Gardening is reputed to be the most popular hobby in the world with people of all ages, skills and interests regularly getting out in the fresh air. We are never too young or old to take up a new challenge. It keeps us fit and quality time in the great outdoors lifts the spirits for a ‘feel good factor.’
How do people become gardeners? How do you know what to do and when? Do I even need a garden? What equipment do I need? How expensive is it? Am I fit enough? I prefer to/don’t want to work by myself….
Like every hobby, gardening has lots of areas of interest. You may be interested in growing food or possibly flowers for display or to improve the bee population. You may prefer using containers for growing or be interested in house plants, hot house plants, insect eaters or just chatting to people who are happy to share their knowledge with you.
Join a workshop. We began a free, monthly workshop programme in October 2015. We have a full archive of notes and recording from past workshops for you to browse through here. Look out for information about upcoming workshops on our website, Facebook or on posters around town and in the Harbour Cafe. Just come along – everyone has to start somewhere! If you are more experienced you will find someone who will help you extend your skills. The workshops are practical and we try to keep the topics in line with the seasons. A cuppa, coffee or juice and a seasonal bake are provided and, usually, very little is left!
Use the gardening library. Why not grab a book or a magazine from our growing collection, a cuppa and a seat for a relaxing read under the trees. Full library details are available here.
Trade gardening tips with others. The garden has seating areas if you just want to chat, learn, meet new friends. There are many experienced gardeners involved in the project – happy to share their local growing wisdom.
Share and learn on our blog. Our community blog is a space where our blogging volunteers and project staff share their local gardening experience and knowledge. Besides our event and workshop reports, it covers topics ranging from seasonal recipes, home growing tips, garden biodiversity to Community Garden stories from our expert Gardener, and stories from the Garden volunteers and Grow@Home participants. Anyone can contribute – no technical or gardening knowledge is required. In fact, our volunteers tell us that blogging has helped them learn more about both! Get in touch with Blog Coordinator if you are interested in getting involved.
Learning for all. The Garden is for the whole Community and everyone is welcome. Local school pupils and Brownies have been learning with us since spring 2016…and they have been having fun at the same time as blazing a trail!
Grow and Learn Award. We are now running the Royal Caledonian Grow and Lean Award which is specifically structured for adults who need additional support – for more information click here.