I can't decide if it's good news

The Spring Yorkshire in Bloom judging has been cancelled 'due to adverse weather conditions'.

Well, what do you know?

"Not a lot." because although this is dated Friday, I wrote it on Sunday 17th Feb.
It's been that sort of week.
I've spent most of it indoors, but to goodish effect - Holbeck in Bloom have got their website up, though it doesn't make it onto Yahoos list so click here to help push it up the rating!
I've also, with Linda's help, got some more photos on our website photo page. If you have any you think could go on the website, send them to either Linda or me and we'll see to it.
And, I've also inset the blog on the website.  Mostly, I must admit, to see if I could.  I'm not sure that there is any more point to it than that, but it won't do any harm!  I think.
I had a little camera walk on Saturday 'cos it was so lovely and, before the battery ran out I got

the planter where Jessamine runs into Barkly Road.

We took it over last year and it is desperately in need of a litter pick.  Memo to self - take carrier bag for litter next time I take the dog a walk.
And I'm not a reliable weed recogniser so I don't know if this is, or not, but it is in flower.

Spring, spring, spring, spring!


It was lovley to see people enjoying the millennium garden in the sun and I was going to go for close ups

 - and the camera battery ran out.
If you are observant, you will see that our Treasurer has changed.  Vivienne, who has done the job for so long and so well has stepped down and Sara has taken her place which is why her picture is now on the blog. Thank you from all of us to Vivienne and best wishes to Sara.

Community links!

Remember the mention of networking with the local police in the last post?

Well, here's an article from Linda:

You couldn't make this up!

Following a raid on the Britannia pub yesterday the police phoned Holbeck in bloom (who else?) having found a stash of cannabis growing in an upstairs room. They also found 22 sacks of compost, plant feed, bamboo canes, soil enhancer, buckets etc and wondered if Holbeck could make use of it.

Holbeck kindly rang me offering to share the ill gotten gains. Vivienne and i rushed to the pub and collected our half and took it back to the yard.

Today Parks have agreed for Holbeck to store their stash in the yard. I gave Dennis and Ian P a hand to unload and took the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

I think this will be a unique story to add to our spring brochure. It covers:

Working with other community groups, local council, and police;

Recycling - all the stuff would normally have been destroyed; and

showing that regardless of the weather or season Holbeck and Beeston in Bloom are working hard.

Good eh?

Here we are again!

Sara took over the publishing of the blog but now it is back to its old address and she has valiantly offered to copythe year (or is it two) across!

You'd think January would not be busy but we've had a working party in the Millennium Garden.  These primulas didn't seem aware that snow was forecast and we were a bit in two minds as to whether tidy would be better or worse for the plants.

This is not us working - though Angela is doing a bit of networking with the community bobbie. This is us having a well deserved break.

 

 

And this is what it looked like on Monday!

There is going to be a big change in the near future in the foreground of this picture.Linda and Vivienne have consulted with the metalworker who is, as I write, making the arch to go over the path.

The other bits of winter work ongoing are

• improving the website
• planning the trough and planters for Autumn!

We never close.

The Summer Judging

I don't know whose the house is but it was a lovely intro to the park:

The pictorial (wildflower) garden is starting to show its true colours:

The millennium garden was looking lovely:

Inside, we had planned it just right, there was room for everyone:

Brian and Brian were there from St David's and St Mary's:

Edna contemplating the success of the allotments:

Angela (Councillor Gabriel) entertaining the judges:

Vivienne with a pair of prize winners:

Betty sets the world to rights with Adam (Councillor Ogilvie)

They seemed to like the scones:

All done and dusted:

Beeston Fair

Here's our stall for Beeston Fair:

Were you there?

The Millenium Garden has the full beauty treatment.

Thank you, Leeds Ahead, for bringing us the volunteers from 'Homes and Communities Agency'! 
It rained all day, from drizzle to downpour, but we were not dejected.  We dug, pruned, pulled up, pulled down, planted and uprooted.  Altogether we put in over 100 hours into the Millennium Garden, the Watsonion windowbib and the pictorial border.  Unfortunately we're still waiting on the photos but they will be edited in when we get them!

Last week catch up

On Tuesday we were invited to the Civic Hall along with other voluntary groups to a ceremony recognising our achievement.  We had a display and table and a chance to talk to people that I'd never met before.  One thing I found out about was guardianleeds (www.guardian.co.uk) which is where the photo comes from:

We're next to the door!

Here's Linda and Betty collecting the certificate from Angela, who had her councillor hat on:

South Leeds community radio were also there -

Friday was the visit to Greenmount Primary - our first of this round of assemblies.  We had 5 minutes and we'll know how it went when we get the response on the 7th May, because I can't tell.
The children seemed so little after two years absence, but still just as terrifying en masse! Still, without the butterflies there'd be no point.

And of course, Saturday was the Spring plant sale.  The weather was great, the customers were there as soon as we started setting up and we sold steadily for a couple of hours.  As last spring, there weren't enough tomato plants.  I brought half a dozen aubergines home to fatten up for the summer.

What a surprise!

Yesterday, Linda and I went to Cockburn to see Peter Nuttal, who oversees the school's communtity links, and Kath Clarke.  The weather was foul and neither of us had a camera with us so we're going to have to go back and take photos so that we can show you:

• the chickens
• the bees
• the garden ornaments they make
• the mugs they decorate
• the allotment in progress (but it's more of a market garden) with a 64foot poly tunnel green house complete with sprinklers 
• the fruit trees
• the pond with tadpoles
• the raised beds of strawberries and rhubarb

and what would be impossible to capture, the enthusiasm they had for working with us, for us and alongside us!

All over, bar the rest!

Three and a half hours and it's gone - until 14th May when the results are out.  Yorkshire in Bloom is behind us and before is the rest of the year.
Three of us spent an hour or so and got a third of the Cardinal Triangle dug, seeded, raked and watered - no photos of course, cos my camera is not working.  It was a beautiful morning and it seems perverse to wish for rain, but we do.
'The Buzz' - the Beeston in Bloom quarterly newsletter is ready for distribution - if you are on Linda's e-mailing list you will be getting an electronic copy. If you are not, we've distributed paper copies to where we can think of.
'Full many a flower is born to blush unseen' is from Thomas Gray (1716-1761) 'Elegy written in a country church-yard'