I wanted to take a moment to explain why I’ve been so quiet on the social media and blog side of things recently.
Building a community garden is tough work for anyone — but for someone like myself living with degenerative disc disease, it can be completely crippling. Literally. Physically.
Despite that, I’m determined to do what I can while I can, as I now await my fourth procedure on my spine. Between managing my health and family life, the blog has had to take a bit of a back seat — but that doesn’t mean nothing’s been happening. Far from it.
To give you a little catch-up…
We’ve made half of the garden usable and accessible, and we’re now working hard on the other half. Today alone I spent time preparing the beds, which meant:
– Pulling out weeds
– Mixing in fresh compost and fertiliser
– Adding slug pellets (there are thousands of them at the allotment!)
– Laying wool fleece to protect crops from slugs
– Netting beds to keep birds away
We’re also building proper walkways and putting protection in place for when larger animals like rabbits arrive once crops are ready for harvest in summer and autumn.
It’s a full-scale operation — and an exciting one.
Most of the seeds, which were sown between February and March, are now beginning to germinate and will soon be ready to be planted into the prepared beds over the coming weeks.
Alongside all the physical work, I’ve also been getting creative. I’ve been painting a thrown-away piece of wood from the local builders who are currently working on the care home next to us. This will be displayed in the garden in the coming weeks as part of making the space more welcoming and personal.
If you’re feeling arty and would like to create something too, you’re more than welcome to get involved. You can:
– Collect a wooden board to take home and paint, or
– Visit the garden and spend the day painting there with us
Just get in touch and I’ll arrange it.
I’m also desperately on the lookout for wipeable outdoor bean bags for our new upcoming Social Patch evenings launching this summer — a safe, relaxed space for people to chill, chat, and connect in the garden.
If anyone has spare outdoor bean bags, knows of a donation, or can help source some at a reduced cost, please reach out. This will help us create a welcoming and comfortable environment for everyone who comes along.
That said, I do still need some help.
We have pallets that need modifying so that one end slopes down to form wheelchair ramps. We need three pallets cut, and sadly this is a job I physically can’t do myself.
If you are someone who:
– Knows their way around power tools
– Can spare a couple of hours
– Wants to help make this garden truly accessible for our whole community
…your help would mean the world.
This small job will make a massive difference in ensuring everyone can enjoy and use the garden.
Please get in touch as soon as possible if you can help — whether it’s with tools, time, art, or bean bags. Together, we can make this space something really special for the community. 🌱💚
Thank you for your patience, your support, and for being part of this journey.If you’d like, I can also give you a short separate appeal post just for the bean bags (great for Facebook groups), for example:
> 🛋️ We’re looking for wipeable outdoor bean bags for our new Social Patch evenings launching this summer! Creating a safe, relaxed space for people to chill and connect in our community garden. If you can donate or help source some, please message us 💚🌱
Hello@theroraproject.com
Thank you for your ongoing support. I couldnt do it without you all
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