Melanie Wrigley from the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership visited the garden this week to take a look at the project and advise on anything we can do to enhance the number and varieties of wildlife. Happily it seems we are working the right direction already, and the future plans we already have will help to create the wildlife environment that can also benefit both the garden and the honey bees. Melanie will be keeping in touch, and we will be updating her regularly through our newsletter.
There is to be an informal chat/meet up with the Hythe Hops organisers at the 3 Mariners, Windmill Street, Hythe this Sunday 12th January from 5pm for a couple of hours. As you know we are signed and paid up to this project, and are eagerly looking forward to receiving our hop plants sometime in March. Well over 100 individuals are participating this year in the local area, mostly households with just one plant growing in the garden. The hops are a dwarf variety, and therefore more compact and suitable for pot or garden environments. If you think you might like to also take part, then why not come along and find out about it.
Happily the pond liner did not get lifted by high winds, as the Saga gardeners kindly filled up a bowser with water and emptied it into the pond…. Since then the water level has been added to by the rain, with much more to come this week. The gardeners also laid down a base for the expected bee hives to stand on, and made a wooden gate for the new fence. Thank you to Paul and his team!
Progress continues with more paths being put down, made from wood chippings, lots of weeding, picking of spinach and salad leaves growing under the fleece, and more broad bean seeds sown.
What’s next?
- Continue to cover/make paths
- Continue to tackle weeds whilst they are small and easy to hoe
- Perhaps make a start on emptying and using our own compost on new beds.
Winter salad 
More wood chip paths Pond being filled with water
