and the wooden barrels are full of water already (not really surprising with all this rain!)

The Guildford Spoon Carvers had a very successful gathering, with a record turnout and new members joining the group. They had a big cook-up over the fire and managed to stay cosy by the woodburner despite the mizzle.

We’ve had several enquiries already this year from local people interested in running some workshops at the Hub and garden, so watch this space for some fun and educational times ahead.

We are also welcoming back some local corporate groups to come and do some community volunteering this Spring, bringing their energy and enthusiasm to our various projects.

🐮LOOKERING

by Helen Harris

Our expanded Lookering volunteer team have been working hard to ensure the welfare of the Belted Galloway cows and Boreray-Wiltshire horn sheep we are hosting from Surrey Wildlife Trust.

This year, the Rosamund Gardens Lookerers are joined by new volunteers from Friends of Pewley Meadows and Zero Carbon Guildford.

The animals need a daily visual check to make sure they are all present, fit and healthy and that their water supply is available - hard work in January's cold snap when the ice on their trough needed breaking morning and evening!

🎟️EVENTS UPDATE

by Jane Tyson

It feels like a while ago now. On Sunday, 7 December, we gathered for our annual Wreath Making Workshop at the garden and what a lovely morning it was.

Despite the wintry weather outside, the hub kept us dry and warm while everyone crafted their own beautiful wreaths to take home. There is something rather special about creating together as the season turns.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us. The workshop sold out quickly and we are delighted it was such a success.

On Saturday, 20th December, we also enjoyed our Rosamund Community Garden festive get-together. It was lovely to see our community coming together.

This Saturday, 7th February, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, you are invited to our fun and free Wassaling event! Bring a spoon and a pot to help chase away the ‘evil spirits’ and take part in blessing our orchard. Maybe you will be crowned our Wassail King and Queen? » INFO AND TICKETS

👩🏻‍🌾FEBRUARY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Cutting back brambles and nettles

• Weeding and mulching beds

• Remove dead stalks and leaves and put on compost

🎟️JOINING INFO

https://www.guildfordcommunitygarden.org.uk/

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Welcome to the last newsletter of 2025!

By the way, if you missed our Clare on BBC Radio Surrey on Sunday - here’s the link at 1:18:53.

📅EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🎄Sunday, 7th December, 10:30 am-12:30 pm -Wreath Making Workshop with Clare and Helen - get into the holiday spirit and create your own beautiful wreath to decorate your home. This in-person workshop will be held at the garden. Sold Out » WAITING LIST

🍂Saturday, 13th December, 1:00 pm-2:00 pm - Family Nature Connection session with Jane, a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors » TICKETS

🌲Thursday, 18th December, 10:00 am - Tree Popping the Meadow - Surrey Choices Growth Team

🌟Saturday, 20th December, 11:00 am-1:00 pm - Festive Drop In Get Together - mince pies and hot drinks for members, volunteers & their families.

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌿GARDEN UPDATE

by Clare Millington

As we move towards the quiet of Winter, the low light and shift in temperatures make for reflection on the year and allow time to tidy, cut back and put things to bed.

Poly-Tunnels

The gorgeous salads in poly 1 continue to yield spicy leaves full of goodness, but they won’t put on any more growth until February, when the days start to lengthen, so pick them sparingly and leave the central growth for later.

Compost Bays

With Kate leading on the compost area, we’ve made a phenomenal amount of rich compost, incorporating the waste veg from Fare Share and donated wood-chips and manure from our neighbours. 

Kate shared that the secret is to layer green and brown garden waste with manure and biochar, and then to leave it for a month before turning it, mixing it and then leaving it for 3 months covered. Can’t wait to uncover it in Feb and spread it around the plants!

The ideal size for a bay is 1m cubed.

Hub

We have now begun work on the bamboo gutters at the Hub, and we’ve been fortunate to meet Malcolm, who has offered to assist with the project. Malcolm has kindly donated his time and some metal he had to design the brackets for the bamboo gutters. It’s looking great so far and the whiskey barrel water butts are a really lovely addition to the build. 

Cobbing will resume in the Spring, when things get a bit warmer, but we’re making steady progress on plugging the remaining gaps.

We’ve sourced some lovely folding benches and tables, which we’ll christen at the upcoming wreath workshop next Sunday.

Belties

The Belties are back to mow the meadows and the volunteers had a lovely day helping the Surrey Wildlife Trust team install the electric fencing around the grazing areas.

This year the “Lookerers” have been joined by new faces from Pewley Down volunteers, Mount volunteers and Zero Carbon Guildford, which means we have a great source of helpers and lots of backup. 

☀️GROUPS AT THE GARDEN

The 6th formers from RGS and GHS have been enjoying tree-popping in the fields for their Tuesday sessions, and will be back next year to help at the garden.

The Growth Team from Surrey Choices have offered their time to come and tree-pop over the winter, so we’re really keeping on top of the blackthorn saplings to preserve the chalk habitat.

The hardy Guildford Spoon Carvers have pledged to do some carving days at the Hub throughout 2026, in addition to their regular monthly meetings. If you’re interested in spoon carving and bodging, drop them a line guildfordspoonclub@gmail.com 

They welcome new members who have some experience and their own tools, or they can signpost novices to some great resources on how to start.

The children and staff from Pond Meadow School have started to come regularly to the garden, to volunteer and learn valuable life-skills before they go on to the next chapter. They’ve spent this month mulching around the fruit-trees with wood chip, and did a great job. One of the group leaders is our Erin, who works at the school, and she hopes to do some art and craft workshops in the Hub when the weather is bad.

🎯GARDEN PLANS FOR 2026

• Build outside kitchen for Hub

• Plant up the bog garden

• Make another dead hedge near the pond

• Finish the Hub

• Look at funding for paid roles at the garden

🌧️RAINWATER COLLECTION RESEARCHERS

by Lisa Dittmar

In November, a group of Industrial Design students from Imperial came up to the garden as part of their research on rainwater collection in community gardens. They are working on some brilliant designs for asthetic and functional rainwater harvesting and will share the outcomes of their research, so stay tuned for future updates!

Here's what they had to say about their visit:

🌱FAMILY NATURE SESSION WITH THE JOLLIES AND JANE

Daniel enjoyed some icy play in the fabulous new mud kitchen created by his dad, Paul. We then visited the Belties in the meadow, and afterwards took a stroll along the footpath next to the garden to enjoy the opening of the new Pewley View and some Beltie Biscuits!

Join Jane again on Saturday, 13 December from 1pm to 2pm. Wrap up warm and wear sturdy shoes » BOOK 

More pics and posts over on our Rosamund Instagram and Facebook pages.

💧A NEW BOG AREA AT ROSAMUND

by Margaret Hattersley

There are several ponds at Rosamund, which we hope will create a mosaic of habitats because they are at different stages of life and different depths and sizes. 

The old pond is adjacent to the new pond and recently a team of volunteers cut back some of the surrounding vegetation to open an area around one side of it. It is now filling in a little, and we plan to introduce some semi-aquatic plants here to create a more diverse marsh habitat. We will plant native plants in the shallows such as marsh marigold, which flowers early providing nectar for bees, brooklime, marshmallow, and globeflower.  

In the edge between the two ponds, we will introduce pillwort which will form a dense carpet around the margins of the larger pond over the coir netting. 

In the deeper areas plants will include water forget me not which newts lay their eggs on, water mint which feeds butterflies, and bogbean which dragonfly nymphs climb up before molting into adult dragonflies.  

90% of wetlands have been lost in the UK over the last 50 years. Marshland is not necessarily a natural habitat at the top of chalk downs (although areas of natural clay do create pockets of wetland), but by creating a small area here it’s helping to link wildlife corridors between sites for invertebrates, birds and amphibians. 

The area is fed by rainwater collected from the roof of the compost toilet, so will remain damper than surrounding areas. 

We will keep you posted on when the date for planting is planned next Spring!  

🌱PLANT OF THE MONTH - MISTLETOE

by Helen Harris

Latin name: Viscum album (can translate as white goo!)
Common name: Churchman’s Greeting, Kiss-and-go, Masslin, Misle and Mislin-Bush.
Habitat: Native to the UK, lives in the canopies of broadleaf trees and apple trees. Mistletoe is relatively common but declining as more and more established orchards are cut down. With climate change it is thought to be on the move from its traditional counties on the English Welsh border and in the South of England. The Tree Council is running a citizen science project to try and get more data on this. You can take part here: 

https://treecouncil.org.uk/science-and-research/mistletoe-research/

Appearance: Oval, evergreen leaves which grow in pairs; small, white flowers (February – April) made up of four tiny petals, in clusters; waxy,  white berries in clusters of two to six. Seeds are coated in a sticky substance which sticks to the beaks of birds feeding on the fruit.

Mistletoe is dioecious meaning male and female flowers are produced on separate plants. It grows in spherical mass up to 1m across. All parts of the plant are poisonous to people.

Ecology: Mistletoe is hemi-parasitic: it attaches itself to the branches of host trees—most commonly apple, poplar, lime, and hawthorn—and draws water and nutrients while also photosynthesising for itself. Its presence is a sign of a healthy, mature orchard or woodland.

Mistletoe’s berries ripen over winter, providing a vital food source for birds such as the mistle thrush, redwing, fieldfare and woodpeckers. These birds are essential for mistletoe’s reproduction: distributing the sticky seeds on their beaks, feet and in their poo. Once on a branch, the gluey pulp around the seed hardens and fastens the seed in place. As the new mistletoe plant grows, the roots penetrate the bark.

Folklore, Traditions and Uses : Ancient Druids considered mistletoe sacred, especially when found on oak trees—a rare occurrence. It was believed mistletoe possessed mystical powers, symbolising life and fertility due to its ability to thrive in the winter months. Mistletoe was used in rituals for protection, healing, and to bring good luck. 

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is thought to have originated in the 18th century. According to custom, a berry should be picked from the sprig with each kiss. This practice is said to bring romance, luck, and harmony during the festive season.

Mistletoe contains an anti-spasmodic compound and is said to be useful in the treatment of epilepsy.
 
Sources:
NBN
Plantlife
Woodlandtrust

Wishing you all a lovely festive break and hopefully see some of you on the 20th for a cuppa and catch up.

From the Rosamund Team

🎟️JOINING INFO

Please visit https://www.guildfordcommunitygarden.org.uk/

📅EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🐮Wednesday, 12th November - from 10:30 am Cattle Fencing Day - come and help us install the electric fencing for the belties on the Rosamund Field - all welcome

🥂Saturday, 22nd November - 2:00 pm Pewley Meadows Get Together to celebrate the new viewfinder - Eastern meadow next to Burgess Way, for FoPM members and RCG members + family

🍂Saturday, 22nd November - 1.:00 pm-2:00 pm Family Nature Connection session with Jane, a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors » 4 FAMILY SPACES

🎄Sunday, 7th December, 10:30 am-12:30 pm -Wreath Making Workshop with Clare and Helen - get into the holiday spirit and create your own beautiful wreath to decorate your home. This in-person workshop will be held at the garden. 4 spaces remain » TICKETS

🌟Saturday, 20th December, 11:00 am-2:00 pm - Festive Drop In Get Together - mince pies and hot drinks. Members, volunteers & their families

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🎥SPOTTED IN THE GARDEN 

by Paul Jolley

We set up a motion-activated camera looking along the bank of the pond at Rosamund Gardens. Anything warm blooded will trigger it to record a 20 second video, roughly between dusk and dawn. When it's dark, the camera will switch to infrared, which are the black and white videos. Sources of water are often visited by a wide range of animals, which is why we set it up by the pond. Clearly, this is the case at Rosamund, as we've recorded many videos, over 200 in October.

Spot the wildlife! How many animals can you see in the video below? (click on the description in the video for our thoughts).

And is this a polecat, ferret or mink - what do you think?

🌿GARDEN UPDATE

by Clare Millington

I think we can safely say that the summer is over and the Autumnal rains are replenishing the soil and ponds in the garden, after the thirsty, but enjoyable months of sunshine.

This year, we haven’t had to water the fruit-cage or the orchard, and even the new Forest Garden has needed minimal watering. This proves that no-dig practices and deep mulching really work to lock moisture into the soil, maintaining vital fungal pathways. Keeping soil covered with plants through the year is also a great way to stop the top layer drying out, even if this is with “weeds” the plants will hold huge amounts of water in their root systems.

We’re still crossing our fingers that the rabbit damage in the orchard hasn’t done lasting harm. We have lost one or two of the younger trees and the kiwi vine didn’t last, but the others have had huge crops, so we’ll wait and see…

Autumn and winter are lovely times to have a good sort out. Cutting back brambles and nettles; turning composts and layering new ones; covering bare beds with mulch or cardboard to keep them damp and suppress weeds; and drying and saving seeds to plant next spring or share/swap with other gardeners.

This year we’ve saved seeds from spinach, tree spinach, woad, chives, calendula, echinacea, hollyhocks, cosmos, evening primrose and borage. 

Erin, has been busy drying the dye flowers to store for her natural dye workshops. Next year we plan to extend the bed and include some more varieties including flax, which as well as providing fibre for linen, also produces beautiful blue flowers for pollinators.

The Jolley family came and installed our first proper mud kitchen in the willow play area. As more young families join the garden, we hope this will provide a lovely space for the kids to get mucky and have a good “cook” - a plea for some old pots and pans please.

Thank you!

☀️GROUPS AT THE GARDEN

AQA

This month we’ve had another visit from AQA, who came on a perfect sunny day to clear the brambles from around the old pond. This area has been very neglected, but forms an important boggy habitat to complement the new pond.

The group had fun clearing and mulching the area, ready for us to plant some new marginal plants, which will add to the biodiversity at the garden.

DofE

Our DofE students have been working on their various projects - the dye bed; the outside seating area; and seed saving and signage.

Although some of them have finished their awards, it’s very heart-warming to see them either choosing to stay and do their next level at Rosamund, or just keep coming with their parents as volunteers. We are expecting at least 2 more students to start this winter, and they really provide a lovely addition to our little community.

Schools

The 6 Formers for RGS and GHS are back for the winter providing a productive work party to help with winter jobs. Last time Helen taught the group to tree pop in the meadow, and they really got stuck in after she’d explained the importance of maintaining these chalk downland habitats for rare and endangered species. This is a good winter job, as is collecting manure from our next-door neighbour’s horses and mulching around the garden.

The Hub

We’ve had a hiatus in activity for a while, because we ran out of clay for the build, but we now have a fresh supply from Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground, which should mean we can make the Hub wind-proof for the winter. We will be able to invite groups to come and help us complete the walls, and install our ambitious new bamboo rainwater harvesting system around the roof.

The final installation will be the solar-powered lighting, which will be a fantastic addition, especially for the darker months.

More pics and posts over on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

👩🏻‍🌾NOVEMBER JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Weed and mulch front beds

• Cut down bean plants and compost

• Cut down dead stalks and flower heads

• Dig out grass from flower bed and start to mulch around plants

• Cut down comfrey bed and put on compost heap

🌱PLANT OF THE MONTH - WILD CLEMATIS

by Helen Harris

Latin name: Clematis vitalba
Height: Low-growing, scrambling plant
Conservation status: Common
Origin: Native to southern UK
Habitat: Hedgerows and low scrub, preferring chalky soil

Appearance:

Old Man’s Beard, part of the buttercup family, has compound leaves with three to five toothed leaflets. The white flowers, about 2 cm wide, appear to have petals but are actually sepals with large stamens. Its silky, feathery seed clusters, or achenes, give the plant its distinctive flowing look and name.

Ecology:

A woody deciduous climber that can reach 30 m. Flowers are hermaphroditic and mainly insect-pollinated by bees and hoverflies. It blooms from July to September, with seed heads lasting through winter. Traveller’s Joy is a food source for moths such as the pretty chalk carpet, small waved umber, and small emerald, and provides food and nesting material for birds like goldfinches. Dense foliage also shelters small mammals and invertebrates.

Environmental impact:

Seeds spread easily by wind. Fast-growing and sometimes invasive, it can outcompete other plants in woodlands, meadows, and chalk grasslands, where it may be removed during habitat management.

Common names, traditional medicine and folklore:

Also known as Traveller’s Joy and Virgin’s Bower, the plant was said to protect travellers and bring luck, though bringing it indoors was considered unlucky. The name “Old Man’s Beard” may refer to God or the Green Man of folklore. Traditionally, it was used for its anti-inflammatory properties to treat skin irritations and stress.

By Old Man's Beard by Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110265748

Sources:
Woodland Trust
Woodlands.co.uk

GET INVOLVED

For joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to October’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

Thursday, 16th October - AQA corporate volunteers (closed group)

🍂Sunday, 19th October - 1.:00 pm-2:30 pm Family Nature Connection session with Jane, a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors » TICKETS

🎄Sunday, 7th December, 10:30 am-12:30 pm -Wreath Making Workshop with Clare and Helen - get into the holiday spirit and create your own beautiful wreath to decorate your home. This in-person workshop will be held at the garden » TICKETS

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🍎WHAT A DAY!

Highlights from Our Apple Pressing & Open Day

This year’s phenomenal crop of apples, together with the warm sunshine on the day, meant a brilliant turnout for our popular open day.

Volunteers went above and beyond, baking delicious cakes, preparing hearty soups, and keeping the stalls and apple press running smoothly.

Erin and Lisa

We had a record number of visitors, reflected in the takings (almost double compared to last year!). Mary Tobin from Mary Makes Jam sold out of her produce, as did all the food and juice.

She generously donated half her takings to the garden and half to a local women’s shelter.

Charlotte from Earthlings Outdoor Learning (pictured on the left below) provided a peaceful space for the younger children to play and create away from the hubbub.

 

Both our presses were flat out all day, producing bottle after bottle of juice. Mark at the bottling station did a fantastic job keeping up with demand.

Thanks to all the lovely people who made this a very special day.

Cheers!

What Happened Next…

We like to make the most of our presses, so this year we lent one to the first Shalford Orchard Apple Day and we also hosted the Camberley Nepalese group for a fun-filled extra pressing.

And the sixth-formers from RGS and GHS enjoyed processing the last of the windfalls during their volunteer shift.

Kate caught her chickens that she brought up for the day to clear the fruit cage.

And local pigs have tucked into the apple chips.

More pics and pigs from “Apple Pressing & Open Afternoon” over on our Instagram and/or Facebook page.

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

It’s starting to feel really autumnal now, and the late warm weather and soft rains have given the garden a boost, producing some gorgeous blooms for the pollinators. The sedums, sunflowers, geraniums, and cosmos are particularly striking.

We still have a decent amount of apples and pears in the orchard, and the dye bed just keeps on flowering! We’re definitely going to thread the coreopsis and dyer’s chamomile through the other beds next summer, they are just incredible.

In the polytunnel, the winter salads are very well established and, with this continued warmth, we’ll be getting small harvests before the days get too short. There will hopefully be bumper amounts in the spring.

This time of year we can take a step back, look at what we’ve learnt, and make plans for the winter. We are busy collecting and saving seed for planting or sharing, cutting back dead stalks, and clearing, weeding, and covering the beds.

The perennial broccoli is ready to be planted into its final place. This variety ‘Nine Star’ produces huge yields and forms a large bush, so we’ll make a clump in the forest garden. It’ll need protecting from the birds over the winter, as they tend to strip the brassicas when food is scarce.

The raised beds have done well this year and are now ready to be cleared and topped up with manure and compost. Ann has planted green manures in one of them, and we can plant the broad beans once the others are clear.

Mike has started scything the orchard, so we’re using the cut grass to cover some of the beds. This worked well last year and kept the weeds down until we plant again in the spring.

John Draper, one of the spoon carvers, has donated a lovely piece of stained glass for the window in the Hub. It’s great to have some colour there, especially on grey, wintry days. John also made our much-admired wooden sign outside the Hub.

Thanks, John!

👩🏻‍🌾OCTOBER JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Collect, save and label dry seed on dry days

• Cut down spent plants - clear beans, squash plants, asparagus etc

• Harvest raspberries and apples and pears

• Collect manure from next door

• Cover empty beds with mulch and cardboard 

• Water salads and plants in poly-tunnels if dry

🌱PLANT OF THE MONTH - HAZEL

by Helen Harris

Scientific name: Corylus avellana

Habitat: Hazel is widespread in Northern regions of Europe and Western Asia. It thrives in hedgerows the dappled woodland shade, often present in ancient woodlands as part of the understorey alongside oaks and field maples.

Description: Hazel typically produces multiple stems at ground level, so technically is categorised as a shrub rather than a tree with a base area of up to 2m diameter and a dense low level understory. It is a short-lived tree, reaching 50-70 years in age, but if it is coppiced, either by people or naturally through damage to its trunks, it will live much longer (up to a few hundreds of years)

The bark is smooth and shiny, and greyish-brown in colour. The trunks often support a diverse range of mosses, liverworts and lichens some of which are very rare, especially in the wetter parts of its range*. 

The leaves are roundish in shape, with a point at the end, and are about 10 cm across. Leaf edges are doubly serrate and the leaves are hairy with a rough texture. 

Hazel is monoecious, meaning that both male and female flowers are found on the same tree. Male flowers are pale yellow catkins. They open in February, before the leaves unfurl so they are one of the first obvious signs of spring in the forest.

The female flowers are tiny red tufts, growing out of what look like swollen buds, and are visible on the same branches as the male catkins. 

Ecology: Hazel is a member of the birch family of trees, Betulaceae

Hazel trees are important for biodiversity. Their dense foliage and the tangle of stems offer shelter for nesting birds, small mammals, and insects. Coppiced hazel also provides shelter for ground-nesting birds, such as the nightingale, nightjar, yellowhammer and willow warbler.

The nuts, commonly known as cobnuts or filberts, are a vital autumn food source for dormice, squirrels, woodpeckers, and jays. The catkins, which appear in late winter, are among the first sources of pollen for bees emerging from hibernation.

Hazel leaves provide food for the caterpillars of moths, including the large emerald, small white wave, barred umber and nut-tree tussock.

Folklore and Myth: Hazel is associated with wisdom, divination, and magic. In Celtic tradition, hazel was the tree of knowledge and inspiration. The legend of the Salmon of Knowledge tells of a magical fish that gained all the world’s wisdom by eating hazelnuts that fell into a sacred pool. Only those who ate the salmon could share in this wisdom.

Hazel rods have long been used as dowsing sticks to find water, minerals, or hidden treasures. The tree’s association with protection led to hazel being planted near homes to ward off evil spirits and lightning. In some regions, hazel nuts were carried as charms against rheumatism and for good luck.

Traditional uses: It is well adapted to coppicing, a traditional woodland management technique where the stems are cut at ground level to encourage growth of more, straight poles. These have a variety of uses, notably for the wattle panels in traditional wattle and daub building (and in our very own Hub) as well as hurdle fence panels and in basketry and charcoal production. 

Archaeological evidence from pollen analysis has shown there was a rapid expansion in the range of hazel during the Mesolithic period (from 11,000 to 6,000 years ago). Because the large nuts are not dispersed over great distances, this has led to speculation that Mesolithic peoples may have transported the nuts with them as a food source, and thereby aided the expansion of the tree’s range.

Hazelnuts have been gathered for millenia and enjoyed as a nutritious food, eaten fresh, roasted, or ground into flour. Twigs were used in rural medicine, believed to treat ailments such as coughs and rheumatism.

* For this reason in wetter temperate rainforest areas of its range coppicing is not recommended.

Sources

https://treesforlife.org.uk/into-the-forest/trees-plants-animals/trees/hazel/hazel-facts/

https://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/wildlife-explorer/trees-and-shrubs/hazel?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20312350455&gbraid=0AAAAADQCUKtkVgPZCtRIhOzaedUMDJwzh&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0Y3HBhCxARIsAN7931U1OKPpM49vU-z6CLQWf1KPgAUFEwZluMkd-iye3dStjw4bTpx5ybgaAkLMEALw_wcB

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/hazel/

MEMBERSHIP

For joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to September’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🌿 Saturday, 13th September, 2:00–3:15 pm – Family Nature Connection with Jane - a perfect event for families to slow down, explore, and enjoy meaningful time together outdoors. » BOOK HERE 

🤝 Tuesday, 16th September, 10:00 am–2:00 pm – Corporate Volunteering Day with Clyde & Co (closed group)

🍎 Sunday, 21st September, 12:00–4:00 pm – FREE Open Afternoon with Apple Pressing - a relaxed, family-friendly afternoon at our beautiful Guildford community garden, with apple pressing, homemade produce, children’s activities, and music. » TICKETS

🪓 Sunday, 28th September, all day – Bodgers in the Hub (closed group)

🎨 Sunday, 5th October, 11:00 am–3:00 pm – Natural Plant Dye Workshop with Erin (part of Sustainable Fashion Week, 27th Sept–5th Oct) — learn to create beautiful textiles using seasonal, organically grown dye plants in our garden. » TICKETS THROUGH ZERO HERE

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

What’s happening in the garden?

This summer has brought unusually extreme weather. After the dry spring, we were worried there might not be much fruit at all.

The drought has affected vegetable harvests. Yet, the fruit trees and bushes have managed to thrive, drawing on the reserves left by winter rains.

Our plum trees, hybrid berries, and even our new cherry tree have given wonderful, sweet fruits. The apple trees are groaning under the weight, ready for our apple pressing afternoon later this month.

The hawthorns and sloes are especially full and striking this year. Unfortunately, they may be gone before the cold weather sets in, which could affect the birds and animals that rely on berries and nuts to see them through the winter.

On the other hand, the dry, warm weather has brought a noticeable increase in insects compared to last year. Butterflies, bees, and many other species have been making the most of the blossoms and flowers in the garden.

Thanks to Paul Jolley’s wildlife camera, we’ve witnessed many nocturnal mammals visiting the pond - polecats (we think), badgers, foxes, and rabbits.

We are starting to sow our gorgeous salads for the winter polytunnels. Mibuna, mizuna, rocket, kale, and spinach all do very well under cover, and this year we’re trying a pak choi variety.

Sam (DofE) and his mum, Penny, have been working really hard on the outside seating area, creating beds under the trellis for perennial planting schemes.

Forest Garden

The new forest garden (planted this spring) is doing extremely well, thanks to the deeply mulched soil structure. We plan to add in perennial kales and broccolis to the planting groups and some lovely signage to explain the various schemes and their uses.

forest garden guild

Clare was very pleased to welcome Sarah Mason from the Orchard Project when she visited the garden. Sarah helps to run the forest gardening course, which Clare completed last year, and it was lovely to show her the new planting and share ideas.

Hub

With the help of the wonderful Camberley Nepalese group, (facilitated by Surrey Hills Society) and Surrey Choices Growth team, as well as corporate groups in the spring, we’ve managed to complete the major structure of the walls.

As we move into autumn, the plan is to use dry stone walling to create the infill plinths under the wattle and daub sections. We’ll also block in the remaining small sections between the walls and the roof.

We were fortunate to be successful in our funding bid to buy water-harvesting equipment for the roof. Zero Carbon Guildford has agreed to fund the project. This will enable us to install a series of suspended bamboo “gutters” that will take rainwater in a cascading water feature into upcycled wooden whiskey barrels for storage. The system will bring rainwater to the beds near the Hub and also provide a lovely water feature on the building.

Water Harvesting

The new solar water system on Poly 1 had a practice run this season and seems to work very well. Over the coming weeks, we’ll move the hoses into their permanent position ready for next year. The trial has shown us how best to position the equipment for maximum results.

Poly 2 has also been filling the giant tank, which has been an essential supplement for the wildlife pond in the heat.

Dye Bed

Erin and the DofE students have been busy with the dye bed, keeping it watered and weeded.

The woad has completed its two-year cycle and has produced a phenomenal amount of seeds. We’ve saved these to share with others and to plant next spring. Erin also tried including the seed in one of her bundle dyes and managed to get a blue dye from them! Hopefully the woad has self-sown for next year, but if not, we’ve got enough seed to not worry too much. (video)

The coreopsis and dyer’s chamomile have produced incredible numbers of flowers this summer. Erin and the volunteers have been harvesting and drying them each week, ready for Sustainable Fashion Week in October, when she’ll be running a natural dyeing workshop at the garden - book your space HERE.

Erin

👩🏻‍🌾SEPTEMBER JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Sow autumn salads in modules in Poly 2

• Water seedlings and tomatoes as needed

• Water outside beds if dry

• Harvest tomatoes, apples (if ready), chards and beans

• Clear any spent plants

• Start to store ripe apples in crates for pressing.

🌱PLANT OF THE MONTH

Elder (Sambucus Nigra)

This time of year, the hedgerows are heavy with wild berries such as hawthorn, sloes, and these beautiful clusters of shiny elderberries.

The elder tree can grow to around 15 metres tall and may live for up to 60 years. It is widespread across the UK, thriving in woodland, scrub, wasteland, and along hedgerows. Elders are often found near rabbit warrens or badger setts, where the animals help to spread the seeds in their droppings.

Elder trees are characterised by their short trunk, or bole, with grey-brown, corky, furrowed bark, their clusters of white flowers, and their glossy black berries.

Flowers

The flowers provide nectar for a variety of insects, while the berries are eaten by birds and mammals. Small mammals, such as dormice and bank voles, feed on both flowers and fruit.

Many moth caterpillars also rely on elder foliage, including the white-spotted pug, swallowtail, dot moth, and buff ermine. The flowers, borne on large flat umbels 10–30 cm across, are creamy-coloured, strongly scented, and five-petalled. They generally appear from late May.

Uses and Folklore

Although the flowers and cooked berries (pulp and skin) are edible, the raw berries and other parts of the Sambucus genus are poisonous, containing traces of arsenic.

The flowers are traditionally used to make wine, cordial, or tea, and can even be fried into fritters. The berries, rich in vitamin C, are used in preserves and wines, or baked into pies with blackberries.

Folklore around elder is abundant. It was once said that burning elder wood would summon the Devil, but planting it by your house would keep him away. Elder is also called the ‘Judas tree’, as legend has it Judas Iscariot hanged himself from one.

Elder wood is hard and yellow-white. Mature timber is valued for whittling and carving, while smaller stems can be hollowed to make craft items. In the past, elder foliage was hung to repel flies, particularly around dairies.

The tree has long been a source of natural dyes. Its berries yield blue and purple, the leaves give yellow and green, and the bark produces greys and blacks. Historically, these dyes were used in the making of richly patterned Harris Tweed.

The name elder is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon aeld, meaning “fire”, because its hollow stems were once used as bellows to blow air into flames.

Credit: woodlandtrust.org.uk

MEMBERSHIP

For joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to July’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

Saturday, 5th July, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden with Jane » non-members please REGISTER HERE 

Sunday, 13th July, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm - Cobbing the Hub (all welcome - email to let us know if you’re coming)

Thursday, 24th July - Camberley Nepalese group at the garden (closed group)

Saturday, 2nd August - Family Gardening with Jane REGISTER HERE

Thursday, 7th August - Camberley Nepalese group at the garden (closed group)

Thursday, 14th August - Surrey Choices (closed group)

Sunday 21st September 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Open Afternoon with Apple Pressing

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

What’s happening in the garden?

As we experiment with different growing techniques, it’s fascinating to see what works and what doesn’t. This long period of hot, dry weather challenges the resilience of plants and animals, but it has confirmed that we’re going the right way, focusing on perennial planting and no-dig methods.

Wildlife

This year, the wildflowers are enjoying the dry spell, with much more diversity in the hedgerows and, consequently, noticeable rises in insects. Our swales of yellow rattle in the orchard are now setting seed from their namesake pods, and it’s knocked back the grasses and allowed new species to establish.

The teasels are coming into flower and their gorgeous spiky, mauve pom poms are a rich source of nectar for the pollinators. Their seeds will then provide food for the many finches that visit the garden.

The other star is the much-maligned ragwort. Although ragwort is a poisonous plant, it is a really important plant for pollinators, producing lots of golden daisy flowers throughout the summer and is a major food source for the cinnabar moth caterpillar. Last year was a dreadful year for this species but we have a healthy population at the garden at the moment, who provide food for cuckoos, phormium ants and apparently moles, who eat the pupae stage.

The nettles are setting seed and these nutrient-rich plants are another fantastic food source, with the female seeds providing vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that balance adrenals and boost your energy!

Forest Garden

In the forest garden, the soil under the woodchip mulch is still moist and full of fungal hyphae, and the new trees and plants are doing very well with minimal watering. Along with drought-tolerant herbs like sage, mint, comfrey, yarrow and hyssop, we’re trialling some perennial kales, broccolis and skirret - the perennial parsnip (also called sugar root)

Until the forest garden is well established, we are popping in annuals, like squash and tomatoes, to fill the gaps, but it will be essentially for permanent multi-use plants.

Fruit Cage

We have had a bumper harvest crop of blackcurrants and loganberries with no watering at all! Just cut and drop weeding and careful pruning from Kate. We even have the promise of grapes this year and the autumn raspberries have started fruiting. 

Outside, the plums are particularly prolific, and fingers crossed, with a bit of rain, we could have a good apple harvest too.

Poly-tunnels

Poly 2 has been planted with cucumbers and basil this year and they seem to be thriving so far. With some varieties, you can get cross-pollination from the male to female flowers, which turns the fruit very bitter and inedible. It’s easy to distinguish between the 2 sexes as the male has no fruit forming behind the flowers. It’s best to pick off the male flowers as they form to keep the cucumbers sweet.

Poly 1 has been very disappointing and we won’t expect a good tomato crop this year, unfortunately. If we’re set for a good summer next year we’ll focus on outdoor bush cherry tomatoes, which are much more reliable, and low maintenance.

Hub

This spring has seen lots of groups coming to learn how to cob, and consequently, we have made amazing progress and hope to have the space draft-proof by winter.

Clare and Helen visited Butser Ancient Farm recently and talked to the archaeologist there about what to use for rendering cob buildings like the hub. They are trialling lots of different mixes there, and anything goes (people would use what was in the soil locally), so we will do the same and have some fun trying different techniques.

We have Sunday, the 13th July, in the diary for anyone who can come and help with finishing touches.

Other exciting news is that Scott-Brownrigg architects have designed us an outdoor kitchen, which they have submitted to GBC planning for pre-app advice. Fingers crossed it will be approved and we can get a work party together to make it happen. This will be a rustic “camping” kitchen, where we can prepare food together and wash up. It’ll be made from recycled materials and will include a clay wood-fired oven for baking. 

We are very pleased to welcome the Growth Team from Surrey Choices, who will come once a month to help with our projects at Rosamund. Surrey Choices is a SCC-funded project that supports neurodivergent and disabled people towards independence and employment. 

The team enjoyed doing some wattle and daubing and got creative with the hibernaculum.

Family Gardening Sessions

Last month, the adults and children worked in the willow den area, preparing the ground for a mud kitchen.

The children are going to design the area and make a wishlist.

If anyone can help make a mud kitchen, perhaps out of old pallets, please let Jane know! (pics shared on our Facebook page here)

👩🏻‍🌾 JULY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Harvest blackcurrants and berries 

• Water veg beds and poly-tunnels when needed (check soil first)

• Cut back brambles and vegetation from paths

• Water dye bed

🌻Wildflower Identification Course with Surrey Wildlife Trust at Nower Wood

Lisa, one of our community gardeners, recently took part in a Wildflower Identification course with the Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Adult Learning Programme at the stunning Nower Wood reserve.

The day began with a warm welcome and lecture, complete with hot drinks and snacks, before the group headed out mid-morning to a nearby meadow for a full day of exploration.

Equipped with ID guides and hand lenses, participants were able to identify over 23 different wildflower species in just one square metre—a great exploration of how important our chalk grassland habitats are. Lunch was enjoyed outdoors, picnic-style, in a bit of shade to avoid the heat.

Looking forward to doing a survey of our own grassland and seeing how many species can be identified there.

Ploughman’s Spikenard (used to be used by people after being in the field)

Perforate St johns wort (when you put these up to the light, you can see “holes” in the leaves, which are actually oil bladders)

MEMBERSHIP

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to June’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

Thursday, 5th June: FareShare Tea party at the Garden 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm (closed group)

Thursday, 5th June 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Foraging group with Joyful Outdoors (closed group)

Saturday, 7th June 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden. Bring the whole family for some outdoor fun! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, learn new skills, and enjoy the fresh air. Drop in on the first Saturday of each month » non-members please REGISTER HERE 

Sunday, 8th June Bodgers 10:30 am - 3:00 pm Day in the Hub (closed group)

Thursday, 12th June 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Surrey Choices cobbing group (closed group)

Saturday, 14th June 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Random Dialogues at the Hub INFO

Sunday, 13th July 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Cobbing at the Hub (open group all welcome)

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🧺Kindred Cloth Collective: A Natural Dyeing Project & Fashion Commons at Rosamund Community Garden

Author: Erin Donohoe

My name is Erin Donohoe, and I’m the founder of Kindred Cloth Collective – a community-led fashion commons that explores natural dyeing, plant cultivation, and regenerative fashion practices. Over the past few months, I’ve been working with the inspiring team at Rosamund Community Garden in Guildford to grow dye plants and researching traditional, low-impact textile dyeing and colour making techniques though natural dyeing exploration, and practice-based workshops to explore new ways of extracting colour for dye, as the fashion industry is heavily reliant on synthetic dyestuff that have negative impacts on the health and future of our planet. 

This project is part of my ongoing MA research into sustainable fashion, and it’s rooted in the idea that reconnecting with plants can also reconnect us with each other.

With the support of the garden team and volunteers, we’ve been cultivating plants like coreopsis, weld, black night, dyers chamomile, woad, and many other native plant species that already grow, such as comfrey – all of which produce beautiful natural dyes. We plan to run hands-on workshops where participants can learn how to extract colour using safe and simple techniques, that can be used to extend the longevity of existing garments. 

This project is more than just making colour, it’s about working with local ecosystems, protecting biodiversity, while finding new ways to revive existing textile items we may throw away. 

By growing our own dyes and sharing skills locally, we’re reimagining fashion as something collaborative and place-based, not extractive or disposable. 

We’ll be harvesting woad leaves this summer, with more workshops to come. If you’re curious you’re warmly invited to join in – no experience needed! Keep an eye on Rosamund Garden website and follow me on Instagram:

@kindredclothcollective for updates. 

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

This lovely, dry, sunny spring has really suited the garden and kept slugs at bay, meaning our young plants have a chance of getting going before the rain comes back.

It’s been a massive aphid and blackfly month, though, so we’re awaiting the ladybirds and lacewings with baited breath. In the meantime, a good spray with diluted washing-up liquid is quite effective at putting them off.

We’ve cleared out the salads in Poly 1, using a cut and drop method, where the roots are kept in the soil to minimise disturbance and to continue to maintain the water in the soil and release sugars to feed the micro-organisms. This works well with annuals like salad crops as they don’t grow again, like perennial weeds and the cut plants can be strewn as a mulch to keep the soil covered.

We’ve planted tomatoes and basil into this, and cucumbers into Poly 2.

The beans and squash are nearly all planted out around the garden, and any extras will be popped into the forest garden for this year, while the perennials are being established.

Volunteers

We’ve had some lovely new volunteers coming to the garden, with lots of enquiries from SCC support workers looking for placements for clients needing to re-connect with people and nature. 

We’d love to hear about your experiences at the garden, and get feedback on how we can improve the experience and what projects people would like to get involved in going forward.

We’re hoping to get a summer BBQ in the diary (before the Apple Pressing) for volunteers to share stories, ideas and food. Watch this space for dates.

The Hub

We had a wonderful day with Aqu Education group doing their corporate volunteering. They had a lot of fun learning to cob and wattle and daub, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Last week, we hosted a group of Nepalese people from Camberley, facilitated by Surrey Hills Society. We learnt a few Nepalese words and there was lots of laughter while they completed their wattle and daub wall. I hastily put away my sandwich, when they magically produced a feast of delicious curries, breads and bhagis from their backpacks.

We went for a walk in the meadows and learnt about Nepalese life from Tek (who organises their outings and get togethers) It really was very special to invite them to the garden and hear their stories. They will be coming back for a private apple pressing day in September.

The Pitstop and AMC have been busy this month putting up the trellis for the outdoor area, completing the new compost bays and making edging for our beds. It’s all looking really smart, and we’re going to have some open cobbing sessions next month, for anyone who fancies a go at traditional building. Do email if you want to join the next session on 13th July.

Dye Bed

The dye plants are looking amazing and Erin is getting them big and strong, by potting on, before they go into the dye bed (last month we planted some smaller plants and they didn’t make it).

We had our first dyeing session and made a green comfrey dye over the firepit. Erin experimented with using rhubarb leaves as a mordant, and we’ll keep adding to the patterns with different techniques over the next sessions.

Meanwhile, the woad has flowered in a spectacular display of yellow, and we’ll be collecting the seed to share with other projects when it’s ready.

Plant Sale

Zero Carbon very kindly organised a plant sale in Guildford last weekend, to promote Rosamund and raise some funds for the garden. 

The volunteers did a great job engaging with the public and spreading awareness of what we do. We raised £75 cash and are waiting to hear re the card payments. It was a lovely day and big thanks to Steph and the Zero crew, and our lovely volunteers for turning up to help out.

Zero are planning to spotlight each of their projects and partners every month to promote and inform.

SAVE THE DATE: APPLE PRESSING DAY AT ROSAMUND 21ST SEPTEMBER 2025 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

We’ve been donated a second press and scrumbler this year, so the day should be even more productive than the last one. Looking forward to another fantastic turnout and lots of beautiful juice.

👩🏻‍🌾 JUNE JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Water the tomatoes and cucumbers in the tunnels when dry (check by digging your finger into the soil beforehand as overwatering is as bad as under). Write when you water in the diary in the white shed.

• Check all the outside beds, and water new plants (squash, peas and beans etc)

• Plant out bigger plants using compost from the 1st bay

• Weed and mulch around established plants in front beds

• Harvest - lettuce, kale and broadbeans from raised beds

• Sow - lettuce, peas and flowers and annual herbs(coriander, dill etc) in modules.

PLANT OF THE MONTH by Helen Harris

Plant of the month: pyramidal orchid

Latin Name: Anacamptis pyramidalis

Distribution: Widespread -  native to Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. Widespread in England and Wales but rare in Scotland. 

Preferred habitat: thrives in open grassy habitats, preferring calcareous or lime-rich soils and sunny locations such as meadows, roadside verges

UK Flowering time: June / July, perennial. 

Description: Its characteristic pyramid-shaped clusters of up to 100 small bright pinkish-purple flowers on a single stem rising from a leaf base of long narrow pointed leaves that are close to the ground. Height up to 55cm (20-25cm more usual). 

Ecology: Attracts an array of pollinators, including butterflies and moths. Notably, the orchid’s flowers produce a sweet scent and feature specialized structures that allow for efficient pollination by encouraging insects to brush against anthers and stigma. Orchid seeds are tiny, like dust and do not store enough food to grow on their own, specific fungi in the soil mycorrhiza are necessary to fuel germination; later the orchid roots provide nutrients back to the fungi. 

Medicinal uses: Its tuberous roots contain a substance called salep, which has been prized in traditional medicine and culinary practices, particularly in the Middle East and parts of Europe. Salep powder, derived from the orchid’s roots, was once used to prepare a nourishing drink believed to fortify health and soothe digestive ailments.

However, due to increasing conservation concerns and the protection of wild orchid populations, the use of wild orchids for salep production has declined markedly. 

Folklore: In ancient traditions, orchids were often associated with love, beauty, and fertility. In ancient Greece, the orchid was associated with the god Dionysus and some stories suggest that orchids can be used to craft potions for romantic enchantment and seduction.

In rural European folklore, orchids were sometimes believed to have protective or magical properties. Their tubers were thought to hold charms for good fortune.

Refs:

https://www.first-nature.com/algarve/consarts/cons-anacamptis-pyramidalis16.php

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/pyramidal-orchid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacamptis_pyramidalis 

MEMBERSHIP

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to May’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Saturday, 3rd May, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm - Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden. Bring the whole family for some outdoor fun! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, learn new skills, and enjoy the fresh air. Drop in on the first Saturday of each month » non-members please REGISTER HERE 

• Thursday, 8th May, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Cobbing the Hub (private corporate event)

• Sunday, 11th May, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Men’s Pitstop in the Hub (volunteer session as usual pm) 

• Thursday, 15th May, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm RHS Wisley Community Meet UP with Rosamund guest speaker! (Tickets are still available for community members)

• Saturday, 17th May, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Women’s Empowerment Circle at Rosamund Community Garden.» BOOKING AND INFO

• Thursday, 22nd May, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Surrey Choices Cobbing the Hub (private event)

• Sunday, 25th May, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm Men’s Pitstop in the Hub (volunteer session as usual pm) 

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

In the Garden

Hopefully you’re all managing to get out in this fantastic sunshine! The fruit trees and bushes have put on a glorious display this spring and, if we get some lovely rain over the next few months, we’ll hopefully enjoy a great harvest.

As we continue experimenting with sustainable growing methods for the drier climate, our harvests will show if we’re getting it right. We’re using scythed grass, donated woodchips, and composted manure to mulch around our fruiting plants. This keeps the plants fed and locks moisture into the soil.

Kate is planning to keep the soil in the fruit cage covered with grasses and other ground-cover plants, with one end allowed to grow tall for insect habitats. We can also plant companion species around the orchard to increase nutrients and retain water where it’s needed.

Watering new plants is essential while they establish strong root systems, but it’s a balance. We need to water them well enough to keep them alive, but not so much that they don’t need to reach down and become self-sufficient (a bit like raising human beings!).

The best way to see if something needs water is to observe the foliage and stick a finger into the soil. If the plant is wilting and the soil is dry below the surface, it’s time for a good soak.

In the Poly Tunnels

Poly 1 is just nearing the end of its wonderful salad season. Although the lettuces are still going strong, the hot weather is sending the oriental plants like rocket, mizuna, and mustards into their flowering stage. These peppery flowers add a bite to mixed salads, and the tunnel is now full of yellow and white blooms, with pollinators buzzing happily.
This year, we’ll “chop and drop” the salads to create a green mulch on the beds and plant tomatoes directly into it. Combined with our solar rainwater system, this should mean we won’t need the usual watering rota and will hopefully increase our yield.

Poly 2 is currently full of seedlings, and we’re gradually planting them out as they grow strong enough. We have lots of different tomato varieties this year, so we’ll be trying them both inside and out in the beds.

Dye Project

We’re very lucky to have Erin on board this year to take on the dye beds. Erin is doing her Master’s in sustainable fashion and is enjoying making natural plant dyes for fabrics.

She’s sown lots of seeds, including coreopsis, dyer’s chamomile, dyer’s sunflowers, and weld. We’re really excited to experiment with all the different dye plants in the garden.

Fun fact: Did you know that almost all plants and flowers can be used to produce dye? At Rosamund, we have nettles (green dye from leaves), green alkanet (lavender dye from roots), and dock (red, orange, and brown dyes from roots).

Look at What’s Happening in the Fruit Cage

CLICK TO SEE OUR VIDEO

Or if you are in our members’ WhatsApp chat group, the video is there!

Andy’s Man Club

The men from Andy’s Man Club are now visiting monthly to help us with the Hub and various structures around the garden.

Led by Tony, our resident chippie, they’ve built a lovely wood store, made nest boxes, cleared and put up trellises for the outdoor seating circle, and are planning to extend our storage area and fill in the gaps in the Hub walls. Tony has also fenced in the compost bays and added much-needed edging in the poly tunnels (he’s a marvel!).

Once we have the design for the outdoor kitchen, they’re looking forward to building that too!

Guildford Outdoor Men's Pit Stop

Are an active men’s peer-to-peer talking group. This group focuses on getting men outdoors in the Rosamund Community Gardens, promoting fresh air and social connection. 

Facilitated by Surrey County Council Community & Prevention

With gratitude to Markus Dell at https://www.markusdell.co.uk/about for this amazing video:

For more information about the Pitt Stop group visit this link.

The Hub

It’s been a long journey, but the end is in sight. We’re very hopeful that this amazing project will be finished this year!

The first of our cobbing groups (Inghams Travel) visited this week and had a great time making cob and bottle windows. Seven lovely women completed one of the cob walls in a single morning, and it looks incredible! Enjoy this video of the day.

We have three more groups booked to do cobbing and wattle-and-daub, and then we’ll schedule some sessions for volunteers to come and have a go.

Clare and Helen recently visited Butser Ancient Farm and got some great tips from the archaeologist there about traditional rendering techniques and materials. We’re so looking forward to that final stage and seeing the finished results.

DofE

We had a great afternoon with the DofE group making new signs for the orchard trees.
Our mission this season is to provide loads of signage around the garden to help people identify plants and areas. We had lots of offcuts from recent carpentry projects, so it was fab to upcycle them into unique markers.

Growth Team - Surrey Choices

On April 17th we were pleased to welcome for the first time members of the Growth Team from Surrey Choices, who spent a lovely sunny day with us helping to build our new compost bays, putting in a new mulch path behind the trellised fire circle area and "porcupining" in the hub in readiness for new cob and wattle and daub sections. Thank you to al who came along for a very useful and enjoyable time together. 

For more information about the Growth team: CLICK

Family Gardening Sessions

Last month, Jane welcomed five families of all sizes and ages to the session. There was something for everyone. Most of the children especially loved exploring the garden, and everyone seemed to enjoy the rosemary tea and biscuits afterward! She has also listed the sessions over on our Facebook page here and Eventbrite, so if you can please help spread the word that would be much appreciated.

Why Organic Seeds?

While most people understand the benefits of growing organic food, it’s equally important to consider where your seeds come from.

Non-organic seeds are typically mass-produced using pesticides and herbicides on large monocrop fields and in industrial poly tunnels.

In contrast, seed from organically grown plants tends to be more resilient, they’ve had to naturally resist pests and disease.

By supporting organic and regenerative growers, you’re also contributing to a healthier environment for the future.

It’s worth noting that many small-scale seed producers aren’t officially certified organic (as certification can be expensive), so it’s always good to check whether they grow without synthetic chemicals before deciding where to buy.

👩🏻‍🌾MAY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Water poly-tunnels, seedlings and raised beds when dry

• Plant out robust plants as and when they’re ready and mulch well

• Water outside plants when very dry

• Strim or mow paths 

• Tidy tool shed

• Weed raspberries in the fruit-cage

PLANT OF THE MONTH by Helen Harris

Woad 

Latin name:  Isatis tinctoria 

Ecology and habitat: Woad thrives in temperate climates preferring well-drained soils. It is relatively tolerant of poor soil conditions and drought, which has contributed to its widespread cultivation historically. It can be found in various locations such as fields, roadsides, and brownfield sites. It is a biennial plant, meaning it completes its lifecycle in two years. In the first year, woad grows a rosette of leaves close to the ground. These leaves are pivotal for dye extraction. In the second year, the plant produces tall flowering stems with small yellow flowers that smell lovely and are used by many pollinators.  

Uses of Woad: Renowned for its deep blue dye, woad has played a vital role in the the UK’s textile industry and agriculture. 

• Dye and soap production 

The most famous use of woad is its dye, which has been a staple in the textile industries of the UK for centuries. The dye is extracted from the leaves of the plant through a complex process that involves fermenting, drying, and powdering the leaves before they can be used for colouring fabrics. On a commercial scale, one acre of land produces about ten tonnes of leaves twice a year. One tonne of leaves produces just two kilos of woad powder. 

Woad dye produces a rich blue colour via the chemical Indigotin, which is identical to the blue dye chemical in indigo. The black seeds  of woad are winged, resembling small tongues, and can produce an olive dye and also woad oil which is used in soap. 

• Historical and Cultural Significance 

Woad holds a significant place in British history and culture. The earliest evidence so far found of the use of Woad in the UK dates from the Iron age (1^st century BC from an excavation in Humberside). Ancient Britons used woad dye not only for textiles but also for body paint. Woad has a long association with East Anglia, the land of the Iceni tribe and of their leader Boudicca. Woad is a well-known antiseptic and it may have been used to help heal battle wounds. 
The illustrators of the Lindisfarne Gospels (late 7^th /early 8^th  century) used a woad-based pigment for the blue. Amongst pagan users, woad is was supposed to aid in shape-shifting and the study of past lives during magic rituals. 

• Medicinal Uses 

Woad was also used widely in traditional medicine. The plant's leaves contain anti-inflammatory and antibacterial compounds making at a versatile home remedy. Woad root granules are used in Chinese medicine for treatment of cold and throat infections 

• Modern Applications 

Today, woad is experiencing a renaissance as interest in natural dyes grows (for example in our current dye bed at Rosamund Garden). Sustainable fashion brands and artisans are rediscovering woad for its eco-friendly dyeing properties. Its cultivation is also being explored in regenerative agriculture practices, where its robust growth can aid in soil restoration and biodiversity enhancement.

MEMBERSHIP

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to April’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Saturday, 5th April, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm - Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden Bring the whole family for some outdoor fun! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, learn new skills, and enjoy the fresh air. Drop in on the first Saturday of each month » non-members please REGISTER HERE 

• Thursday, 17th April - Surrey Choices garden clearing (closed group)

• Thursday, 24th April - Surrey Hills Society - cobbing the hub (closed group)

• Sunday, 27th April - Men’s Pitstop at the Hub (usual gardening session pm)

• Tuesday, 29th April - Inghams Corporate - cobbing the hub (closed group)

• Saturday, 17th May, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Women’s Empowerment Circle at Rosamund Community Garden.» BOOKING AND INFO

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

We’ve had a perfect month at the garden with lots of welcome sunshine and cool temperatures to keep the plants from putting on too much growth too soon. Our salads in the poly-tunnel are superb and it’s been a joy to share out big bags of tasty leaves at the end of a shift. The volunteers have been busy sowing seeds to keep the food coming, and we’re planning to grow loads of flowers for the pollinators (and us).

Ann is nursing lots of tomato varieties in her sun-room, and her famous sweet-peas will be coming up when the frosts have finished.

This winter we trialled using the scythed hay from the orchard as a mulch on the beds, and it’s worked really well, keeping the soil damp and full of life until we’re ready to plant. This can be a bit of a slug hotel too, but so far we haven’t had a problem, and Kate has heard it’s a no slug year, so it must be true!

The fruit-trees are coming into full bloom and have been beautifully mulched by our groups to keep the grass down. Time will tell if our attempts to save the rabbit-damaged tree bark will work, but they are now all fenced and it seems to be keeping the bunnies at bay.

Paul Jolley caught a bit of footage of the barn owl on the wildlife camera in the tree-bog so we will put a platform up asap for it to use (and to keep the loo clean) They do a lot of poo!

We’ve had a lot of new volunteer enquiries as well as some lovely connections with community groups, so it’s looking like the Hub is going to be busy this year.

Water Harvesting

Lisa has done a great job researching and buying the solar watering unit for poly 1. It was successfully installed last year and we’re now putting the finishing touches with the lines and sprays into the beds. This will make a massive difference going forward as we can program the system to water at set times, and it’s using the rain-water harvest from our massive tank.

Hub news

Some of the outreach team from RHS Wisley came to see the garden last week and we’re hoping to collaborate with them on a new exciting project (watch this space)

Surrey Choices and Surrey Hills Society have been meeting with Helen to talk about bringing groups up to the garden to help with the Hub and to do gardening.

Scott Brownrigg Architects came up and took measurements for the new camp kitchen they’re designing for the Hub. We’re hoping to install a living roof and use mostly up-cycled materials. The architects would love to come and help build it too, so hopefully we’ll get that underway in the next few months.

John Draper from the Spoon Carving group has installed his beautiful sign onto the Hub and we’ll be installing the pottery artwork from Anamica’s group once the walls are completed. It’s starting to look pretty …

SCC have donated very generous funding as part of the Pitstop project, and this has enabled us to buy the stone to complete the plinths around the bottom of the wattle and daub sections. Many thanks to Blair Parrott and Mike Rowlands for making this happen.

Jane’s Family Gardening groups on the 1st Saturdays of the month provide a lovely space and opportunity for families to come and garden together.  With special thanks to the Jolley Family for their support and engagement during the past few months.

Jane is also co-facilitating some Women’s circles at the Hub to provide a friendly atmosphere for women to come together to connect, reflect, and support one another. (see events above).

Schools

We said farewell to the students from GHS and RGS who’ve been doing their community volunteering at Rosamund over the winter. Thanks to them and Tom Shimell, their teacher, for all the hard work. Hopefully, we will see them again next year.

The compost area is coming along slowly, with 3 bays completed so far, and Tony has made a lovely picket fence along the front.

Lastly, the Forest Garden area is starting to shape up (see update below) with a new woven edging, and we’re starting to plant perennial edibles around the trees that will hopefully provide new plants to share and grow.

Forest Gardening

by Clare Millington

I just wanted to share my new journey into the community of forest gardeners. I was lucky enough to get some funding from Surrey Wildlife Trust for a forest gardening course with the Orchard Project.

The course was brilliant and really engaging, and, having just finished, I am raring to go and practice what I’ve learnt.

Forest gardening is for me a bringing together of so many types of growing that I’ve dipped into over the years: permaculture; cottage gardening; companion gardening; no-dig; organic; community etc, and it really felt the absolute best course I could have chosen.

The concept is simple - look at any healthy, natural woodland setting and you’ll see a symbiosis of plants all living in harmony eg: tree canopies allowing light in the early spring for bluebells and garlic to flower, then providing shade and an underground network of roots and fungi to keep the soil alive and moist. Shrubs and bushes and herbaceous plants in the understorey all playing a part in their ecosystem, and climbers using the trees for support and providing habitat for insects and birds.

These groups of plants - tree, shrub, climber, ground cover are called guilds, and if you get the combination right, they become self-sustaining and mutually beneficial.

A great example would be an apple tree that needs lots of nutrients to produce fruit. So you’d plant a comfrey plant under it, which brings nitrogen and potassium with its long tap roots and feeds them to the tree. The comfrey also comes into flower and attracts the pollinators to the tree to enable the fruit to set. All the pea family are nitrogen fixers, so you could add a perennial sweet pea to climb up the tree and feed it, as well as providing nectar.

Once you’ve filled your garden with guilds of perennial plants that either provide food or medicine or dye or flowers, you have beauty and a productive low maintenance food forest for years ahead.

At the moment we’re planting what we already have plenty of - herbs, comfrey, currants for example, but we’re excited to start putting in some lesser seen perennials such as perennial kales and broccolis, dye plants and perennial roots such as skirret, ginger and liquorice.

The hope is to show what can be done on a low budget to garden sustainably and organically for climate change resilient foods.

The best quote from my course was “nothing is a mistake, everything is an experiment” which is a fantastic life mantra and makes me feel very differently about being adventurous and having a go.

👩🏻‍🌾APRIL JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Water poly-tunnels and seedlings in the poly-tunnels when dry

• Weed and mulch front beds ready for planting

• Keep sowing salads and greens in modules

• Mulch around plants in herb bed

• Harvest salads in Poly 1 and keep picking flowering heads on kales (they’re delicious and this keeps the plants from going to seed)

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH by Helen Harris

Primose

Latin name: Primula vulgaris

Habitat: Primroses thrive in shady, moist environments, making ancient woodlands, hedgerows, and grasslands their favoured habitats

Description: A rosette-forming herbaceous (semi-evergreen) perennial about 20cm tall, with tongue-shaped, deeply veined, bright green leaves. Flowers visible from early spring. They are scented, usually primrose-yellow, measuring about 2.5-3.5cm across.

Value to Wildlife: Primroses offer a vital food source to early pollinators including the brimstone and small tortoiseshell butterflies as well as the bee fly and hairy footed flower bee as they emerging in early spring. Bees, butterflies, and other insects visit primroses for their nectar, while primrose seeds contribute to the diet of birds and small mammals. Additionally, primroses are an indicator species for ancient woodlands.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses: Historically, primroses were prized for their medicinal properties. They were used in traditional remedies to alleviate respiratory issues, headaches, and insomnia. The leaves and flowers were brewed into infusions or poultices, while the roots were known for their expectorant qualities. Primrose flowers are edible and can be candied or used to garnish desserts and salads.

Folklore and Cultural Significance: Delicate yet hardy harbingers of spring, primroses hold a special place in the culture, and folklore of the United Kingdom. It was considered a magical plant, associated with fairies and springtime renewal. Legend has it that primroses could act as a gateway to fairy realms if the flowers were presented in the correct arrangement. In Victorian flower language, primroses symbolized youth and innocence, often exchanged as tokens of love and friendship. The plant is traditionally used in May to adorn doors and thresholds to ward off evil fairies.

April 19th is ‘Primrose Day’. This date is the anniversary of the death of the former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, whose favourite flower was the primrose. Queen Victoria supposedly sent him bunches regularly and to this day primroses are laid at his statue by Westminster Abbey on this date every year.

References:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/13901/primula-vulgaris-(pr-prim)/details

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/primrose/

https://www.plantlife.org.uk/plants-and-fungi/primrose/

MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to March’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Today! Saturday 1st March, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden Bring the whole family for some outdoor fun! It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, learn new skills, and enjoy the fresh air. First Saturday of each month » non members REGISTER HERE 

• Tomorrow! Sunday 2nd March - 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm BIG JOB Sunday - Making Compost Bays at the garden. All welcome, simply show up.

• Sunday 16th March, 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, Women’s Empowerment Circle at Rosamund Community Garden. This facilitated gathering allows you to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with yourself and others in a nurturing environment. 2 spaces remain » BOOKING AND INFO

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

It’s a very exciting month as the first signs of Spring are appearing at the garden and the light has changed to stimulate new growth. The trees and fruit bushes have their buds on and I’ve even seen some early cherry blossom in the area!

The longer days and warmth have boosted the salads in the poly-tunnel and we’ve been enjoying some delicious leaves - mizuna, rocket, chervil, mustards and lettuce make for a spicy mix we never get in the shops.

The oriental salads are great for the spring and autumn plantings, providing food before and after the summer crops take over. They tend to flower and go to seed once it gets hotter, so now is a great time to sow them for new leaves. We’ll be sowing direct and in modules, and the great thing about the spicy plants is the mice and slugs tend to leave them alone.

Outside, we will use a cardboard and compost mulch on the beds to suppress the weeds and leave the soil un-disturbed. This is a great quick method to build up the soil's nutrients and keep the integrity of the vital micro-organisms living there.

The Edible Forest Garden area is now planted with the trees that will provide the canopy layer. We are planning to sow some cover crops next month (cover crops provide nutrients and structure to the soil and stop it drying out or becoming waterlogged) while we slowly add in the other permanent layers. 

Our Wassail event was a lovely get together with perfect weather and lots of laughter. We blessed the orchard, drank a toast, made a lot of noise to drive out the spirits and crowned our king and queen. I even managed a poem, with dodgy rhyming, click here for video! It felt really lovely to get together in the Hub for a natter and catch up. Yummy cakes and biccies too.

The Wassail failed to deter the naughty rabbits from nibbling our poor fruit-trees, so we’ve wrapped and guarded all the rest of the orchard. Apparently it can take a long time before you can see if a tree has died from bark damage, so we’ll just have to wait and see and replace any if needed. Because of this, we won’t prune the trees this year to allow them to recover. 

We have a new group from Surrey County Council coming to volunteer once a monthat the garden. The project is called Men’s Pitstop and is a new county-wide initiative to provide platforms for men to come together for mental health and wellbeing support. The group at Rosamund will focus on carpentry projects and completing the Hub.

The group from Andy’s Man Club have completed the supports for the hub roof and with the guidance of Tony the chippie, have created the first 2 trellises in our outside meeting place. They’ve also started on a wood store for the Hub and made some much needed edging for the poly-tunnels and outside beds. The feedback has been really positive and the men have really enjoyed working together in our lovely environment.

Our wishes have been granted for a supply of woodchip, with an big load delivered by Oli from Bill Kears (SCC contractor) Hopefully, they’ll be able to keep us in chip going forward, and we can happily add to our mulched areas and composts in abundance. 

We also had an enormous delivery of carrots from FareShare, so we need to crack on and build our upgraded compost heaps. We need lots of bodies to achieve this quickly, so if you have spare time, please join our group sessions and help out. Many hands etc! (see last month’s newsletter here for info about FareShare)

With thanks to Amy for completing the Hibernaculum sign! The children have also started filling in the bug hotel at the entrance.

We’ve had lots of sightings of a barn owl hunting in the meadows below the garden, and we’re pretty sure it’s been using the treebog to roost. Sarah Davis (Guildford Swift Project) has been researching how we can support the owl population around the site, and will be organising for boxes to be made and installed. We hope to have one installed on our boundary tree and a platform put onto the treebog for them to continue roosting.

images by Jonathan Mitchell

Nothing captured on Paul’s wildlife camera yet. Paul has kindly offered to build nest boxes for smaller birds using offcuts from the carpenters. We’ll place them around the garden, and with any luck, we’ll have some new feathered families by next spring.

Meanwhile, Helen recorded the short video below, and Mark Hargreaves captured the cover photo of the Barn Owl in flight while checking on the cows, who will be moving on soon. If you're unable to open the link, let us know, we can upload the original video to our members' WhatsApp group.

Instagram post

👩🏻‍🌾MARCH JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Sow seeds either directly in poly tunnel 1 or into modules, following Charles Dowding's calendar

• Put cardboard and compost (from heaps) around plants and onto weedy areas

• Make compost bays and move carrots/woodchip.

• Cut down dead flowerheads and stems in beds

• Make edging for Forest garden and comfrey border.

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH by Helen Harris

Snowdrop  

Latin name: Galanthus nivalis

Habitat and distribution: 

Native to Europe and the Middle East, snowdrops have a firm foothold in the UK, where they thrive in damp soil in woodlands, meadows, riverbanks and gardens.

Conservation status: Listed as Near Threatened on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Description: 

The snowdrop is a delicate, nodding 6-part white flower edged in green, with grey/green linear leaves. Heralding the end of winter and the promise of spring, snowdrops typically bloom between January and March. These perennials are geophytes – meaning that they have an underground storage system (bulb, tuber or corm). They are well adapted to the cold, able to break through the snow to reveal their pristine white blossoms. 

Value to wildlife:

As they flower so early, snowdrops do not rely on pollinators to reproduce. Instead, they spread via bulb division. However, they may still be visited by bees and other insects on a particularly warm day.

Folklore:

Snowdrops are steeped in folklore across various cultures, often regarded as symbols of hope and purity. According to one legend, snowdrops first appeared when an angel transformed snowflakes into flowers to comfort Eve as she was banished from the Garden of Eden. In another tale, the flowers sprang up where the Virgin Mary's tears fell as she wept for Jesus.

Despite their beauty, sight of a single snowdrop was considered a harbinger of death and snowdrops were once considered ill omens when brought indoors. 

Regional names: 

Candlemass Bells, Mary’s Taper, Snow Piercer, February Fairmaids and Dingle-dangle

Biochemistry and uses:

The resilience of snowdrops in freezing temperatures is a marvel of nature. The flowers contain a natural antifreeze protein that prevents their cells from freezing. Additionally, snowdrops generate a small amount of heat through a process called thermogenesis, which helps them melt the surrounding snow and emerge into the light.

Traditionally, snowdrops were used to treat headaches and as a painkiller. The bulb is poisonous to humans, however. They contain galantamine, an alkaloid that inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) and is used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. 

Sources: Woodland Trust, Wildlife Trust, Plantlife websites and Microsoft Copilot AI

MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Hello and welcome to February’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Today! Saturday 1st February, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Family Gardening Session at Rosamund Community Garden Bring the whole family for some outdoor fun! Join us for planting, weeding, and exploring the garden together. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, learn new skills, and enjoy the fresh air. first Saturday of each month » REGISTER HERE

• Sunday 2nd February - 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Winter Wassail a fun gathering in the garden. A Wassail is an Anglo-Saxon tradition of blessing an orchard for a good harvest, involving decorating a tree, singing, poetry & cider! Bring a spoon and an old pot to chase the 'evil spirits' away, and help to bless our orchard. Maybe you'll be our King & Queen? This will be for members and families only but may be an open event going forward. We’ll have a bit of fun and share a hot drink.

• Sunday 9th February - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm BIG JOB Sunday at the garden »INFO

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

January is a quiet month at the garden, as most things are still hibernating and dormant and the weather has been pretty mixed with some beautiful frosty days and mad stormy ones.

It’s a good time to take stock, make plans and think about goals for the year ahead. It’s also a great time to prune the fruit trees and bushes before they start to wake up.

Some small signs of Spring are around: the snowdrops are up - the first flowers of the year; and the vixen was screaming for her mate as I left at twilight and spotted them furtively watching me before they headed into the garden.

Our salads are starting their growth spurt in the poly-tunnel and providing some lovely spicy leaves. The broad beans and garlic have survived the frost so far and there’s even an early rhubarb leaf popping up in the perennial bed.

There are also signs of an owl roosting in the treebog - we found lots of pellets and poop inside, but unfortunately, he’d forgotten to lift the lid!

We’re planning to position some wildlife cameras in the garden and capture some night-time wildlife action.

The big job Sunday was spent planting most of the trees from SCC in our forest garden. We had fun planning where they went, and experimented with burying some mushrooms from poly 2 to see if they’d take.

Ann has been busy making a seed order list, and Clare and Margaret have been planning what edibles we will grow in the forest garden.

We’ve had a lot of damage in the orchard from rabbits gnawing the bark off the fruit-trees. This has caught us out, as we’ve never had a problem before so don’t bother with tree-guards. After seeking advice we have tried 2 methods to try and help the trees -

1. We wrapped the damaged trunks with dry hession-backed wool 

2. We applied a damp layer of sphagnum moss with the hession wool on top.

Unfortunately, some of the trees may not recover, but we are putting tree-guards around them all to prevent further problems. We’ll report back later in the year to see how they do.

AGM

We had a lovely AGM at the beginning of the month, with just 6 of the committee attending. It was agreed that we’d had a brilliant 2024 with many positive achievements and new connections. 

The growing membership support and some successful funding applications have meant we can finish the hub this year and buy some much-needed equipment for the garden. 

Our committee members have all agreed to stay for another year. Although our website manager, Olivia Cal will step down, she will continue to support the website and social media.

Hub

The guys from Andy’s Man Club have been busy this month, working on the hub and making new potting benches and containers from all the excess wood from a local building site. Our new wood-burner has been installed and has been keeping them warm and comfortable.

The next stage will be to build stone plinths around the bases of the wattle sections and fill in the gaps at the edges. 

March will see us cobbing again, so watch out for cobbing dates for the diary.

We’re also planning to re-design our compost bins to smarten up the area, and provide Kate with some really snazzy bays. 

Groups

The young people from the Royal Grammar School and Guildford High School have made a great start back this month, with a lovely group of 16 coming on Tuesdays. They are working on making some dead hedges around the garden, and clearing our outdoor spaces ready for the Spring.

Our DofE students are back and getting stuck into their projects. Amy has been making some lovely signs, which will brighten up the areas and help people understand what’s going on.

👩🏻‍🌾FEBRUARY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

We’ll be putting a job list on a whiteboard in the hub for each week. 

• Cut down dead and broken stems and add to the dead hedges

• Weed around plants in the front beds and mulch

• Prune apple and pear trees (supervised activity)

• Clear grass around orchard trees

• Top up raised beds with manure and compost

• Tidy up storage areas

🗞️COMMUNITY NEWS

From B to C (well, Beans to Compost, anyway)

Did you know that

• A third of all food produced globally is thrown away

• The UK wastes approximately 9.52 million tonnes of food every year.

• This total is enough to feed upwards of 30 million people a year, yet 8.4 million live in food poverty in the UK

  (Facts sourced from www.wastemanaged.co.uk/)

Food waste is a big problem in the UK and we are delighted to be helping FareShare close the loop on food waste and getting some great compost at the same time! 

FareShare is a national charity that works to reduce food waste by collecting and re-distributing surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away. The food is given to other charities that can turn it into meals or distribute it to people in need»https://faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk/what-do-we-do/guildford/ 

In 2023-24 FareShare re-distributed 56,000 tonnes of food in the UK, saving an equivalent of 112,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and reaching nearly 1 million people. In July 2024 Fareshare opened a new depot in Guildford to support their network of food distribution in London, Sussex and Surrey and approached Rosamund Community Garden about whether we could help them compost any fresh fruit and Veg that they could not re-use. 

Below you can see a consignment of mouldy beans which just 3 months later are well on their way to becoming beautiful compost. Kate, our head composter, mixes the vegetable waste with horse manure and wood chip. We get through a lot of wood chip at the garden as we use it to keep our paths clear and mud-free, we mulch with it and it is a vital component in composting vegetable matter, ensuring the finished product is not too wet.

To enable us to keep helping FareShare we need more wood chip to help us process the waste vegetables. It needs to be fresh and from healthy woody matter, rather than anything treated or diseased. If you know a good source who might be willing to deliver a load please get in touch!

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH

Blackthorn  

Latin Name: Prunus spinosa

Height: up to 4m

Conservation status: Common

Origin: native to UK and Europe

Blackthorn is a deciduous shrub with small, dark green, toothed, oval leaves which appear after the striking bloom of small white flowers, which emerge in February/ March. In autumn, the tree bears small dark blue-purple fruits known as sloes. It is also notable for its robust, sharp, woody spines which cover the plant providing very effective protection from herbivores. 

Culinary and Medicinal Uses

Blackthorn has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. The flowers, bark, and berries each hold different medicinal properties. The flowers are often infused in teas to create a mild diuretic and laxative. The bark, known for its astringent qualities, has been used to treat ailments such as diarrhea and throat inflammations. Sloes, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, are not only used in sloe gin and hedgerow jellies but as a remedy for digestive issues and to boost overall health. These fruits are traditionally harvested after the first frost, which helps reduce their natural bitterness.

Folklore and Mythology

The Blackthorn tree is steeped in folklore and myth. Often associated with protection and boundaries, it was traditionally planted in hedgerows and perimeters or as stock-fencing to form impenetrable barriers. In Celtic mythology, Blackthorn is linked to the dark half of the year, symbolizing strife and hardship, but also endurance and resilience. It was believed to ward off evil spirits and witches, with the dense thickets often thought to be portals to the fairy world. The wood of Blackthorn was also used to create magic wands and protective walking sticks.

Value to wildlife

Blackthorn provides critical habitat and food sources for many species. Its early blossoms are vital for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Birds, including the Blackcap and Bullfinch, feed its buds and fruits, while also using the dense thickets as nesting sites. Mammals such as the Brown Hare and Hedgehog benefit from the cover it provides. Additionally, Blackthorn supports various moth and butterfly larvae, including the Black and Brown Hairstreak butterflies, making it an essential component of the UK's biodiversity as well as our landscape. 

Article created with the help of copilot generative AI. 

Picture taken from https://nativetreesfromseed.com/identify/blackthorn💰

MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

Happy Moo Year, everyone!

As we settle into January, remember that the garden is always here as a tranquil retreat after the festive hustle and bustle. Why not take a moment to visit and enjoy its quiet Winter beauty?

Below, you'll find details of our January events and we’ll send out a more detailed newsletter in February!

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Sunday 12th January - 11:00 am to 12:30 pm AGM Join us at the Horse and Groom in Merrow. You are also invited for lunch after…

• Sunday 19th January - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Tree Planting for our Forest Garden at the garden, weather permitting, all welcome.

• Sunday 26th January - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Winter Wassail a fun gathering in the garden for members only. A Wassail is an Anglo-Saxon tradition of blessing an orchard for a good harvest, involving decorating a tree, singing, poetry & cider! Bring a spoon and a pot to chase the 'evil spirits' away, and help to bless our orchard. Maybe you'll be our King & Queen?

• Saturday 1st February, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Family Nature Connection session with Jane Tyson - £20 per family, register your interest HERE

• Sunday 9th February - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm BIG JOB Sunday at the garden, job tbc

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon!

December’s Update

Hello and welcome to December’s garden update.

First,

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Sunday 5th January - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Tree Planting for our Forest Garden at the garden, weather permitting, all welcome.

• Sunday 12th January - 11:00 am to 12:30 pm AGM Join us at the Horse and Groom in Merrow. You are also invited for lunch after…

• Sunday 26th January - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Winter Wassail a fun gathering in the garden for members only. A Wassail is an Anglo-Saxon tradition of blessing an orchard for a good harvest, involving decorating a tree, singing, poetry & cider! Bring a spoon and a pot to chase the 'evil spirits' away, and help to bless our orchard. Maybe you'll be our King & Queen?

• Saturday 1st February, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Family Nature Connection session with Jane Tyson - £20 per family, register your interest HERE

• Sunday 9th February - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm BIG JOB Sunday at the garden, job tbc

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱GARDEN NEWS

by Clare Millington

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We kicked off December with our wonderful wreath-making workshop, which was fully booked, and this year we welcomed a lovely group of women and children to learn how to make natural wreaths from our willow and foraged foliage.

The weather was a bit drizzly so everyone ended up in the Hub, which felt really cheery, with mince pies and Helen’s delicious mulled apple juice.

Connections were made and ideas were shared, and some glorious wreaths resulted.

The guys from Guildford Andy’s Man Club (a men’s mental health support group) have been coming to the garden over the past weeks to help us with the Hub. It’s been a real pleasure to welcome them to Rosamund, and they’ve really pushed the project forward—hanging the doors and putting in the supports around the roof. They’ve also cleared the collapsed dome structure away and are planning a lovely fire circle and meeting space.

The team from Surrey County Council mental health have been making a film about the benefits of volunteering for projects like Rosamund, to spread the word on the benefits of working in groups and gardening for wellbeing. We’ll share the result when it’s completed, and look out for our Mike talking about the joy of scything!

The Guildford Spoon Club had their first meeting at the Hub, and despite the cold, reported a successful evening. They have donated a few lovely spoons for the garden and we have commissioned one of our lovely DofE students to make a bit of artwork with some of them.

Helen and Clare visited the pottery class at the Adult Institute in Guildford to collect the wonderful pieces they had made for the garden. We were bowled over by the fantastic array of art they had made—a gorgeous plaque of combined work to go on the Hub and lots of separate pieces that will be placed in and around it. Many thanks to Anamica Vince, who led the project. We can’t wait to see them installed in the Spring.

Our hibernaculum project was a real communal work, started by the students from RGS and GHS and contributed to by various volunteers. The school group did a fab job of creating the earth roof and dead hedge on top, while Clare and Ann had a great afternoon weaving the willow sides together. We hope to buy some wildlife cameras to see who’s using it (watch this space)

Our December Big Job Sunday was a bit of a washout, with the end of the storms keeping people inside, but it didn’t deter the men from Andy’s Man Club. They set to in the Hub making supports and frames, with Tony, the carpenter, providing support and keeping them busy.

We were pleased to invite them to our little Christmas gathering to mark the end of the year with mulled cider, lovely cakes, and mince pies. It felt really wonderful to gather in our beautiful cob house after four years of ups and downs to make it a reality. 

We’re nearly there with the build and hope to have it draft-proofed by the end of the Spring.

Meanwhile, our salads are growing in the poly-tunnel and providing much-needed fresh greens. The broad beans have been planted out in the raised beds and the garlic is showing healthy green spears above the ground. Promises of bounty for 2025.

We are delighted to welcome Surrey Wildlife Trust's Belted Galloway cows to the Rosamund Field again for their 4th year of conservation grazing. This year we have 9 boys who are already making good inroads into eating up the grass thatch, opening up micro-habitats with their hooves and cowpats and mixing up the seedbed as they move around so that the less vigorous grasses and flowers can thrive in the summer and insect diversity can improve. Thank you to the Wildlife Trust Grazing team and to our dedicated team of lookerers who check the cows' welfare daily and help us get the temporary fencing up. 

Our regular group days will resume in January (weather permitting) and we’ll be cobbing again as soon as things warm up. 

Until then wishing you all a lovely festive break while we dream of our next adventures for the coming year!

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH: Holly by Helen Harris

Latin name: Ilex Aquifolium

Height: up to 15m

Conservation status: Common

Origin: native

Holly is one of our most familiar evergreen trees with its bright red berries and glossy, leathery leaves, usually with spiny prickles on the edges.

Holly, or European holly as it is sometimes known, is common in UK woodland, scrub and hedgerows, especially in oak and beech woodland as well as in urban gardens. It occurs naturally in western, central and southern Europe, where its range includes the coastal region of Norway, Denmark, Germany, Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and across the Mediterranean to Bulgaria and Turkey. It also occurs in North Africa, in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, and further east, in the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran.

Holly has also been introduced to a number of other countries, including New Zealand, temperate parts of Australia and the Pacific Northwest of North America, in all of which it has caused problems as an invasive species.

Holly Trees can live for up to 300 years. It is a dioecious tree, meaning that male and female flowers occur on different trees. Flowers are small and greenish-white with four petals. They bloom any time between early spring and the very beginning of summer, depending on the climate.

Value to wildlife

Holly provides dense cover and good nesting opportunities for birds, while its deep, dry leaf litter may be used by hedgehogs and small mammals for hibernation.

The flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of the holly blue butterfly, along with those of various moths, including the yellow-barred brindle, double-striped pug and the holly tortrix. Deer will eat any younger smooth-edged leaves that they can reach.

Holly’s scarlet berries can remain on the tree throughout winter. They are an important food source for birds such as thrushes, redwings and fieldfares as well as small mammals, such as wood mice and dormice. The mistle thrush is known for vigorously guarding the berries of holly in winter to prevent other birds from eating them.

Why are only some holly leaves prickly?

Scientists recently discovered that holly trees adjust their spiky armour in response to hungry animals and changing environments. They can produce some prickly leaves to fend off nibblers while others remain smooth.

This leafy transformation happens through epigenetic modification. This means it is a change to how the DNA in the leaf cells is expressed depending on chemical modifications in the cell that can be switched on and off to respond to the environment.

Symbolism, folklore and uses

Holly berries and thorny leaves are said to symbolise Jesus's blood on the crown of thorns.

Over 2,000 years ago, the Celts believed that two twins, the Holly King and the Oak King, became rooted in a terrible battle to rule the woodland. Legend has it that, in summer, the Oak King was in full leaf and the rest of the wood bowed to his extreme strength. But his leaves began to drop from his bows and the Holly King seized his chance to rule the wintry wood with his evergreen leaves and red berries.

Holly branches have long been used to decorate homes in winter. The tree was seen as a fertility symbol and a charm against witches, goblins and the devil. It was thought to be unlucky to cut down a holly tree.

Holly wood is the whitest of all woods, and is heavy, hard and fine-grained. It can be stained and polished and is used to make furniture or in engraving work. It is commonly used to make walking sticks. Holly wood also makes good firewood and burns with a strong heat.

Sources:

https://treesforlife.org.uk
https://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden in the New Year!

Hello and welcome to November’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

• Tuesday 19th November - Surrey Hills Society Growing Together Project (private event) Cobbing Day This national lottery-funded project aims to promote diversity and inclusion within local conservation in the Surrey Hills

• Tuesday 26th November - 10:00am we will be working with the grazing team from Surrey Wildlife Trust to put up temporary electric fencing around the large and small Rosamund Fields to enable this year's conservation grazing. We are delighted that we will benefit from our favourite herd of "Belties" (Belted Galloway cattle) again this year. All volunteers welcome to help. Meet in the large Rosamund Field, bring your own lunch, water and gardening gloves. Please email Helen Harris on helenlwharris@gmail.com if you plan to join and are not currently on our lookerers Whatsapp group

• Saturday 30th November - 10:00 am to 11:30 am Family Nature Activity Morning  morning with Jane of Resilient Kids » BOOK

• Sunday 8th December - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm an opportunity to come and visit the garden and get stuck in - all welcome for our monthly Big Job Sunday 

• Sunday 8th December - 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Christmas gathering for volunteers - join us in the hub for mince pies and warm drinks

• Sunday 1st December - 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Wreath Making Workshop with Clare, Helen and Jane at the garden. 7 spaces remain £30 p/p. » BOOK  

🌍EVENTS AT ZERO GUILDFORD » CLICK

🌱IN THE GARDEN

by Clare Millington

Things are feeling very autumnal now with the short days and wonderful colours everywhere.

Mike has scythed the orchard and the willow fedge around the treebog has been coppiced low, which has changed the landscape and feels like a bedding down process, ready for winter.

Ann has been busy growing seedlings for the polytunnels and this month we will plant winter salads, chards, garlic and broad beans.

We still have apples stored in the shed to use and some lovely late potatoes.

October was busy, with wonderful groups coming and helping our projects move forward!

The Surrey County Council “Communities & Prevention Mental Health Team” came and blitzed around the poly-tunnels, creating lovely wood-chip paths and installing our new water tank.

Mike (from SCC) and Helen cooked up a wonderful lunch in the Hub, using veg from the garden.

A great day was had by all and we are very pleased to be welcoming Mike and his men’s group for regular sessions at the garden.

Galiford Try came and installed our new solar irrigation system on Poly 1, which was quite a tricky job! We’re now all ready to set up our automatic watering system for next year. It feels great to be harvesting all that rain for our ponds and plants. The group also got stuck into a bit of cobbing, so a productive day. More info in Lisa’s update below.

Scott Brownrigg architects chose the best sunny day to come and cob the hub! They loved the design and were determined to finish the front doorway. It looks and feels so momentous to get this done, and makes the space feel cosier.

Part of the team also got to work pollarding the willow fedge. This was a huge task and one we’ve wanted to do for some time. The wands will be a lot more manageable and accessible and it will allow light into the space to plant more willow species around the treebog. The team has also pledged to design an outside kitchen for the hub, which will be an amazing addition to our workshops and group days.

The Duke of Edinburgh students finally got to do a bit of dyeing with the plants they’ve grown over the summer. We had fun experimenting with different techniques and different plants. Although we were a bit restricted by time limits, we managed a decent green and pinky beige from the woad and some nice patterns from the flowers. We’re going to make some rustic bunting with the results to use in the hub and at fairs and events.

Clive Leeke came and ran a wonderful scything course (it was his first ever all-female group) It’s a great skill to learn and the group had a lot of fun scything some pretty tough parts of the garden. We hope to be running the course again next October, so watch out for the event on our website.

The Hub news

We are very excited to announce that we have our first community groups starting to book the hub for their sessions. The Guildford Bodger group came to visit and are looking forward to carving their spoons together.

looking forward to seeing some spoons soon

And we are also pleased to welcome Andy’s Man Club.

The Hub walls are very nearly finished, and we hope to fit the doors in this month. Cobbing becomes more tricky in the winter as the clay needs warm dry days to dry out properly, so our last cobbing session will be with Surrey Hills Society, when we hope to finish the third doorway.

👩🏻‍🌾NOVEMBER JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Weed front beds and mulch

• Cut down the dead flower stems

• Mulch around orchard trees with comfrey leaves and wood-chip

• Harvest willow wands into bundles and wrap

• Plant new willow around tree bog

🗞️COMMUNITY NEWS

💧Water Irrigation Installation Day By Lisa Dittmar

On October 8, 2024, we had a fantastic group from Galliford Try come to the garden to install the new solar-powered irrigation system on Poly 1, which we were able to purchase thanks to a generous grant from Surrey County Council.

We split up into teams, with one team assembling the solar pump and panel, another installing the guttering on the side of Poly 1, and a third group helping finish off the foundations on the hub walls.

It was one of our trickier projects, as the solar kit required a lot of attention to detail, and the guttering angles into the storage container (called an IBC) was not straightforward, but thanks to the brilliant problem-solving skills of our volunteers, we got it all installed! There’s still a little bit of hose piping to set up on the irrigation system, but it will be set up once we get a bit more hose piping to finish it off.

The weather was really varied all day, so it was easy to test that the guttering was working as intended! The hub was a great amenity to escape the rain and have a central place to gather.

🍂Family Nature Activity Session with Jane Tyson of Resilient Kids

"I had a lovely, relaxing afternoon at Rosamund Community Garden with Jane. It's a very calm environment and it was lovely to spend time with my family joining in a range of nature-based activities together. There was lots to see and learn about. We're all looking forward to the next session!" Anna Jolley

Join my next family event at the garden on Saturday 30th November 10.00am to 11.30am

🐝Peter’s Updates

The Bees in October » CLICK

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH

Spindle 

Scientific Name: Euonymus europaeus

Habitat: Spindle is a native tree to the UK and much of Europe. It is found most commonly on the edges of forests and in hedges, scrub and hedgerows. It thrives in chalky soils and is less common in Scotland. Spindle is an ancient-woodland indicator.

Description: Spindle is a small, deciduous tree that typically grows to 5m. It can reach 10m in rare cases and can live for more than 100 years. The bark and twigs are deep green, becoming darker with age, and have light brown, corky markings. The leaves are simple, deep green, waxy and with serrated edges. Spindle trees flower in May/June; flowers are small and pale green/white with four very distinct petals like a star. The flowers grow in clusters and develop into bright pink fruits with large visible bright orange seeds, which look a bit like popcorn and are ripe in November/December.

Value to wildlife: Spindle leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of the spindle ermine moth and the holly blue butterfly. The flowers are rich in nectar so good for pollinators in general, including hoverflies. The seeds and fruits are nutritious for birds.

Traditional and medicinal uses: Spindle timber is pale, hard and dense. In the past it was used to make ‘spindles’ for spinning and holding wool (hence its name), as well as skewers, toothpicks, pegs and knitting needles. Today, spindle timber is used to make high-quality charcoal for artists. The fruits can be boiled in water to produce a yellow dye.  

Both the leaves and fruit are toxic to humans – the berries having a laxative effect. The fruits were traditionally baked and powdered, and used to treat head lice or mange in cattle.

In the middle ages it was thought that if Spindle trees flowered early, there was likely to be an outbreak of plague on the way.

Sources: Woodland Trust, Guardian country diaries

🐛GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We usually have groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, please email Clare guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com to check we will be there. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

🔩MEET THE COMMITTEE

Ever wondered about the people who keep Rosamund running? Get to know a bit about them with our brand new ‘Meet the Committee’ page!

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon.

Hello and welcome to October’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS

• Wednesday 2nd October - SCC Community Volunteer Day (private event)

• Saturday 5th October 11:00 am to 4:00 pm - ZERO is hosting a Seed Saving Day for Guildford Seed Bank which should be very interesting, with top tips on seed saving and a talk by Andre Tranquilini » INFO 

• Sunday 6th October, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm - Big Job Sunday - plan and dig a new hibernaculum (see below for more info in Clare’s garden news)

• Tuesday 8th October - Galliford Try - Water Harvest Project all welcome

• Saturday 19th October, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - Learn To Sythe with Clive Only 4 places remain @£50. 10% discount for RCG members » BOOK NOW  

• Thursday 24th October - Scott Brownrigg Architects corporate day (private event)

• Saturday 26 October, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, Family Nature Connection session with Jane Tyson of Resilient Kids - £20 per family » BOOK NOW 

• November, date tbc - Surrey Hills Society Cobbing Day

• Sunday 1st December, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Wreath Making Workshop at the garden with Clare, Helen and Jane. 15 spaces £30 p/p. » BOOK  

🔩MEET THE COMMITTEE

Ever wondered about the people who keep Rosamund running? Get to know a bit about them with our brand new ‘Meet the Committee’ page! (with thanks to Olivia Cal for putting the website page together!).

🌱IN THE GARDEN

by Clare Millington

Autumn is here!! I’m always amazed by the shift of the sun in early September, and the gorgeous light in the morning and afternoons. 

Open Day

The apple pressing day was forecast with thunderstorms and we’d resigned ourselves to a volunteer get-together, sheltering under the newly completed Hub roof.

But, we didn’t get a drop of rain and it was a fantastic day with lots of families and new faces arriving to enjoy the communal pressing, apple juice and gorgeous food.

Our volunteers surpassed themselves with amazing soups, breads and cakes and we sold everything, with record takings! »PICS HERE

Very special thanks to Mary Makes Jam, who donated all her considerable takings for her delicious preserves made from foraged and donated fruit and veg.

Preserving sustainably for local charities
Mary’s Newsletters: https://jammin528558533.wordpress.com/category/newsletter/

The Hub

At last, the roof is complete, with a beautiful polycarbonate top, which makes the space feel open and bright. It was severely tested by a massive thunderstorm on the Friday before the open day and passed with flying colours! It was a bit alarming watching the lightening through the roof lights though, and we decided to abandon ship.

Having a usable space to gather is fantastic and the Hub was buzzing with visitors, and much admired.

We can now invite community groups to use the space, and continue our cobbing out of the rain.

Volunteer days

October is set to be very busy at the garden. We have the RGS and GHS lower 6th coming on Tuesdays to help out. They came last Tuesday and were delighted to help press the last of the apples before we packed up the presses. It was great fun and much apple juice was enjoyed. (next week they’ll be shoveling manure so watch this space).

SCC are coming next week and will be learning to cob and helping us clear along the poly-tunnels, ready for the water harvesting. Mike from SCC is going to cook up a storm from our produce for lunch in the Hub, so we should get it all done on full stomachs.

Galiford Try is booked for the 8th to install our solar water system. They will be finishing the guttering on the poly-tunnels and hooking up the water tank to the solar power on poly 1.

We have been approached by local architects Scott Brownrigg to do a volunteer day on the 24th October. They are excited to learn cob, wattle, and daub techniques and have offered to design an outside kitchen area for the Hub, including a wood store and clay oven. We’re feeling fortunate with all these connections.

Surrey Hills Society are coming in November and hope to facilitate regular groups to help at the garden.

In the Garden

In the poly-tunnels, we’ve been rewarded with self-sown seedlings emerging. The rocket and russian kale have been particularly successful, and shows how a bit of patience allowing the plants to complete their cycle, really pays off and saves time and money. It probably produces much hardier plants as well, without us interfering and telling them where to go!

Ann has been busy sowing our winter salads in the greenhouse and the DofE students learnt to take herb cuttings to sell or plant in the spring.

The next months are a time to collect all the apples (it’s been an amazing crop this year) and fill the poly-tunnel beds with plants.

The raised beds are still full of the black tomatoes and we have some tiny climbing courgettes that have been a very pretty addition to the trellis.

Big Job Sunday

This Sunday (6th) we’ll be getting together and starting to plan and dig our new hibernaculum.

Helen, Margaret and I had a lovely visit to the Garden House near Godalming and were given a tour (and lots of apples) from Andy.

https://thegardenhousesurrey.org/

We were particularly impressed by the hibernaculum dead hedge he’d created and have decided to make one alongside our compost bays.

A hibernaculum is an underground chamber that amphibians and reptiles use to protect themselves from the cold. You can dig a trench and fill it with rocks, logs and pipes, cover it with a log and earthen roof, and then build a dead hedge on top where you can put all your woody stems.

example of a hibernaculum

In the afternoon the DofE students will be harvesting the dye plants and making different dyes for bunting for the Hub. We have nettles (green) dyers chamomile (yellow) woad (blue) and onions (beige) watch this space for the results!

onions drying and ready for dyeing

👩🏻‍🌾OCTOBER JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Pick up windfalls and store in the metal shed or process at home

• Weed and edge front beds, cut down dead seed heads

• Water in poly-tunnels if very dry

• Clear around raised beds and take out any plants that have finished

• Harvest raspberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and kale

• Tidy sheds

🗞️COMMUNITY NEWS

🍞Helen’s Foccacia!

If you were lucky enough to savour a piece of Helen's delicious focaccia bread along with one of the tasty soups at our open afternoon with apple pressing, you're in for a treat! Here is the tried and tested recipe she uses, so you can recreate it at home.

🌬️Cleaner Air Day Guildford

Janice and Jane enjoyed a rather windswept Sunday at Guildford's "Cleaner Air Day". They helped to raise awareness about our wonderful wildlife garden. The apples from the orchard went down well! With thanks to Lisa for our new flyers and Steph at ZERO Guildford who has offered to help design and source a banner that we can use at future community outreach events.

And breathe.

“Guildford’s Cleaner Air Day encourages motorists to choose alternative travel such as walking, cycling or public transport, instead of using their car for the day. At the same time, we can reduce air pollution and give more room to breathe. 

Working with Guildford Borough Council’s Environmental Services team, and partners such as Surrey County Council, University of Surrey, Zero Carbon Guildford, and health providers, this free event showcases what is happening locally to make a “Greener Guildford”.

🐝Peter’s Updates

The Bees in October » CLICK

💮PLANT OF THE MONTH

Sedum

Sedums in the garden snapped by Olivia Cal

Family: Crassulaceae

Species: Sedum 

Common Names: Sedastrum, Sedum, Stonecrops

There are over 300 different species of these succulent plants, commonly known as Stonecrop due to their tendency to grow on rocky ledges in the wild. Sedum is native to the Northern Hemisphere and is mostly a perennial plant characterized by thick, succulent leaves, fleshy stems, and clusters of star-shaped flowers.

The diversity of Sedum varieties makes them suitable for almost all types of garden designs. Use low-growing varieties as ground covers and in rock gardens, while taller varieties work well for back borders.

Cultivation 

Sedum species are hardy, easy to care for, and make great cut flowers. One notable ground cover is Sedum acre, which grows up to 8 cm tall and produces bright golden-yellow flowers in spring. This plant roots easily from a dropped leaf and can quickly fill in stony slopes or difficult corners of your garden.

At Rosamund, we have an abundance of Sedum, which provides much-needed late autumn nectar for pollinators. It is also extremely drought-tolerant, making it an essential addition to zero-water beds in the face of climate change. Currently, it's at its peak and buzzing with bumblebees whenever the sun comes out.

Is Sedum Edible? 

The leaves and flowers of most Sedum species are edible and are sometimes added to soups, smoothies, and salads for their slightly astringent, sour taste (particularly S. sarmentosum, S. reflexum, and S. rhodanthum). However, Sedum acre, also known as Biting Stonecrop, contains high levels of alkaloids that make it NOT EDIBLE and potentially toxic.

Medicinal Properties and Uses 

In traditional herbal medicine, fresh, crushed leaves or plant extracts are often used externally. These plants are believed to have diuretic and laxative properties. They are most commonly associated with treating skin conditions, such as itchy rashes, ulcers, and for the topical treatment of warts, pimples, and acne dermatitis.

Always ensure you have correctly identified a plant before consumption or application. Some people may have unknown allergies, so it's best to approach cautiously and try a small amount first.

🐛GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We usually have groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, please email Clare guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com to check we will be there. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Have a fab October and hope to see you at Big Job Sunday on the 6th.

Welcome to September’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS

• Friday 13th September, 10:00am to 12:00pm Enjoy a walk around the garden as part of - Walkfest  » TICKETS

• Saturday 14th September, 10:00am to 4:00pm - Learn To Sythe with Clive Only 4 places remain @£50. 10% discount for RCG members » BOOK NOW  

• Sunday 22nd September, 12:00pm to 4:00pm - Open Day With Apple Pressing (bring containers for juice, CASH only)» TICKETS

• Sunday 29th September - Clean Air Day Guildford we will have a presence on the ZERO stand, please let us know if you can offer an hour or two of support (email: guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com)

• Wednesday 2nd October - SCC Community Volunteer Day (private event)

• Sunday 6th October, 11:00am to 1:00pm - Big Job Sunday - job tbc

• Tuesday 8th October - Galliford Try - Water Harvest Project all welcome

• Surrey Hills Society Cobbing Day - date tbc

Events at ZERO » CLICK

🌱IN THE GARDEN

by Clare Millington

After a quiet August, with a lot of people away, September is looking to be a very productive month. 

We’re really excited about the apple pressing day on the 22nd and hope it’ll be as fabulous as usual. This a big fund-raiser for the garden and a great chance for everyone to get together and enjoy the garden, so come and join in, have a go at pressing and enjoy some gorgeous home-made food and fresh apple juice. (please bring containers for juice and cash, and any un-sprayed surplus apples you may have)

This year, the fruit has been phenomenal - the apples are literally abundant and the autumn raspberries are the best ever!

After a slow start the tomatoes are starting to ripen, with the black variety winning the taste test this year. The raised beds have been great and produced some lovely pink fir potatoes, squash and brassicas and yes…. more black tomatoes!

The Hub is now felted at long last and the poly-carbonate top will go on soon. We’ve been busy networking with local groups to run some cobbing days in the next months, which, hopefully will get the walls done before the winter.

This week we also had a visit from  Gemma and Louise at Fare Share in Guildford. Fare Share is a wonderful charity that distributes waste and surplus food from food outlets to local community groups, to combat food poverty and wastage. We’re very pleased to be involved and they will drop off any spoiled fruit and veg for us to compost.

This time of year is probably the best for gathering produce and a gradual slowing down from the mad growth spurt of Summer

The plants are setting seed and we have started to collect them to dry and save for the next planting. It’s great to see plants self-seeding around the garden - kales especially have all self-sown in the poly-tunnel and are looking healthy. 

The hops have nearly covered the old compost loo and the flowers smell amazing! They are great for helping sleep in a herb pillow and of course for beer.

The phacelia (a lovely purple flowering annual - beloved by bees) bank has been a great success and hopefully will self-seed the bank for the spring.

Zero are hosting a seed saving day on the 5th October for Guildford Seed Bank which should be very interesting, with top tips on seed saving and a talk by Andre Tranquilini (go to zerocarbonguildford.org for details).

The sedum in the bee flower bed is now coming into flower and is covered with the bumbles and pollinators. These beautiful drought-tolerant plants are a real must in any garden, providing much-needed autumn nectar. 

We’ve also harvested a bumper crop of nettle seeds to try out the medicinal benefits we shared in the last newsletter. To be continued….

👩🏻‍🌾AUGUST JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Collect ripe seeds in cardboard punnets, label and put them in the metal cupboard in the kitchen

• Start to clear polytunnels and mulch ready for autumn sowings

• Sow autumn salads and greens in modules

• Keep watering in polytunnels if needed.

• Gather windfall apples into black baskets and store in the metal shed.

• Pick raspberries, ripe apples, potatoes, salad, tomatoes and pattypans

📰COMMUNITY NEWS

🌾Thistles and Teasels by Margaret Hattersley

There is a patch of wild vegetation near the pond which has been left alone, and with minimal interference, nature has provided amply.

At this time of year the thistles, ragwort and teasels that have grown there are now covered in silky furred and prickly seedheads respectively. This is a great feeding opportunity for finches, in particular goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis). These handsome birds have beaks which end at a fine point like a pair of tweezers, excellent for extracting the seeds from the plants. Interestingly, I have just found out that the male birds have a slightly longer beak, making them more able to contend with the prickly teasel heads, whilst the females are often seen feeding alongside them on the softer thistles.

The seeds are a concentrated source of many nutrients including essential fatty acids. Flocks of goldfinch arrive to feed on them – a flock of goldfinch is known as a “charm”. The Anglo Saxon word for goldfinch is “Thistel tuige” which means “thistle tweaker”. Teasels are often used in flower arrangements or to craft hedgehogs, but maybe we should wait until after the goldfinches have had their fill.

Goldfinches will hatch chicks as late as September, probably because the seeds they like to feed on are abundant now. Growing a few teasels in the garden is a great way to encourage them. Most overwinter in the UK, although some migrate to Spain. We are looking forward to seeing these beautiful birds at the garden this Autumn.

🐝 Peter’s Updates

The Bees in September » CLICK

Moths to spot in September ⬇️

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH:

Yarrow by Helen Harris

Image from Wildlife Trust website

Scientific Name: Achillea millefolium

Habitat: Yarrow is a tough plant of many grasslands, from lawns to verges and meadows. Yarrow has been used to help restore arable land to grassland by sowing it along with other natives.

Description: A herbaceous perennial, with clusters of white, flat-topped flower heads and dark green, finely divided, feathery leaves and one to several stems. Growing to about 1 metre tall, it is also characterized by a pungent smell. 

Flowering time: June to November

Other names: arrowroot, death flower, eerie, hundred-leaved grass, knyghten, old man's mustard, sanguinary, seven-year's love, snake's grass.

Traditional and medicinal uses

The entire plant is reportedly edible and nutritious, but it is advised not to consume much as it is bitter and astringent. The leaves can be eaten raw when young with an aniseed-grass flavour. It can also be brewed as tea.

Yarrow has been found in Neanderthal burials dated up to 60,000 years old suggesting its association with human species dates back a long way. Centuries ago, Yarrow was used in Europe as a charm against bad luck and illness.

In the Middle Ages, yarrow was part of a herbal mixture known as gruit used in the flavoring of beer before the use of hops. The flowers and leaves are still used in making some liquors and bitters.

The dark blue essential oil of yarrow contains chemicals called prozalunes similar to those found in chamomile and wormwood. Yarrow contains many other active chemicals including isolaveric acid, salicylic acid, asparagine, sterols and flavonoids and penolic acids. 

Yarrow is widely used in traditional herbal medicine as a laxative,  to heal wounds and stop bleeding, and to stop nosebleeds. Yarrow and its North American varieties were traditionally used by Native American peoples for treating headaches, toothaches and earaches.

Plant Yarrow for wildlife in your garden

Several cavity-nesting birds, including starlings use yarrow to line their nests. Experiments suggest that this may inhibit the growth of parasites.  It is a useful food plant to many pollinators and insects including a large number of moth species, beetles, bugs, hoverflies and wasps.

🐛GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We usually have groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, please email Clare guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com to check we will be there. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Have a fab September and hope to see some of you at the garden.

Welcome to August’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS

• Friday 13th September, 10:00am to 12:00pm Enjoy a walk around the garden as part of - Walkfest  » TICKETS

• Saturday 14th September, 10:00am to 4:00pm - Learn To Sythe with Clive Only 8 places @£50. 10% discount for RCG members » TICKETS 

• Sunday 22nd September, 12:00pm to 4:00pm - Open Day With Apple Pressing

• Sunday 29th September - Clean Air Day Guildford (we will have a presence, please let us know if you’d like to support)

• Tuesday 8th October - Galliford Try - Water Harvest Project (all welcome)

Events at ZERO » CLICK

🌱IN THE GARDEN by Clare Millington

The glorious hot weather these last couple of weeks has really worked its magic on the garden, and finally we’re seeing some lovely fruit and veg ready to harvest.

The cold wet spells have meant everything has been a bit delayed, but the plus side is we’ve hardly had to water outside and everywhere is very lush.

It’s looking like a great year for apples and plums in the orchard, with some varieties ready now! We had our first wineberries this week (a Japanese berry that is like a sticky raspberry x blackberry) and the raised beds are producing calabrese, cabbages and pattypan squash (lovely used in stir fries and ratatouille)

Last week was the traditional harvest festival of Lammas, so it seems apt to have our bounty ripening now. (see Margaret’s piece about Lammas origins)

This month we have been focussed on creating new relationships with potential local community groups that want to come and use the space to meet, and/or get involved with the projects. Hopefully, September will see the garden buzzing with various community days helping with the Hub, pond and water harvest projects.

The Hub

The end is in sight and Fudge (the roofer) has started the last leg of the roofing, which will be felted with the poly-carbonate top installed, hopefully in the next month (weather permitting).

We hope to host some groups through the Surrey Hills Society, that are keen to work on the cobbing and carpentry for the walls.

Water Harvest

Galliford Try are booked in for October to come and lend their expertise to installing the solar pump and completing the gutters on the tunnels, so we should be ready for the next dry spell with our rain-water tanks.

Pond

The pond is flourishing with all the plants really well established both in the water and around the margins. We will be planning some more big job days to install a new bank and hopefully some deck areas for pond dipping.

🐌 JULY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Harvest pattypan squash, cucumbers, sweetpeas, kales, salads, courgettes and beans (coming soon)

• Clear brambles around poly-tunnels and entranceway

• Clip long grass around tree bases

• Water poly-tunnels when dry and pots/raised beds if very hot.

COMMUNITY NEWS

🧮The Big Butterfly Count By Lisa Dittmar

There's still a few days left of this year's Big Butterfly Count, which runs from July 12 - August 4, 2024. It's a big citizen science initiative run every year by the Butterfly Conservation charity, who have been running it for the past 14 years.

What are the results so far?

This year, preliminary results indicate that butterfly numbers are the lowest on record in the UK after a wet spring and summer dampened their chances of mating, says a recent article in the Guardian.

Many people have noticed the lack of fluttering and buzzing insects in their gardens. Experts say this is due to the unusually wet conditions so far in 2024. Climate breakdown means the UK is more likely to face extremes in weather, and the natural rhythms of the seasons that insects such as butterflies are used to can no longer be relied on. 

The UK had its wettest spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record, as an average 301.7mm (11.87in) of rain fell across March, April and May, nearly a third (32%) more than usual for the season. 

Climate change also is altering migration patterns. Examining 50 years of data, researchers have identified a clear northerly shift among many species, including the familiar garden favourites the comma, peacock and holly blue.

How To Get Involved? 

To participate, simply find a sunny spot (in Rosamund, your own garden or another sunny spot in your local area) and do the following:

• Download the Big Butterfly Count ID guide - you can download and print your own from this page or you can download the free app. 

• Grab a pen and paper, or a way of noting down what you see

• Find a sunny spot

• Submit your sightings via the Big Butterfly Count website or app by July 4. Congratulations you are now a citizen scientist! Print or download your certificate. 

🌻Lammas Festival and its Origins and Meanings in Tradition by Margaret Hattersley🌽

Lammas is a festival derived from Celtic tradition that falls around the 1^st or 2^nd August each year. The name has changed from the original Lughnasadh to Lammas which is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words for ” loaf mass”. At this time the first harvest became available and celebratory loaves would be made with the first grain.

Feasts and gatherings would also happen at this time. The Sun was celebrated for being at its height and the Sun gods would be remembered. Nature is at its most abundant at the moment and the fields and woodlands are at their peak of growth. Bilberries and blackberries are some of our wild fruits that can be foraged in August.

Although we do not all join in with harvesting the grain crop nowadays, we can take a moment to reflect and be thankful for all that we have “harvested” during the year up until now. As the Celtic year follows the agricultural calendar and starts at Samhain in October (31^st October), this means everything that we have hoped to bring to fruition from that point last year.

Herbs that have seed now are chives and coriander. Coriander seed can be used in cooking when it is green as well as when dried. Now is the time to gather and collect dried seed from herbs, vegetables and flowers for sowing next Spring. Spare seed can be swapped for other varieties at seed banks, such as the one at Zero Carbon Guildford.

🐝 Peter’s Updates

The Bees in August » CLICK

Moths to spot in August ⬇️

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH: Nettle

Scientific Name: Urtica Dioica

Nettles grow up to 5 feet tall and have opposing green leaves, which are coarsely toothed, oval, pointed on the ends, and can be several inches long. The leaves are covered in fine hairs that break easily on contact, releasing formic acid which irritates our skin.

Nettle seeds grow in tiny geometric clusters on thin threads along the stem, after the plant has flowered.  When Nettles go to flower, all the energy and goodness goes into producing the flower and seeds, and the leaves go all tough and stringy, you’ll notice they don’t look quite so vibrant! At this point, we stop picking the leaves, and turn our attentions towards foraging for nettle seeds.

Nettle seeds are small but mighty powerhouses that offer a range of benefits nutritionally and medicinally.

As the plant is dioecious, only half the plants will carry the seeds (the female). The male plants produce pollen to fertilise the female, which in turn produces the seeds. The female plants are distinguished by their slightly frosty appearance and droopiness of the flowers. Both plants are edible, but when it comes to harvesting the seeds, make sure you pick from female plants as their seeds are full of nutritional goodness.

You know the seeds are ready to pick when the long seed bundles droop towards the stem. We would generally recommend picking from the top ⅓ of the plant, where the seeds and nutrients are most abundant, also leaving plenty of opportunity for for regrowth and the plant’s survival.

While nettle leaves are best to forage in early spring, nettle seeds will be ready to harvest from mid-Summer to mid-Autumn. They are best picked when they’re plump, green and looking healthy – brown clusters of seeds are not to be picked.

How to harvest nettle seeds to dry

1. Pick the top ⅓ of the plant, leaves, stems and all.

2. Tie your nettle plants upside in a dry spot, and leave to dry for 3-4 days.

3. Using gloves, snip off the seed clusters from the stems, discarding the leaves and main stem.

4. Put all the seed clusters in a kitchen sieve, and pop over a larger bowl, rubbing the threads through a sieve to release the seeds from the little stems, which can be thrown away. 

5. Pop your seeds in a jar, and they’ll keep for up to a year.

Flavour and How to Use

Nettle seeds are pretty tasty and have a great earthy, nutty flavour.  We foraged for nettle seeds and harvest an abundance throughout late Summer/Autumn and use them throughout the seasons ahead. The seeds can be consumed fresh or dried, although once dried the seeds will not be as much of a stimulant but still great for the body. 

Essentially, you can use them in any recipe where you’d use seeds, with a few ideas to get you started below:

• Use them to make Nettle Seed Burger Buns

• Add them to your homemade granola or granola bars

• Use them in baking, for example replace poppy seeds with nettle seeds for a delicious wild twist on a lemon and poppy seed cake!

• Add them to your energy balls, or roll your homemade chocolate truffles in nettle seeds to finish

• Pop them in seeded crackers

• Make your own wild dukkah, with toasted hazelnuts, nettle seeds and common hogweed seeds

• Make a nettle seed salt to sprinkle on your dishes

• Powder them to make a nettle seed powder, to add to smoothies

• Make a tincture for your joints

• Make a nutritious nettle tea, infusing the seeds in boiling water for 5-6 minutes

Medicinal Properties

Nettle seeds are considered to be a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. They are often used to support overall vitality, promote healthy hair and nails, and enhance energy levels. Nettle seeds are great as a tonic, as the seeds contain serotonin – a teaspoon every morning is great for a pick-me-up! 

Nettle seeds helps to support the adrenal glands (the glands above the kidneys which produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure and your response to stress) and endocrine system (the system of glands in the body that releases hormones into the bloodstream so they can travel to tissue and organs throughout the body.

Nettle seeds are considered a wild adaptogenic herb. An adaptogenic herb is any herb that helps our body to respond to stress, anxiety, fatigue and overall well being. In its most basic form helping the body to recalibrate itself back to its normal function – so a real powerhouse of a wild plant!

🐛GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We usually have groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, please email Clare guildfordcommunitygarden@gmail.com to check we will be there. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Come and have a cuppa and a sit and enjoy the birds. Happy gardening!

Welcome to July’s garden update.

📅UPCOMING EVENTS

• Wednesday 3rd July, 6.30 pm to 8.45 pm - Joyful Outdoors Foraging Workshop at Rosamund £35pp, to book email: elspeth@joyfuloutdoors.co.uk (10% discount for Rosamund members)
  

Sunday 7th July 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm - Visit from the Mayor of Guildford 

Wednesday 10th July 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Matrix Trust group activity, private event - Matrix exists to catalyse change for young people and help them make the most of their lives

Sunday 14th July 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm - Cobbing the Hub, drop-in, group activity all welcome

Events at ZERO » CLICK

🌱IN THE GARDEN by Clare Millington

June has finally brought the warm weather we’ve all been waiting for and the garden has gone bonkers in the sunshine! The grasses in the orchard are all flowering and have reached record heights. Walking along the paths with the grasses swishing around you is wonderful.

Image: Jane walking her school’s “Eco Club” through the long grasses (more about this in “Community News” below

The Hub

This month we’ve really been focussing on the hub, and have made good progress on our cob walls. We’ve installed a big window and some more bottle art, and made some new friends along the way. The roof is nearly finished - just the polycarbonate and felting to finish.

Many thanks to John Andrews, who delivered another load of local clay for us to finish the walls.

We were lucky enough to meet a new member through the project, who’s a local potter.

Anamica loved the cobbing, especially because she remembers her grandparents’ cob house in India, which is still there. She has decided to set a project for her pottery students to make an installation for the garden in the autumn. Hopefully, it's the first of many art projects here.

More pics of the day on Facebook and a fun video reel on Instagram (thanks to Olivia Cal).

Green day

The first Guildford Green Day went really well. We had a good response to our stall and made lots of connections with the local community. The Lib Dems were out in force, and the Mayor came and had a chat. She’d heard all about the garden and is coming for a cuppa and a tour on the 7th, to see all the projects.

Our lovely founder John Bannister popped along to say hi today at our Guildford Green Day stall. Lovely to see him

Entrance

The entranceway is finally finished! Huge thanks to Ringway and Bill Kears for making this happen. The new woodland bed is ready for planting, and we’ve ordered some native trees from the SCC tree project to be delivered in the Autumn when we can start laying it out.

The new bank next to the bed has been sown with Phacelia (a green manure that produces gorgeous purple flowers) which will provide a great food source for the pollinators and hopefully self-seed for next year.

In the Garden

The fruit trees are looking promising, peeping out from the grass and the fruit-cage is a great success! For the first time in ages we have a wonderful crop of logan-berries and our little cherry tree is really happy with some really tasty cherries. We’ve had to block up some holes where the birds managed to get in and strip the red-currants, but there are still black-currants, gooseberries and white-currants a-plenty. The raspberries will be ready late summer into autumn.

Huge thanks to Kate for all her hard work, making composts and ensuring the fruit-cage is weed-free and pruned, it’s made all the difference and looks really great.

Solar Pump and Water Harvesting

With our funding from SCC, Lisa has bought the solar pump and we’ll be finishing the water harvesting on the poly-tunnels this year to ensure the pond is topped up as well as finally installing a rain-water system for poly-tunnel 1.

DofE Project

The students have successfully grown woad and dyers chamomile, which will go into the dye bed. The dry spell has made planting difficult, so we will try some wool mulching to keep the plants moist and protected.

Some of the DofE young people have decided to stay involved with the garden and to do their next award here, which is great feedback, and it really is lovely to have them at Rosamund.

School Groups

We’ve been approached by local schools to facilitate them with their community volunteering initiative. The students will come and help at the garden in the autumn and winter terms, which will provide valuable help and hopefully inspire some budding wildlife gardeners.

👋FAREWELL TO CHARLOTTE

Charlotte is moving to Wales. Thank you for all your wonderful contributions to the garden. Enjoy your new adventure!

The following was written for our October 2023 newsletter -

Charlotte discovered the garden during lockdown when she spent her days walking the Surrey Hills. Though she isn't much of a gardener, she takes care of the orchard, pruning it in winter, mulching it in spring, watering it during dry spells, and enjoying its produce as often as she can. She loves the wildlife and often spends time in the garden and meadow, observing different species and watching the birds. "Coming to the garden is like a balm for the soul," she says.

🐌 JULY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Clear the compost bays and move the woodchips for storage

• Weed the beds 

• Water the poly-tunnels when dry and the raised beds/pots etc.

• Set up solar-pump and complete guttering

• Clear grass and cut comfrey around fruit-trees

• Harvest Black-currants, Logan-berries and white-currants when ready

• Train cherry tree (make frame-work)

• Paint new picnic tables with preserver.

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH: RAGWORT by Helen Harris

Scientific Name: Senecio jacobaea

Habitat: bare ground or thin vegetation allows the development of seedlings.

Flowering time: July – October

Other names: Stagger weed

As July comes around, a familiar pariah plant doggedly starts to be seen flowering again in our fields and marginal spaces. 

What is ragwort?

Ragwort is a tall plant that grows to 90cm high and bears large, flat-topped clusters of yellow daisy-like flowers from July to October. Nineteen species of the Ragwort genus Senecio are found in the wild in Britain, but most of these are garden escapes or other introductions: only Senecio jacobaea is a native species to the UK. 

Why is Ragwort considered harmful? 

Ragwort is what is called a “ruderal plant”. This means it is a coloniser – it establishes easily on areas of disturbed ground.  and can thrive in areas where other wildflowers may struggle. It grows quickly and distributes many seeds that can travel a long way on the wind. In poorly managed or disturbed areas it can spread rapidly and take over. It often therefore becomes problematic in over grazed fields. 

Ragwort is classified as a “harmful weed”. This means that Natural England can require land owners to take steps to reduce or remove ragwort if it becomes “out of control”. 

This is because ragwort contains toxins called pyrrolizidine alkaloids. These, in sufficient quantities, can cause liver poisoning in horses and livestock. It is a cumulative poison that eventually leads to the rapid onset of symptoms before death. However, the symptoms are variable and resemble those of a number of other diseases.

If animals ingest ragwort, they could suffer low-level digestion of the weed for months before they start to show signs of distress. According to the charity Buglife, the lethal volume of Ragwort is around 7% of body weight for horses.

So many landowners and livestock owners react strongly to ragwort – pulling it on site, spraying it with glyphosate (which the World Health Organisation lists as a probably carcinogen) or spot burning it, as well as vociferously encouraging neighbours to do the same so as to avoid seeding other areas with the “pest”. 

But Ragwort has its uses…

So should we do the responsible thing and always pull Ragwort or run for the spray bottle if we see it growing? I would strongly argue no: please hear me out. 

Firstly, most grazing animals will avoid Ragwort growing in pasture. It tastes bad and they will only eat it if there is nothing else for them. However, it is true that ragwort in hay or silage is bad news as it is more difficult to detect and avoid. 

Ragwort is a natural part of our native flora and as such is part of the web of life in our countryside: it is needed! In a well-functioning environment, it does not spread and take over but exists in balance with other species. Its vibrant (I would argue beautiful) yellow flowers attract many pollinators: Among the 30 species of bee, beetle, other insects and fungi supported by ragwort are the daisy carpenter bee and the cinnabar moth, meaning it has significant benefits to conservation. It is also the sole food plant for the black and red cinnabar moth. 

🫂COMMUNITY NEWS

 The Green Sludge by Margaret Hattersley

Some of you may have recently noticed the green “sludge” in the pond. This is blanket weed, a filamentous green algae that likes to grow in aquatic environments with a little fertility from decaying plant matter or soil that has entered the water. It is common in new ponds which are establishing their ecosystem. It is currently giving the wildlife pond some of the appearance of a primeval swamp.

The algae, being a plant, feeds on nitrogenous products whithin the water, and gives off oxygen. This can be useful to oxygenate the water for invertebrates and amphibians that need a supply of oxygen in an otherwise static water body. In time the balance will naturally be restored, as greater numbers of invertebrates, pond snails and other animals feed on the algae, and are then fed on by others further up the food chain.

Blanket weed needs sun and warmth to grow so it is often seen as a bloom in the Spring and Summer. One drawback can be that it covers the water and shades out other oxygenating plants below such as hornwort, which we also have in the pond. However hornwort, and another plant we have, water soldier also compete with it and help to keep it under control.

Blanket weed provides a habitat for flying invertebrates such as damselflies and dragonflies which use it to land on. Recently we have seen dragonflies visiting the pond to lay their eggs or “oviposit”. It is also used by frogs and newts to lay their spawn and to provide cover for their young.

We are keeping an eye on the blanket weed, and making sure that it doesn’t cause a problem at this stage, but on the whole it is a welcome visitor, with a beautiful bright green colour, that will in time find it’s niche as the ecosystem becomes more diverse.

Bug Hotel and Eco School Updates by Jane Tyson

The Rosamund Bug Hotel, made by our talented volunteer, Lisa, has been on many adventures lately - one of which being a visit to Merrow Schools Federation at the Infant School where I’m teaching.

Using some leftover playdough from our stand at Guildford Green Day, the children happily created colourful bugs to live within the hotel.

Hopefully, it inspired the children to create their own bug hotels!

This year, alongside the children, I set up Merrow Infant School’s Eco Club, and recently we enjoyed a magical walk on the wild side to the community garden. The children were keen to weed Polytunnel One, visit the pond to see the damselflies, paint some flowers, explore the orchard and fruit cages, and top of the happy list was snack time!

they loved the lilypads!

Image credit - Olivia Cal

The New Growers’ Nook By Olivia Cal

You’ve got your gloves and secateurs – you’ve watched a heck of a lot of Gardeners’ World – and you’re ready to start growing. It’s at this point you realise you’re not sure where to start. Sowing seeds? Mulching? Composting? These things can’t be too difficult, but you want to do it right. 

As a newbie gardener, I’m learning so much from the internet, books, and the wonderful people of Rosamund. But there’s so much I still don’t know and there are times when it feels overwhelming. 

I decided to start this segment when I realised I’m not the only beginner here! Every month I will share one thing I have learned about growing sustainably in the hopes that other beginner gardeners will find something useful.

Get the Most out of Tomato Plants with 3 Simple Tips

Ever since I started gardening, tomatoes have proved themselves as the least fussy plants – to begin with, at least. They germinate quickly and if they get enough sunlight and warmth, grow into tough little seedlings. 

I did, however, forget about a batch of Tumbling Tom seedlings on a north-facing windowsill earlier this year and when I remembered them, their spindly, pale stems and small, shrivelled leaves were reaching toward the dim light. I felt like a monster. 

Usually I do try to save leggy seedlings by transplanting them deeper into the soil. These ones were beyond saving. Fortunately, my other tomato seedlings hadn’t been neglected and were ready to be transplanted. 

Now we’re on the cusp of July and my tomatoes are beginning to produce, albeit slowly, and it got me thinking about ways to increase your tomato harvests: 

1. Improve pollination

Tomatoes are self-pollinating as they come with male and female parts. However, they do require wind to help things along and this can be a problem when you’re growing them indoors. 

The solution? Make sure the space you’re growing your tomatoes is well-ventilated. Open windows and doors to let the air circulate. Or, tap the trusses gently to help release the pollen. 

2. Water regularly

Your first line of defence when it comes to splitting and pests is regular, deep watering. Tomatoes are thirsty plants and should be watered weekly. They may also require daily watering in hot weather. 

3. Remove fruits at the breaker stage 

If you’re struggling with fruit splitting or pests, removing fruits at the breaker stage (when they stop receiving nutrients from the plant to ripen) may help you salvage your tomatoes. While I do try to let my tomatoes ripen on the vine, I did have to employ this technique in late summer last year when my watering became… sporadic. 

All you need to do is remove the tomatoes when they begin to turn colour and leave them in a cool, dark location to ripen. 

🐝 Peter’s Updates

The Bees in July » CLICK

Moths to spot in July ⬇️

🐛GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We have regular groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, just turn up. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Come and have a cuppa and a sit and enjoy the birds. Happy gardening!

Welcome to June’s garden update.

First, thank you to Mat Silvester of “matsnap” for this beautiful drone footage⬇️

📅UPCOMING EVENTS  

• Sunday 9th June - Big Green Week Guildford High Street inviting Guildford to “Be part of a Greener Guildford” Rosamund stall 10:00 am - 4:00pm (come and support us) INFO
  

• Sunday 2nd June - Cobbing the Hub - All welcome 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm (refreshments supplied)
  

• Sunday 23rd June - Cobbing the Hub - All welcome 2:30 pm - 4.30 pm (refreshments supplied)
  

• All Tuesdays in June - Cobbing the Hub - All welcome 2.30 pm - 5:00 pm
  

• Wednesday 3rd July, 6:30 pm - 8:45 pm Joyful Outdoors Foraging workshop at Rosamund Garden (limited places & priority booking for RCG members until 5 June and 10% discount for Rosamund volunteers too)

  
  Join our resident forager, Elspeth from Joyful Outdoors on a small group summer foraging walk designed for those who crave a deeper connection with nature. This walk will feed your soul, spark your curiosity and kindle a love affair with wild plants.

  
  Using all your senses, you'll learn to identify fascinating species together. These walks are perfect for beginners - Elspeth will guide you and help you gain the confidence to recognise and avoid common poisonous plants. Mid-summer is peak time for wildflowers and this is an abundant time for foragers.

Wednesday 10th July 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Matrix project group activity. 

Events at ZERO » CLICK

🌱IN THE GARDEN

After some promising hot days, we’ve returned to the wet and windy stuff, for a bit, so things are slowing down apart from the weeds!

The poly-tunnels look lovely with their newly planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and chillis and fresh dressing of Kate’s wonderful Rosamund compost.

The currants are already laden with trusses of fruit and the loganberries and grapes are flourishing in the new fruit-cage. Even the new cherry tree has produced some nice-looking cherries in there. So we wait with baited punnets for the summer colour to arrive.

Elsewhere, the new raised beds have been filled with brash, manure, and compost, following the Hugelkultur method, and planted with potatoes, squash and brassicas. So far no weeds or slugs have been seen, which is unheard of at Rosamund, and is a very lovely novelty to be faced with. 

The orchard is waist-high with grasses and flowers and looks lovely with the paths and swales cutting through.

The wildlife pond has had many new visitors, namely 2 ducks and a beautiful dragonfly, some damselflies and many pond skaters. Who knows what's going on beneath the surface, but I’m sure we’ll be doing some dipping before long. Margaret is organising a wildlife survey soon, so we’ll report back on the findings.

In the orchard, Helen’s yellow rattle swales have all sprouted and can be clearly seen in this drone photo of the garden:

This is exciting and will start the bio-diversity journey for the wild-flower drifts there.

The wildflower patch near the willow bog is sprouting too, so hopefully there will be flowers to share in the next newsletter.

As promised, Ringway has started landscaping the entranceway and paths from the gate to the hub. They have cleared and created a wonderful hibernaculum bank from the spoil, which we have sown with wildflowers; and a lovely rectangular planting space, which will be planted in the autumn with native trees and shrubs etc to provide nectar, and food for the wildlife and us to share. 

Andrew from Ringway has done a great job of growing edibles and ornamental plants for the depot greening project. We’ve been invited to visit this month, so watch this space for photos.

The paths will be paved with a natural clay mix to provide a flat surface to make the garden accessible to all. We plan to make a new bay at the gateway for drop-offs of woodchip etc.

Work has started on recycling the arbour into trellis work. The climbing plants have survived the collapse and are working their way through the lattice. We’ve had a lovely red honeysuckle display and are now waiting for the jasmine and passionflowers to appear. 

Despite the rain, most of the beds are looking really good after all the weeding and planting, we just need a good load of sunshine to really get things going.

This month we will be focussing on the hub and working on the cob and wattle and daub walls in a big push to get them finished. If you fancy having a go, please come along. It’s amazing how much we can get done with a bigger group.

⚜️CUBS CULTIVATE SKILLS AT THE GARDEN by Julie

On a gorgeous May Wednesday evening, the First Merrow Explorers Cubs pack met at Rosamund Garden to help them earn their Gardening Badge. They all had a wonderful time planting basil in pots for them to take home and wheelbarrowing mulch from the front gate to the raised beds. They had a tour of the garden and we explained about organic gardening and the no-dig method. They also loved eating the fresh chives from the beds!

A fun and educational time was had by all!

🐌 JUNE JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• Lay the cardboard on the new bed (ready for woodchip mulch)

• Continue weeding the front beds and clearing around the arbour

• Install post supports and trellis

• Clear long grass around the fruit trees to provide air circulation

• Collect manure from next door for the compost bays

• Cut back brambles etc in the compost bays

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH: YELLOW RATTLE by Helen Harris

Latin name: Rhinanthus minor

Distribution: widespread, common, grassland

Flowering time: May-June

Description: Yellow rattle is an annual wild flower that thrives in grasslands. It has yellow, tube-like flowers protruding from an inflated, green structure called the calyx. It has serrated leaves (that look a little bit like tough elongated nettle leaves) which sprout opposite each other all the way up the stem. Grows 5 – 18 ins (12 – 50 cm) high. 

When the flowers of yellow-rattle fade, the brown calyxes stay visible and harden and inside the tiny seeds ripen and give a distinctive 'rattle', when you shake them. 

Common names: The name “rhinanthus” comes from two Greek words meaning nose and flower, due to the projecting beak of the upper portion of the flower. Yellow rattle is also known as Cock’s Comb and Penny Grass and is a member of the Figwort family

Herbal Uses: Yellow Rattle is allegedly good for coughs and dimness of sight. The ripening seeds of yellow provide food for the caterpillars of the Grass Rivulet moth, which live inside the seed capsules before they overwinter as pupae underground.

Ecological Importance: Yellow rattle is known as ‘the meadow maker’ or ‘nature’s lawnmower’. The UK charity PlantLife states that yellow rattle is the most important plant you must establish when creating a wildflower meadow. This is because it is a semi-parasitic plant that feeds off nearby grasses. For this reason, while it was once seen as an indicator of poor grassland by farmers, it is now often used to turn improved grassland back into meadow: by diverting water and nutrients from the roots of surrounding grasses it can suppress their growth by up to 60%. In this way, it creates space for more delicate plants to push their way through and thrive.

Yellow Rattle at Rosamund Garden: We were lucky enough to work with BugLife last year to introduce yellow rattle into our orchard at Rosamund Garden, as part of our project to increase biodiversity in the garden. BugLife provided very fresh, locally grown seed and helped a group of our volunteers to scarify strips across the grass in the meadow with hoes, rakes and a hand mower one rainy day last November. The seed was sown immediately in time to vernalize in the winter frosts. 

Just as we finished sowing a huge vibrant rainbow emerged to bless us, and I am pleased to say we have been rewarded with a fantastic germination rate and gorgeous swathes of yellow rattle in our orchard this June. You can see how much it has suppressed the grass where it has been planted. This autumn we will collect our own seed and repeat the process in new areas. 

Huge thanks to Louis Harrington Edmans at BugLife for supporting our project and to all the volunteers who helped with the backbreaking work!

📰COMMUNITY NEWS

🐝 Peter’s Updates

“We're all famous! Here's a pic from the recent filming day in June's edition of BeeCraft (it's a beekeeping magazine) alongside my regular column”

»ENJOY PETE’S JUNE BEE BLOG - CLICK TO READ

🦋Moths To Spot In June

Another date for your diary - Restore Nature Now - Saturday 22nd June 12:00 - Central London » INFO 

GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We have regular groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, just turn up. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

👥TEAM VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email rosamundcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Happy Gardening!