Busy Times in the Rockaway Garden Prepping For Winter

It’s been another busy couple of months with Head Gardener, Penny, and our team of lovely volunteers concentrating on clearing some of the more established areas, as well as planting additional perennials that will increase biodiversity, help extend flowering periods and provide a wider variety of diverse habitats and food sources. There’s also an abundance of squashes and pumpkins, which has been reflected in the recent Vegan Café menu!

Large areas have been scythed and cleared of brambles ready to plant more trees and herbaceous plants. Bracken has been harvested and shredded, along with other garden materials, to increase the volume of our homegrown compost and mulch. There’s also lots more hedging work planned over the coming weeks to help reduce soil erosion and provide additional habitats for hedgehogs, birds, insects and other wildlife.

An abundance of overwintering veg has been planted to provide Spring crops of onions, broccoli, kale, chard, garlic and broad beans, plus lots of bulbs have been planted that will naturalise and increase biodiversity. There’s also plans for a greenhouse too…

Not content with that, the old steps have also been repaired and improved, with more steps being added to link up the paths on different levels, which helps improve accessibility. Plus, a batch of red stemmed dogwood has been planted below the peace sign that will provide a lush sea of red stems throughout the Winter in future years.

Lots of plants have also been added to the Rockaway yard to add even more colour to the space, as well as increase productivity and biodiversity. So, we can't wait to see what the Spring will bring when everything begins to emerge in its full glory!

There’s still plenty of work to do, so if anyone is up for the challenge of clearing, planting and hedging, we’d love to hear from you. Our garden volunteer days are currently Mondays and Thursdays, and you’ll receive a free vegan lunch as a thank you for your time. You'll also have the opportunity to take part in Penny’s gardening workshops or courses for free. Her next workshop, Winter Pruning, takes place on 2nd February, so head to Our Workshops & Course page for all the details.

If you'd like to volunteer and help us grow, check out the volunteering section on the garden webpage HERE.

Alternatively, if you'd like to explore the garden and check out progress, or just sit and take in the superb views, we'd love to see you. We get so much pleasure from people enjoying such a beautiful green space, and you'd be very welcome!