The sun is shining and the daffodils are brightening up our gardens, there is a definite feeling of spring in the air today. So I thought I would touch base with everyone to let you know about what the Gardeners have been up to over the last weeks, give you a sneak preview of our plans for the Spring, and ask whether you would like to be involved!
The Virtual village supper was a huge success. Many thanks to everyone who came, and particularly to the committee of the society for their unstinting efforts to create an evening to remember, even though it had to be on Zoom. We raised over £1000, which will be used to support the work we do in the village, and possibly will go towards other good causes too. You may have noticed that there has been a lot of work going on recently at the three entrances to the village. Along with a team paid for by a Bucks Council grant, we have been preparing the sites for 3 large wildflower patches. The Bottom Lane site which was so successful last year has had to be completely dug again because of an influx of perennial weeds last year. This is now fully prepared to be sown at the end of the month. The Bayne Hill site has had an initial clearing, and will be worked on a couple more times to dislodge the brambles and other weeds. And at Chalfont Road we are removing the turfs ready for that area to be rotovated too. Hopefully this hard work will result in three amazing wildflower patches that will give as much pleasure as last year. Looking to next month, we are delighted to announce a new initiative, and we would love to have the village get behind us. Because of ongoing Covid restrictions we are unable to hold our popular Spring Show, so instead we are planning the SG SpringFest, a 4-day programme to celebrate everything we most love about spring, with a series of different events, both live and online between Thursday 22 and Sunday 25 April. More details to follow soon! The culmination of SpringFest will be a Front Gardens Trail on the afternoon of Sunday 25 April. We are inviting you to show off your front garden as part of the trail. Your garden will need to be easily seen from the path, pavement or road. We would simply ask you to be available from 2 to 4 pm to greet people and answer any questions. Your garden need not be a horticultural masterpiece, we'd love as many people as possible to take part. You could simply show off your spring bulbs and blossom or plant up some pots for the whole community to enjoy. We are planning to organise this in a Covid secure way, so people will not be allowed to enter your garden and everyone will be asked to respect the Covid guidelines. We also thought it would be a great opportunity for the artistic members of our village to show off what they might have been doing during lockdown! So we are also encouraging artists, craft makers and anyone creative to display their work in their front garden, or to make something special to display. This could range from wood carving to fine art, or be something much more low key, everything is welcome. In the same way as the Village Advent calendar, we would like lots of people to be involved to make this a celebration both of our lovely village and of the gradual release from lockdown. If you would like your front garden to be included please click here to register by 10 April. If you have any questions, please email seergreengardeners@gmail.com or call me on 07759841205 We're looking forward to hearing from you! Jane
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I’m so delighted to be able to give you some more information about the Virtual Village Supper next month on Friday February 26th at 7.30pm. We have been working hard to create an event that will give us all some fun and entertainment in these challenging times. There’ll be a quiz, some handy gardening tips, a chance to see your friends and neighbours on screen, and some fun surprises. And on top of that we have food provided by the Cricketers and a chance to make your own curated cocktail! We really hope that the village and the wider community are going to come along and support it, so that in turn we can continue supporting the activities that the Gardeners’ do across the village throughout the year.
To take part, you will need to pre-book on Eventbrite here. Tickets are by donation, with a suggested minimum of £5 per person. You can then order a delicious 2 x course meal from The Jolly Cricketers to be collected on the day and heated at home, or you can tuck into your own food. There are a limited number of meals available from the Cricketers, so early booking is advised. The idea is that we all enjoy a welcome drink and eat our meal together. You will receive further details about food and drink options when you get your ticket confirmation. Make sure you scroll to the bottom of that email, there’s information there that’s easily missed! Despite the pandemic we can still come together for this unique occasion to support one another and celebrate the wonderful community spirit in Seer Green, so please spread the word and invite your family, neighbours and friends. If you need any further information, just get in touch with me on 07759 841205, or seergreengardeners@gmail.com I look forward to seeing you there! Jane What a year. As we enter this next very difficult couple of months, I have been looking for signs of hope. Obviously the vaccine roll out is the most significant, and we are all looking forward to that glorious time when we can be together in person again. But in the garden there are also signs; the shrubs are budding, the bulbs are valiantly shooting through the frozen ground, the hellebores are beginning to flower. Watching these annual signs of optimism is comforting to me, and I’m sure many of you too.
The Gardeners’ committee have been thinking hard about the way that at least the first part of the year is going to look in terms of events. We have decided that we will not be running the Village Supper or the Spring Show as normal – there are too many uncertainties, and we don’t want to embark on planning an event which then has to be cancelled. However, that doesn’t mean that we won’t be doing anything! Please put a date in your diary for the virtual Village Supper on Friday February 26th. We are delighted to announce that Amanda and Chris at the Jolly Cricketers have said that they will be supporting us once again, but this time for you to eat their food in the comfort of your own home. We also plan to have various entertainments for you, it will be a chance to come together with your friends as part of the village community, or just come along on your own and make friends! More details to follow next week. And although the Spring Show will not be going ahead in the normal way, instead we are going to run Seer Green Spring Fest! We are planning a series of events, some live, some on Zoom during the period 22nd to the 25th April. This is going to be a really exciting new venture, and something that I hope the village will get behind and enjoy. Again, more details to follow. Finally, can I thank you for all of your support over this most difficult of times. Let’s think about those signs of hope in the garden and pin our own to those. Wishing you a very happy New Year from everyone in the Gardeners’ committee. Jane |