Gardening in a heatwave

A group of dedicated volunteers worked in Compton Terrace gardens in our July Saturday session.

The morning’s activities were made more pleasant by a cooling breeze and the very welcome shade provided by the magnificent trees dotted throughout the gardens.

We know that demand for respite from the heat has been exceptionally high in the past weeks, however despite there being bins throughout the gardens and nearby, we again had to dedicate some of the session to litter picking. Along with the inevitable cigarette butts, bottle tops, bottles, empty vapes, paper and plastic we also found duvet covers and items of clothing…

In happier news, our volunteers watered the gardens, pruned shrubs and gave the area around our tools shed a good tidy up, as our images here show.

We were very pleased to see several resilient plants in full bloom despite the extremely challenging conditions. This is not the season for planting but plants able to survive this summer’s relentingly high temperatures give us good clues for additions to be made to the gardens as we look ahead to the autumn.

Our next Saturday gardening session takes place on 8^th August, from 10am and typically we finish work at 1pm. We meet by the garden shed, within the gardens and in the shadow of Union Chapel.

We welcome all volunteers - experienced and not so experienced alike - your time is incredibly valuable. We look forward to seeing you in August.