Glasgow Guerrilla Gardening

Hello All,

The middle of summer and some of us have been lucky to be off on holiday or off at a festival. Because of this we have been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. We are back though!

If any of you are free this Sunday (1st August) @ 11:30 that would be fantastic.

Map link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=parson+street+glasgow&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.621706,79.804688&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Parson+St,+Glasgow,+Lanarkshire+G4,+United+Kingdom&ll=55.864764,-4.237633&spn=0.002255,0.004871&t=h&z=18

What to bring along, best go here to see what to bring: ‘What to Bring’.

I’d defiantly suggest bring gardening gloves, a bin bag (for the rubbish) and maybe a bottle of water as the site is a bit dry despite the best intentions of the Glasgow summer.

I hope to see some of you along on Sunday morning.

Thanks,

Michael

Hi All,

Townhead site: 6:30 pm - Thursday 24th June

Map link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=parson+street+glasgow&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.621706,79.804688&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Parson+St,+Glasgow,+Lanarkshire+G4,+United+Kingdom&ll=55.864764,-4.237633&spn=0.002255,0.004871&t=h&z=18

The majority of the bulbs that were in bloom a few weeks ago have now finished flowering and the Townhead site needs a wee bit of a clear up and some new plants planted in. There will be some weeding needing done as well. If you want to bring a plant along we’re after Columbines, Oriental Poppies, Hostas, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks, Mexican Fleabane, Sweet Woodruff, Ferns, Solomons Seal, Scabious or Campanula or see ‘What to Bring’ here. I’ve noticed in my local B+Q that they may not have all these plants but please bring along what you can.

I’d defiantly suggest bring gardening gloves, a bin bag (for any rubbish) and maybe a bottle of water as the site is a bit dry (this will now mean that between then and now it will rain, but please bring along some water).

I hope to see some of you along in Thursday evening,

Thanks,

Michael

Just a reminder that we’re meeting up at our Townhead site on Saturday 5th June at 11:30am.
We’ll be continuing to weed, plant seeds and water the plants during this hot, dry spell.
 
If you’d like to come along bring gloves, water (even a small 500ml bottle filled with tap/rainwater is a great help) and seeds (nasturtiums, forget me nots, stock, sunflowers, poppies, foxgloves etc).
 
Hope to see you all on Saturday
 
Cheers
 
Jennifer

Unknown to us, Seedbom & Glasgow Guerrialla Gardeners were entered into a Scotland wide competition:

The Scottish Sustainable Development Forum wanted to celebrate the people making Scotland more sustainable. They invited nominations for inspirational individuals from all parts of Scottish Society. People working in all areas from housing, health, and education to energy, transport and waste management have been nominated and the juding panel considered:

• What has changed as a result of the nominee’s actions?
• Is there a lasting legacy?
• How could others learn from the efforts?

Not only did we reach the top 5, it was decided buy the judging panel and The Scotsman to give us First place. Yes First Place. We were up against tough competition, projects that have been running for a number of years. I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet as to the impact of this but more than ever we are wanting to carry on our work in and around Glasgow.

A big Thank You to whomever entered our names into the competition and also a ‘shout out’ to the others who were in the Top 5:

Glasgow Guerrilla Gardening/Seedbom
Vegware
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Mull Slaughterhouse
Scottish White Fish Producers Association

More information available over at The Scotsman

National Guerrilla Gardening Sunflower day

Guerrilla Gardening / Seedbombing

Sat 1st May – 6pm onward

Location: Clyde walkway – Clyde St (just south of city centre) View Map

WAR ON TERRA

A subversive act of reclaiming a small part of the city that needs attention with interaction and fun. Working with nature to beautify an abandoned urban area in a short term mission with a long term outlook.

Get involved in some guerrilla gardening, seedbombing or both to make a positive impact in your urban environment!

What to bring (optional): a bedding plant / gloves / a trowel / sunflower seeds

No experience nessesary, just drop by and join in the responsible rebellion!

This is a Radius event in association with Kabloom and Glasgow Guerrilla Gardening

Facebook event page

Radius map

kabloom

Hi,
A massive thank-you to everyone who turned out on Saturday and also to those who sent their apologies and best wishes. It’s all very much appreciated.
As those of you who braved the cold on Saturday or received the last email will know the BBC will be along on Wednesday to film our activities. This is
a really great opportunity for us to attract some much needed practical support so it would be great if we can all ensure it goes well.

From my limited showbiz experience, I’m guessing that they’ll be looking for a before and after shot for their report. Whilst this isn’t the most realistic
representation of the work both we and nature put in, in trying to establish the garden, it is a neat way of showing visually the positive impact groups
like ours can have on the local environment.

The easiest and cheapest way open to us of making a big impact on the site in a short time is for us all to be planting similar stuff. So for that reason
we’re again asking anyone who is able to bring along primroses/primula or polyanthus on Wednesday. Morrisons supermarket are currently selling these
at £1 each or 4 for £2.29 or 6 for £3.29. They are also available from garden centres and other retailers. This tactic of planting from the same plan served
us well for our big 10,000 bulb challenge as you’ll see from the multitude of green shoots popping up all over the site and in this case will let us make a big
impact quickly.

This is not only a good thing for the TV cameras. Primroses are a natural woodland plant and even cultivated varieties provide a valuable source of
nectar for bees who will be back with us in the next few weeks. Food is really scarce for bees in early spring and with so many species of bee under threat
it is vital that we try our best to provide them with a meal.  As people who have been helping out for a while will be aware this is a planned and designed site
a major factor in designing the site was the hope that we could use the land to create an urban oasis for wildlife. So if you can come along with a primrose
or two on Wednesday you’ll be doing us and the bees a massive favour.

Beyond Wednesday we’ll next be meeting up at 11:30am on Saturday 13th March at our Townhead site and as ever you’re all more than welcome to come along.
We’ll be planting more primula, hellebores and crocosima bulbs as well as picking up litter and relocating a few already established plants to make way for some
new introductions and bring the layout of the site into line with the agreed design. If you’re intending to bring along different plants to those mentioned, can I ask
that you email ahead for advice on suitability and to discuss where on the site it should be located.

Hope to see you all soon

Townhead site.

Saturday morning 11:30 till 12:30.

Townhead site is at ‘B’, A is Queen Street, to give you a guide on where to go.

If you’d like to attend on either or any day can you please respond to this message or email  so that we have an idea of numbers.  If you haven’t attended before you’d be more than welcome on any of our Digs.

Thanks,

A big thanks to all who came along last Saturday to help get the bulbs planted. We’ve only a few weeks to go before the 31st December and are aiming to have all the bulbs planted by then. To do so we really, really need your help.

We are not looking for any further donations of bulbs! Whilst we haven’t managed to get 1000 bulbs of each of the ten varieties we asked for we have received over 10,000 bulbs all in and now urgently need to get these planted.

On average one person can plant plant roughly 300 bulbs in an hour. So even giving up just half an hour to an hour of your time would be a huge help to us. All you need to bring is a trowel or a bulb planter or a fork, a pair of gardening gloves and yourself. Bulbs will be provided for you to plant so there’s no need to worry about what varieties to bring.

We’ll be meeting up at Townhead on Saturday 12th December at 11:30am, Saturday 19th December at 11:30am and Saturday 26th December at 11:30am. If you’ve never been along before we meet in the lane that joins Parson St and Stirling Rd just outside St Mungo’s Primary School. You don’t need any previous gardening experience or knowledge at all and we’d be delighted to see you, even if it’s only for 10 minutes planting.

Our aim is to have about ten volunteers turn up each Saturday between now and the New Year so feel free to bring friends, family and next door neighbours.

Bulb shoots are already popping up all over the site, we’re already on the way to spring 2010 being a blaze of colour but there is still room for improvement, so if you can spare just 10 minutes please come along and help out.