There is now an active committee involving 6 volunteers - 2 from properties adjoining the garden, and 4 parish councillors.
The ground was prepared for planting by mechanically scraping the top layer of grass and soil, leaving a grass border around the edge of the plot for access to neighbouring properties. Four different seed mixtures were sown and hundreds of bulbs planted on Saturday 22nd October with the help of a good number of volunteers from the local community. Lots of energetic stamping from younger volunteers helped embed the seeds.
The Parish Council awaits the details of the lease which will transfer responsibility for the land at Fox Cover to the Parish Council. It will be considered in detail by the Parish Council before it is signed. Meanwhile, CW&C gave permission for the initial work to be done. Spacehive, who dealt with the Crowdfunding pledges, will not transfer the money until the lease is agreed. Funds raised for the benefit of the local community through the Cinema Club have covered the costs of seeds and bulbs and ground preparation.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the garden but nothing else is likely to happen until next year when we hope to plant some damp-friendly wildflowers such as flag iris, where the ground is boggy. The grass borders and the land around the trees will be cut regularly but the flower area will only be cut twice each year. Paths will be mown through the grass and flowers. There’ll be some herb planters along the footpath and a notice board. Bug hotels and bird boxes will follow at a later date when the flowers are established. Finally, a suitable seat will be installed when everything else is in place.
Numerous people use the path between Oaklands and Church Lane and we hope they and other residents in the village will enjoy visiting the garden and watching how it changes through the year. We’ll list all the flowers to look out for on the village website as they start appearing.
New volunteers are always welcome, please send your contact details to guildensuttonwildflower@gmail.com or ring 07943732703. Use the same email or phone number if you have any questions.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the garden, especially those who gave hours of their tme to plant seeds.
