Seaford Community Garden

By the time you read this our delightful garden within the Crouch should be open again – at last! Since it became virtually a secret garden last autumn, a whole winter and spring have gone by but, nature coupled with a few very hard working volunteers have somehow managed not only to maintain it but give thought to adding further vibrancy and colour.

So, two weeks before the official reopening, older plants were being split and either planted back to share their bounty in the beds or placed in pots for the sales table. Thus, there are all sorts of beauties, like irises in dark purple and white forms potted up to tempt visitors who may have spotted the velvety flowers of the purple one in a sunny border and coveted them.

Katie, busy coaxing a Clematis alpina to spiral around a tree against the adjoining Peace Garden wall, pointed out a salvia that was left out over winter to see how it got on in this sheltered spot. ‘It survived!’ she said with surprised relief. The clematis was planted about two years ago and has been slow to grow but has now reached the dizzying height of 1.5m! Moving on to the telephone exchange wall, Katie next tackled a leaning tree echium that must be the great, great grandchild of one we were given several years ago, attaching a sturdy piece of rope around it and our majestic palm. Having got the echium vertical she turned her attention to the wall and pondered on the possibility of a wisteria there.

And back to those great, great grandchildren, their progeny are growing well in various places including the raised beds. Katie said that while the baby echium seedlings had been potted up and all had succumbed to the late frosts and vicious winds we experienced earlier this year, the naturally seeded plants were doing well. A case of nature knows best?

Having said that, what is a garden but a wo/man-made thing? So the community garden was being assessed and where areas in borders clearly needed a little tlc they were being regenerated. For instance, some crocosmia were being removed and the space replenished in this case with scabious. Eryngium was being planted elsewhere.

Not all plants can be grown at the garden so Allison, Katie and Val were to be seen wheelbarrow-ing in a variety of plants including eryngium and the scabious which were to be divided.

Awaiting Allison’s green fingers were pots of tomatoes, peppers and chillies, which she was to plant out in prepared beds in the poly tunnel. And talking of tomatoes, the garden was last open at the very tail end of our tomato season, so here we are again, reopening at the start of a new cycle of cultivation. After keeping those gates shut for seven months, we confidently expect they will be wide open this summer to welcome back long-serving volunteers, maybe even some new ones, and of course lots of visitors eager to stop by on Wednesday mornings. We so look forward to meeting you all again and swapping gardening tips. Let’s just hope the classroom kettle hasn’t forgotten what it’s for!

The Garden Team Photos from top: Val wheels in plants destined for the garden and the sales table; Iris and tulips offset each others’ charms; Katie spirals a clematis around a tree trunk; The pink of the stepover apple blossom contrasts prettily with the blue of forget-me-nots; Young tomato plants await transfer to the poly tunnel bed; Tree echium restored to an upright position.

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