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 [email protected] 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.

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

🐝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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you in the garden soon.