Dear friend,
We’re delighted to share our biggest-ever range of workshops with you this Spring, featuring practical gardening and allotmenteering advice for beginners, as well as floristry crafts, and a special full-day beekeeping taster. Thinking ahead to Mother’s Day, we offer custom gift cards that make it easy for you to gift experiences to friends and family.
This is an exciting time in the garden, with the first planting of seeds, harvesting the last of winter crops, and preparing soil for the year ahead. You might’ve seen blossom emerging, and this can be a good way to find plants in your local area to forage from later in the year. If you’re interested in finding out more, we’re hosting a foraging walk in April, and you can read a code of conduct here.
P.S. If you’d like to receive news like this in your inbox each month, join our mailing list here.
“It was a wonderful morning. Friendly, informative, and generous with plants. Tracey was great. I will definitely be signing up for more sessions”– Feedback from a Spring hanging basket workshop participant
Spring workshops
Planning your edible gardenSaturday 11th March 10:00-12:00, £25A full rundown of what to plant where, and why. Crop rotation helps to prevent the build-up of crop-specific pests and diseases. Learn how to plan your rotation and the right materials to feed the soil to save time and tragedy in the future. Try your hand at fruit tree graftingSaturday 11th March 13:30-15:30, £30Come along and learn how to graft your own fruit tree to take home. Learn about our trained form fruit trees and how to grow your own tree for maximum crop. Try grafting with a selection of apple and pear varieties. Make your own willow obelisk for climbing plantsSaturday 25th March 10:00-13:00, £35Use the traditional art of willow weaving to construct your own structure, learning at least two different styles, setting up the frame and the basics of working with willow.Spring foraging walk – Gather food for freeSaturday 8th April 10:00-12:00, £25A relaxing and practical morning finding food in the hedgerow and gardens of St Ann’s Allotments. Depending on the arrival of Spring, we’ll be gathering plants such as wild garlic, nettles, jack by the hedge, hairy bittercress, fat hen & hawthorn leaves.Learn how to compost and improve your soil fertilitySaturday 8th April 13:30-15:30, £25Bring a jar of your own soil along to test and investigate, learn about a variety of techniques to improve soil like creating the perfect compost and making your own liquid plant feeds. We’ll also look at how and when to sow plants to use as green manure. Spring wreath makingSaturday 22nd April 10:00-13:00, £40Learn how to use a blend of fresh foliage along with dried and faux flowers to create a lovely Spring wreath to adorn your door. Run by Tracey from Wild Jasmine Florist and Flower School.Planting your cut flower gardenSaturday 22nd April 13:30-15:30, £25Love flowers? We want to inspire you to grow beautiful cut flowers for yourself, your family & friends. From early Spring bulbs to late Autumn blooms, we’ll share the simple secrets behind our cut-flower garden. Dawn chorus walkSaturday 13th May 05:00-06:30, £12Experience one of the greatest spectacles of nature with this dawn chorus walk led by Holly James, a local bird ringer. Learn why birds sing, and which species you can see and hear. Here is a short clip from the walk last year.Make your own Summer hanging basketSaturday 13th May 10:00-12:00, £40Come along and create your own lovely 14-inch, moss-lined Summer basket to take home. You’ll learn how to select a good range of trailing and semi-trailing plants, construct your arrangement for maximum impact & care for it to create a long-lasting display.Beekeeping taster daySaturday 27th May 10:00-15:30, £85A practical, hands-on introduction to beekeeping, learning how to check hives, build your own frame, and taste honey. Lunch and beekeeping suits will be provided.
Guided tours
We lead walks around St Ann’s Allotments on the last Wednesday of every month, 1:30-3pm. The 1.3-mile guided tour takes you to our Heritage Display Garden and Nursery, telling the 700-year story of how this 32-acre site changed from pasture and orchards, to Victorian pleasure gardens, to working-class allotments. Including stories of people who lived here and the grassroots campaign to save the site from redevelopment.Find out more and book tickets here.
On the Orchard
The Community Orchard runs free events for all ages.New Shoots, every Tuesday in term time 09:30-11:00After School, every Wednesday in term time from 22nd February, 15:45-17:00Community Open Day, Saturday 25th February, 12:00-15:00
Volunteering
Volunteering continues as usual, with so much to help with at this busy time of year!Tuesdays at the Nursery, 10:00-14:00Digging, sowing, pruning, clearing, building, watering, harvesting! All things food and flower focused for a productive garden.Wednesdays at Oliver’s, 10:00-14:00Help maintain a beautiful display garden for visitors to enjoy, and promote its heritage features.Volunteer inductionsWednesday 7th March, 10:00-12:00Saturday 11th March, 14:00-16:00Wednesday 5th April, 10:00-12:00This is an introductory session for anyone interested in volunteering at STAA. Receive a tour of our projects to find out what you might be interested in, and an opportunity to meet people and ask questions.Welcoming Spring at Urban Nature, 10:00-14:00Saturday 11th March & 25th MarchIn this session, we will move away from woodland tasks, into ensuring access and paths are in good condition, and that the wildflowers can flourish. So a mix of clearing, planting and path maintenance/creation!Suitable for all abilities and levels of experience, tools provided. Just dress for the weather! 🌦️If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact Lucy at volunteering@staa-allotments.org.uk or visit our website.
On the blog
This week on the blog, Paul talks about the health benefits of gardens and gardening for providing food, fresh air, beautiful flowers and increased biodiversity. Surprisingly, they were promoting these benefits way back in 1884!Read all about it: https://staa-allotments.org.uk/news/
