Weekly Churchyard Update (27/10)

By Tim Hewitt, St Mary’s Head Gardener/ Community Gardener

Only the Chrysanthemums are left standing in the South Bed. I am just waiting to talk to the builders before finding a new home for them.

Meanwhile, we have about 4,000 bulbs to find homes for, so a major digging programme will be ongoing for several weeks to create bulb, then annual displays. This is very labour intensive, so volunteer help is much appreciated.
 
Big, fat Chestnut and Plane leaves are starting to muster in corners now, but the main drop of Lime is weeks away. We will be clearing out our leaf mould bay in preparation.
 
Nerine undulata continues to look stunning in the dismantled pot area; Tony weeded the Cyclamen bank in Vinegar Alley to better display them.
 
Quote of the Week
 
“Being president is like running a cemetery: you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening.” –Bill Clinton

Workshops at St Mary’s

I am planning a series of two-hour paid workshops, bookable on Eventbrite, costing £35. There will be 10 spaces for each workshop. While many of our offerings will be free over the next several years as part of our National Lottery-funded ‘Creative Church’ regeneration project and activities, these will not be part of my Lottery-funded sessions, but might be of interest to the congregation and local community. They will all take place in the churchyards and the St Mary’s Welcome Centre.

Paid workshops confirmed so far (click the links below to book a place):

Volunteer Times

St Mary’s offers weekly supervised volunteering in the churchyard at these times:

Tuesdays: 1pm to 3.30pm
Wednesdays: 9am to 12pm
Thursdays: 1pm to 4pm
Fridays: 1pm to 4pm

There’s no need to book; just turn up, preferably with your own gloves. Tools and expert instruction will be provided!

Burials in Bloom 2021-22 

Dozens of local people have adopted a grave to plant around and care for; if you would like to adopt a grave that’s currently not visited or looked after, contact me at tim@stmaryswalthamstow.org.