Developed and managed by Marsh Street Arches and Garden Community Interest Company.
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Thursday, 31 October 2013
Quote for the week.....
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the
abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who
have too little.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
How you can help hedgehogs
"Every year an unknown number of hedgehogs die or suffer
horrific injuries because bonfire piles are not checked before being lit. To
save hedgehogs and other wildlife from appalling suffering the British Hedgehog
Preservation Society (BHPS) urges that bonfires should not be built until the
day they are to be lit"
If you would like more information on how you can help hedgehogs, please visit the BHPS website here
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
How to make pine cone bird feeders - advice from Gardeners' World.
“Our gardens our becoming increasingly important places for
wild animals and especially birds. By providing a regular supply of food and
water, we can help birds survive the challenging winter months, when they can
struggle to survive. One way you can help is by combining pine cones, gathered
from your garden, with a seed and fat mix, to make simple hanging feeders”
For more details please visit the Gardeners World website here.
Just a few jobs you could be doing in the garden now
Sow broad
beans and hardy peas
Plant out
garlic cloves
Plant
overwintering onions sets and broad beans
Herbs:
Pot up a few
roots of mint and bring under cover for winter pickings
Fruit:
Tidy
strawberry beds, cutting back old foliage and congested runners and removing
weeds
Plant
currant bushes
Flowers:
Plant spring
flowering bulbs
Plant out
spring bedding plants such as violas, pansies and primulas
Soil:
Preparing your soil before winter sets in. Once the soil
becomes very wet or frozen then you will have to wait until mid-spring before
you can dig it without damaging the soil structure. Clear out the weeds and old
crops and add some organic matter to the soil and dig it in. If you are not replanting during the winter you can use a good layer
of compost, leaf mould, sow a green manure or even use plastic sheeting to cover the soil. The
soil will then be easier to plant or sow into the following spring.
Wildlife:
Make log and
twig piles to provide shelter for insects and amphibians over the cold winter
months.
Put up nest
boxes and hang out bird feeders
Make a hedgehog a home. Making an artificial home can be as
simple as placing a piece of board against a wall. Leave areas of the garden
‘wild’, with piles of leaf litter and logs. These are an attractive nest as
well as a home for the invertebrates (slugs, beetles) that hedgehogs like to
eat.
Friday, 25 October 2013
Love food, hate waste. Make the most of your Halloween pumpkin
"Pumpkin carving is a great way to amuse the kids but what
happens to all the succulent orange flesh that has been scooped out of the
pumpkins?"
Love Food Hate Waste has some delicious pumpkin recipe
suggestions including:
Pumpkin tart
Roast pumpkin lasagne
Roast Pumpkin seeds
Roast pumpkin and coriander soup
For more information please visit their website here.
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
"Mind.....making the case for ecotherapy
"Mind.....making the case for ecotherapy as a public
health intervention and as a mental health treatment. Ecotherapy improves
mental and physical health and wellbeing by supporting people to be active
outdoors doing gardening, farming, food growing, exercise, art and craft, or
environmental conservation work"
Monday, 21 October 2013
Quote for the week.....
“Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together,
drawing them from their homes.” -Clare
Ansberry
What to do in the garden in October - Advice from Vertical Veg
What to do in the garden in October - Advice from Vertical Veg
Jobs for
this month include:
Harvest warm
weather crops.
Protecting
winter crops.
Protecting
tender herbs.
Slug and
snail patrols.
Cover empty
pots or sow with seeds
Sow fast
growing salad crops.
Save seeds.
For more detailed information please visit the Vertical Veg website here
Vertical Veg - Starting a new container garden
Vertical Veg - "The one thing you MUST do when starting a new
container garden. In this video Hedvig Murray explains how observation was
invaluable to help her convert an unpromising concrete space into a flourishing
container garden".
One of several videos published this month in the Vertical
Veg Club, the online club for container growers: http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/observe-and-interact/
Woodlands Trusts Nature Detectives - autumn activities
"Autumn
is a great time to play outdoors; treasure hunting, leaf collecting, blackberry
picking, conker playing, seed planting".........Woodlands Trusts Natures Detectives has developed a diverse range of free
ideas and downloads. Free resources include; free booklets, fact sheets, recipes, story telling, art and crafts, puzzles and identification sheets.
If you would like more information please visit their website here.
Friday, 18 October 2013
Butterfly Conservations "Munching Caterillars" Project
Munching Caterpillars is a new education project for
Butterfly Conservation. They are teaching children (and adults) about butterflies
and moths, their lifecycles, habitats and foodplants, and about how they can
help to conserve our British species. Download
their free colourful guide to garden butterflies and their caterpillars. Below is just a one page teaser, you can get the full poster here
For more information please visit the Muching Caterpillars website here
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Quote for the week.....
“Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our
circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and
it's beauty.” - Albert Einstein
Common lizard taking advantage of the autumn sun
About common lizards:
Size: Usually between
10 and 15cm long including tail
Average Lifespan: up to 12 years
Distribution: Found
throughout the U.K.
Months seen: March to
October. During the winter Common Lizards
hibernate underground
Habitat: Grassland,
heathland, forest edges, sand dunes and brownfield sites
Food: Small insects
and spiders
Conservation status: Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act,
1981, and classified as a Priority Species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Threats to the common lizard: largely due to man, for
example loss of their habitats and habitat fragmentation due to urbanisation
and agricultural intensification.
About common lizards:
Would you like to help us by sponsoring a raised planter?
Would you like to join a number of local companies, clubs
and voluntary organisations that have already recognised the important role
that Marsh Street Arches and Garden Community Interest Company plays in our
local community and have made a conscious decision to support our work by
sponsoring a planter on our community grow your own scheme for a 12 month
period.
The planters are used by local people, local primary schools
and various local organisations such as; MIND in Furness, New Roots, CADAS, Crofltands
Trust, Drop Zone Youth Project, Age UK Barrow, Abbey Lodge Childrens Home,
Furness Parents and Carers Disability Forum and our local LGBT group.
For £100 for a 12 month period your organisation will be assisting
this important community asset and your contribution, if you so wish, can be
recognised via your sponsorship being publicised on one of the planters used in
the community grow your own section of the garden. We believe that this represents a win – win
situation for both of our respective organisations and we sincerely hope that
you will be able to assist us by becoming one of our sponsors.
We would be delighted to show you around the garden in
person so that you can see for yourself what the support of local organisations
is doing for the people of Barrow-in-Furness.
If you would like to visit the garden to see how things are progressing,
our Voluntary Project Co-ordinator, Graham Bromley would be delighted to
arrange a visit for you. Graham can be
contacted on telephone number 07919 991989 or by email at: grahamgbrom@aol.com.
Thank you.