Curry Rivel in Bloom 2020

 We won a gold medal this year! RHS suggestions for next year!

Help others to grow in 2020

You’ve told us that growing with others is what makes Bloom special, that’s why we’re calling on all groups to Grow Social in 2020. We’d love to see you making new connections in your community through plants; reaching beyond ‘the garden gate’ to bring people together. Grow Social will be the Bloom theme in 2020, but all community groups and schools will also be able to join in. We’re developing packs with inspiration and tools to help get you started, which you will be able to request by post or digitally download from January. We realise many of you have been eagerly awaiting news of the Bloom theme to help with your planning, but please rest assured that as community gardeners who bring people together by nature, you’ll be halfway there already! That’s why we want to hear your own innovative ideas. If you’ve worked to bring different parts of the community together through gardening, or reached out to those that might otherwise feel cut-off, please tell us more.

Britain in Bloom competition.

You may have seen my earlier posts about our new Parish Plan. One idea that came up during the consultations was entering our village in the Britain in Bloom competition. Well its underway and I've just posted on our Community Web site Facebook page this note.


"Britain in Bloom"- the seed was sown at a small gathering last week in the village hall , now it needs a bit of tender care and next Tuesday 26th you can join a discussion forum to help the seed to grow and start the flowering of Curry Rivel. Interested? Contact me  for time and place.

A big part of the competition is aimed at the greening of the village  and wild areas can play a big part in the overall success of our entry.

Wildlife Gardening

The Wildlife Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society  produce a wildlife gardening newsletter to help us all make our gardens wildlife friendly. You can read the latest copy issued today at this link:


http://apps.rhs.org.uk/emails//WAG/2013/htmlmailer_may13.html

Here is an extract:

Things to spot Butterfly Frog Wood Mouse Keep an eye out for butterflies in your garden. Some will have come out early on – those that overwinter as adults, such as Peacock, Red Admiral and Comma butterflies. Now you can also see species such as Holly Blue, and Speckled Wood. Keep an eye out for the fascinating stages as tadpoles turn intofrogs. Froglets are vulnerable when they switch from water breathers to air breathers. Make sure your pond has sloping sides so they can get out easily, and vegetation nearby so they can shelter. With breeding season in full swing, small mammals such aswood mice and shrews will have young now. Although difficult to spot, one way to detect them is by leaving out a sand tray at a likely location and checking footprints next morning. Alternatively, try looking for burrow entrances, about the size of a 50p coin. More about what to look out for this month

Wildlife Gardens and the RHS

One of the best ideas to spread interest in wildlife is this cooperation between the Royal Horticultural Society and the Wildlife Trust called "Wild about Gardens".

	Wild About Gardens Newsletter March 2013
			Now is a good time to do some of those things that will improve the structure or backbone of the garden, like planting trees or making a pond. Both of these will also benefit wildlife hugely, and there are several advantages to getting this work done now.

Use this link to visit the web site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1135104@N24/

Wildlife Friendly Gardening

I've just managed to find all six parts of the RHS series, published in their magazine called The Garden, which they call Living Gardens. Published every month since April 2012. The RHS is part of a group of organisations with a common interest in wild life but covering a wide range of interests.  The leading group is Natural England and you can find out more by using the link below.

Natural England - Getting involved


The key words are :   getting involved.  In Somerset the Wildlife Trust will help you.

Wildlife Gardening Forum

Natural England is a leading member of the forum, which includes over 150 conservation organisations, agencies, horticultural organisations and media with an interest in wildlife gardening. Individual gardeners are welcome to join too.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

The forum’s objectives are to:

• Cultivate a responsible attitude to the natural environment among gardeners and the garden industry.
• Gather evidence about the benefits to people and biodiversity of wildlife gardening.
• Pass on information helping people make well-informed choices about their gardening activities.
• Help link people and nature through gardens, to encourage a deeper appreciation of biodiversity and sustainability.

The Forum Manifesto: (2.1mb) sets out the main issues for wildlife gardening we are tackling. Organisations joining are asked to sign up to the manifesto.

We have produced Bringing your Garden to Life: (5.35mb) which sets out ten simple gardening practises to make your garden alive with wildlife.

Members of the forum have worked to produce The Big Wildlife Garden, a fantastic resource for everything you need to know about wildlife gardening and join friends doing it too.

You could help in one of the forum’s working groups. These include research needs, developers and planning, human health and well being, and training and education. The Plants for Bugs Project at RHS Wisley, is a forum research project looking at the importance of native and non-native garden plants for supporting biodiversity.

We hold conferences and produces newsletters about new findings, case studies and member’s work and events. Visit the how to join page if you would like to be a forum member as an individual or as an organisation. There is no charge to be a member.