Friday 29 April 2011

Brockley celebrates the Royal Weeding!

Weeders in action
This morning members of the local community came together to plant and weed the community garden at Brockley Station in what was billed as Royal Weeding Day in Brockley and beyond. The plot is now full of many different types of vegetables, herbs, salads, wildflowers and more which we hope to flourish in the same manner that they did last year. We also watered the wildflower meadow that was planted last weekend and this will hopefully make a good addition to the main beds at the station which are looking fantastic. The Royal Weeding reception was held at the Broca where much tea and cake was had! 

Group photo after a successful 'ceremony'!

More photos are on our Flickr site!

Alongside this blog and the Flickr site you can also follow our projects via our Twitter feed @TTBrockley

Thursday 28 April 2011

Royal Weeding Day


Transition Brockley would like to thank all those who have wished us well for the big day tomorrow and look forward to seeing those who choose to participate in Brockley's alternative celebrations. Preparations have been going well and all last minute security checks have been carried out. 

Earlier today during a full dress rehearsal details were released of the future maintenance of Brockley Common whereby it was stated that the community would endeavour to: "love, comfort, honour and keep" the vegetation to the best of its abilities.

One of the attendees at the rehearsal had this to say in reply to a question on any last minute nerves: "All I've got to do is get the lines of the furrows right."

In a blow to locals who have been eagerly awaiting to see the head gardeners dress it now looks like the local community won't get the chance to see it until they step off the train at Brockley Station.Yesterday, in an interview with the Times, TV gardener, Carol Klein ruled herself out of the running to design the dress.

You can follow all the action on Royal Weeding Day around the country on Facebook and Twitter and of course check back here for a full report on the day's events at some point during the bank holiday weekend!

Friday 15 April 2011

Wildflower Meadow - Brockley Common

Just a reminder that this weekend sees the first session in creating a wildflower meadow at the northern end of Brockley Common. BXAG chair, Rupert writes:

Work has already started on the new 2011 Edible Garden - it's time to start work on the creation of the wildflower meadow! This will be located mainly on the steep bank right at the north end of Brockley Common, below the Edible Garden and next to the railway bridge.

The bank is currently overrun with weeds. The plan is to grub out all of the existing weeds, prepare the soil and sow a flowery wildflower meadow that will attract bees, butterflies and other insects while also creating a very visible splash of colour for everyone to enjoy at the junction of Coulgate Street and Brockley Road.

The idea is to sow a mix of annuals and a meadow mix together. The annuals will provide a quick splash of colour later this year while the meadow mix will develop into a more permanent feature in subsequent years - well that's the plan!

But it is going to need a lot of work just to prepare the site, so we need lots of volunteers! Can you come and help us?

The key dates are as follows:

PREPARATION DAY: SUNDAY 17th APRIL, 1.00-6.00pm.

PLANTING & SEEDING DAY: GOOD FRIDAY 22nd APRIL, 1.00 - 5.00pm.

Depending how we get on other evening gardening get togethers may be added in the w/b Monday 18th April.

As always BXAG will provide tools, gloves and refreshments. All you need to do is wear stout footwear and some warm clothing! I do hope to see you on one or both of the days - there will be various other maintenance chores on the Common as well, so the more the merrier! Note: no previous gardening experience necessary!

*UPDATE*
Transition member John will also be building some compost bins on the site so that we can properly compost the green waste which is already there and needs sorting for future use. If you would like to help then please come along from 1pm on Sunday.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Royal Weeding Day - Friday 29th April *Updated*


First coined by the Brockley Cross Action Group's chair Rupert King at a recent gardening event at Brockley Station this planned event is starting to gain pace via Facebook and beyond as the country prepares itself for a right ol' royal knees up on the 29th April. Here in Brockley we're encouraging the local community to join us at the community garden for our own special day by helping out at the garden so, remember weeds are just plants in the wrong place and if you're not sitting in front of a tv or a big screen in a royal park or even helping put up bunting in your street then do drop by even if it's just to say hello and greet us with your best curtsey.


Brockley Common Community Garden - Update

Volunteers tending to the garden

Last weekend saw the first planting action of the year at the garden while the sun shone. It was good to see new people helping out and many passers-by commenting on the good work being done.

Alongside some of last years plants which have survived the harsh winter so far in the garden we have:

Jerusalem Artichokes - Runner Beans - Rainbow Chard - Turnips - Camomile - Crocosmia - Sweet Peas - Marigolds - Wildflowers - Cornflowers - Mixed Salad Leaves - Sunflowers - Carrots

The next session at the gardening will be the joint project with the Brockley Cross Action Group where we will be clearing the bank next to the community garden and planting a wildflower meadow. This will be on the weekend of 16th/17th April (10am-5pm) with equipment and refreshments provided.

Planted and ready to go!

See more images on our Flickr site

Sunday 3 April 2011

Lewisham Green Drinks: Richard Reynolds

Lewisham green drinks - Monday 4th April 7:30pm onwards. Talk to start around 8:15pm.

Speaker: Richard Reynolds

"[Reynolds] is quickly becoming both a subculture celebrity and a public intellectual, challenging ideas about what it means to live in a city.New York Times, 8 June 20

April's Lewisham green drinks event sees internationally-renowned guerrilla gardener, Richard Reynolds speaking about his adventures in London and abroad.

Richard is the founder of guerrillagardening.org, author of the influential book 'On Guerrilla Gardening-A handbook for gardening without boundaries' and a member of the 2010 assembly of London Leaders. Guerrilla Gardening currently features very prominently at London department store, Selfridges' shop window displays. He has spoken widely about his and others' exploits of illicit gardening around the world. 

A bit about Richard from the London Leaders website:

Richard began guerrilla gardening in 2004 - that is he started cultivating the neglected public flowerbeds and roadside verges in his South London neighbourhood. His focus is on enriching neglected public land with more uplifting and bio-diverse habits and encouraging more people to do the same near where they live in a way that is environmentally and socially positive. Richard is now one of thousands of guerrilla gardeners around the world and as a face within a loose movement he has done a lot to inspire through his website GuerrillaGardening.orgRichard has a gardening qualification from the Royal Horticultural Society and geography degree from Oxford University. He has gardened since his childhood in Devon, was Head Gardener at Exeter Cathedral School and his first paid job was weeding an organic strawberry farm.

"Reynolds has done more to inspire planting in public spaces
than anybody since the sixteenth-century Diggers"

John-Paul Flintoff Sew Your Own June 2010