Seaford Community Garden

As regular readers will know, elevenses is an important feature of life in our garden at the Crouch of a Wednesday mid-morning. It’s a time when tools are laid down for 20 minutes or so, aching muscles are rested and chilly hands encircle warming mugs of coffee or tea. There may even be a biscuit or too, or even a cake if a volunteer has a birthday. For some months now beverage-maker-in-chief Veronica has been using a smart set of gas burners to get the vast kettle boiled, but washing up had to be done in a too-small plastic bowl. Not any more: no sooner had someone wistfully said: ‘If only we had a sink’ than, hey presto! Brian and Val conjured one up, complete with drainer, and set it into a unit constructed from pallets. Ingeniously, the design also incorporates ‘umbrella stand’ slots to keep bamboo sticks upright and tidy. Plumbing consists of a hose, with a bucket under the sink, but at least the collected water won’t be wasted. Oh, it’s all mod cons here!

Some of those looking forward to a warm-up in the polytunnel at the beginning of February were busy volunteers including Amy, whom Katie was showing how to divide and repot snowdrops, Neill was busy hoeing a raised vegetable bed and James tending strawberry plants, some under cloches and some in open soil. Elsewhere more strawberries are bordering young garlic – we also have elephant garlic – and broad beans are romping up under their protection of netting. A bed inside the polytunnel has been cleared ready to take tomato seedlings much later on. Katie again: ‘We’ll have all the ingredients for ratatouille growing here, courgettes, onions, garlic and tomatoes.’

The garden obviously impressed Di Morton from Bishopstone. When her parents Mike and Beryl Trott were about to downsize from their garden in Woodingdean, they made a present of a mass of pots and plants from their former garden, including nerines which have now been potted up, chrysanthemums, salvias and other outdoor and indoor house plants. As a grateful daughter Di observed: ‘As one garden comes to an end so another flourishes.’

So, Veronica has got her sink and hopefully persuaded some volunteers to do the washing up, but there’s still another want, a bicycle rack. Beth is ready to look into the possibility of providing one outside the garden gates, that could be used by any visitors to the Crouch Gardens – to the football field, playground and of course the Community Garden.

Thinking about it, our garden is a great example of selfsufficiency, re-cycling and ‘green’ growth, but don’t let us just blow our own trumpets – come in and see for yourselves. And don’t be afraid to sing out with ideas for making it even better. The Garden Team

Photos from top: Neil hoeing; Lesley with her bike; the new sink; Katy and Amy splitting snowdrops; broad beans.

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