Raising the bed

Hello Garden Friends,

We did it! Ten 8 ft x 4 ft x 18 in raised beds have been constructed in the St Cuthbert's community garden.

First we constructed the frames from used 2.5 inch thick scaffolding timbers.

Then we lined them with weed-deterrent fabric.

Then we filled them half way with natural compostable materials including cardboard and leaves collected along Fordwych Road and branches and trimmings from clearing the site along with compost from the Eco Hub and let it all settle in the wonderful rain we have been getting.

Then we topped it all off with good quality topsoil we got in bulk bags.

And then began planting them with blueberries, raspberries and asparagus.

Now there's a lovely row of raised beds along our south-facing wall, with several waiting to be planted with seasonal fruit and veg this winter and spring.

This way of doing the raised beds may seem a bit different to some gardeners and borrows from principles of permaculture gardening. We'll let you know how it turns out come Spring!

Till then, keep calm and carry on gardening!

Garden Friends NW2

Coming to a tree pit near you!

Hello Garden Friends, 

Recently we've been informed that Colleen O'Sullivan, Arboricultural Officer for Camden, has carried out an inspection of trees in this area, and a number of trees on Fordwych Road are now scheduled for removal this winter. 

One of the trees set to be taken down is outside Kids Company at 85-87 Fordwych Road. Kids Co have done a lovely planting in the tree pit, so we are sorry to see the tree go. But the Council says that there will be replanting, so hopefully Kids Co will have a new tree to welcome to the neighbourhood with more of their lovely plants and flowers. 

The photo above was taken of one large Plane tree already removed near the junction of Fordwych Road and Mill Lane last week due to decay.

Below is a list of the Fordwych Road trees affected and the reason for their planned removal. Sad to see them go, of course, but such is the cycle of gardening, and we look forward to new replacement trees next year in these tree pits along with welcoming flowers for them.

Keep calm and carry on gardening!

Street name

Tree species

Reason for removal

Fordwych Road (outside 188)

Cockspur thorn

Basal decay

Fordwych Road (outside 137)

Purple cherry

Damaged crown

Fordwych Road (outside 79)

London Plane

Basal decay

Fordwych Road (outside 85-87)

London Plane

Basal decay

Fordwych Road (outside 89)

London Plane

Basal decay

Fordwych Road (jct Minster Road)

Lime

Basal decay

Volunteers needed for 9th November

EcoPark Compost

We recycle organic waste into quality compost for use in agriculture, allotments, community growing projects and gardens across North London.

Hi Garden Friends,

It's time to get the compost! We need volunteers to either help us bag compost and load the van at the EcoPark Camden Hub location at Alara Wholefoods warehouse near Kings Cross or unload the van at the St Cuthbert's Church garden. We hope to make at least two hauls, and the compost will be used for our soon-to-be constructed raised beds as well as for the tree pits on Fordwych Road.

When: Saturday 9th November 

Where: Alara Wholefoods, 110 -112 Camley Street, N1C 4PF  - 11am or earlier if possible

              St Cuthbert's Church, Fordwych Road, NW2 3TW  - 12 0'clock

Email us and closer to the time we'll confirm and give more specific details. gardenfriendsnw2@gmail.com

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

Keep calm and carry on composting!

Corporate - Community Gardening: Anatomy of a Failure

Hi Garden Friends,

Many people in NW2 fondly remember the Adrian Hall Garden Centre on Iverson Road before it closed in 2011. It's credo was '...to inspire and enable the creation of any London garden project through the supply of garden related goods.'

What with the new Thameslink station next door and all the high-density development around it in West Hampstead, the garden centre lost it lease and the land was sold off, bought off, sold off and bought off again apparently for more high-density housing. Demolition is now underway.

Ever on the lookout for salvageable and free gardening materials, Garden Friends NW2 spotted a wealth of items on the site being dug up and put into a huge skip, including paving bricks and stones, trellises, topsoil in raised planters, and even a pergola that could be used to frame a greenhouse.

So we contacted the estate agent who had sold the property and made an enquiry.

And another enquiry. And were told that our enquiries had been passed on to the owners/developers and they would reply to us directly. We waited. No reply. So we made a follow-up enquiry. Still no response came.

So we contacted the demolition company with our enquiry.

And still no reply. We tried to point out to the sales agent, unknown developer, and demolition company that the former garden centre was a vibrant green spot in the community that is sorely missed by many. And that Garden Friends NW2 in its community gardening way is trying to green-up and clean-up the area, so wouldn't it be natural and nice for some corporate collaboration, given the history and now future of the property. 

And wouldn't they, as part of our community like to have less of this on Iverson Road:

And less of this on Fordwych Road:

And less of this on St Cuthberts Road:

And more of this on all the roads on our soon-to-be proposed Green Mile Walk:

It's been about a month of trying, and sad to say, we have to report our attempts have met with complete failure. The pergola's gone. The raised beds with topsoil are gone. The trellises are gone. Most of the paving bricks are gone. So after licking our wounds, it's back to guerrilla gardening for us.

Keep calm and carry on guerrilla gardening.

Welcoming Zipcar to our Garden Friends NW2 Neighbourhood

Hi everyone,

Part of our Green-up & Clean-up in the Fordwych Road neighbourhood of course involves transportation, and promoting as much eco-friendly ways of getting from here to there and back as possible.

So you might find it interesting and welcoming to know that Zipcar, the premier 'car sharing' scheme now has a designated car club parking spot complete with a car that 'lives' there right on the corner of Fordwych Road and Garlinge Road.

And to complete the tie-in with Garden Friends NW2, the Zipcar folks are even into gardening! Here's a link to their website where you can find out all kinds of interesting things about their gardening project as well as lots of good start-up information for fruit and veg gardens in London.

Welcome to the neighbourhood, Zipcar, and keep calm and carry on gardening!

King's Cross Harvest Festival Feast

Hi everyone,

Our good friends at Alara in King's Cross are having a Harvest Festival Feast on Friday September 20th 6-8pm. It's free and everyone is welcome, so think about attending if you are interested in gardening, sustainability and community. With any luck, Garden Friends NW2 can aspire to eventually doing even a tiny replica of this great idea here on Fordwych Road in the future.

Keep calm and carry on gardening (and eventually harvesting)!

What part of 'No Dumping' don't you understand?

One of the reasons many neighbourhood residents tell us that they like and appreciate the tree pit plantings along Fordwych Road is that they prefer the beauty of nature around the trees to the flytipping and dumping that blights our streets in this part of London.

And yet the illegal and unsightly and yes, costly rubbish dumping continues.

Some of this behaviour is the result of just not knowing that leaving things on the pavement or street is illegal and unwelcome by neighbours.

Whilst in other cases, it's a matter of antisocial behaviour that selfishly proclaims that individuals can do whatever they want (usually under the clandestine cloak of darkness though), neighbours be damned and the Council will clean it up free of charge.

Garden Friends NW2 encourages our neighbours to 'be neighbourly'. And not dumping or flytipping along our neighbourhood streets, especially against our beautiful trees is a pledge that we believe everyone should take seriously. 

And we believe Camden Council should take their responsibilities, as proclaimed on their signage on Fordwych Road, seriously too. 

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend and keep calm and carry on gardening!

On becoming a Green Camden zone

                                                       

Garden Friends NW2 has become the latest Green Camden zone. According to Camden Council's Environmental Services website: 'The Green Camden zones programme is here to help you take action in your community. It is tailored to your needs giving you the support, resources and materials to green your local area.'

And that's just what we're doing with our Fordwych/St Cuthberts Road 'Green-up & Clean-up' initiative as well as our St Cuthbert's community gardening project.

Whilst Camden Council provides the support and framework for its Green Camden zone scheme, 'all activities are chosen and lead by passionate residents in the community who are keen on helping their neighbours and local area be greener.'

And that's us as well. Garden Friends NW2 continues to attract and include passionate residents in our neighbourhood who really care about the environment and their neighbours. That's why we volunteer our time to plant the tree pits, remove the graffiti and litter, prepare for the community garden project, maintain the herb corner, and assist and encourage residents to clean up and green up their front gardens.

So we're happy to be named the latest Green Camden zone and hope you are too. Like Fordwych itself, it's a long road to travel, but we're getting there. So please do your bit as a resident as well. Every small contribution helps whether it's picking up after your dog on a walk looking at the flowers, planting or watering a tree pit, greening or cleaning up that front garden, not flytipping or dumping on the pavement or against the trees, or picking up and binning that piece of litter that everyone else just walks past.

To find out more about Green Camden zones, click here.

To view Garden Friends NW2 and the other Green Camden zones on their interactive map, click here.

Keep calm and carry on gardening!

                                                     

Estate agents & community involvement

What’s the most prominent feature of ‘street furniture’ on Fordwych Road? Benches? No, none of those. Litter bins? We’ve a few at major intersections now. Public art? Thankfully or regrettably, no. Post boxes? There’re a couple. Memorials? Actually there are at least two blue plaques placed on houses here. But a stroll or drive on any day will quickly reveal that estate agent signage is the main feature added to our road. The signs change regularly, but their presence is, well, ever-present, and it often involves pretty much the same group of agents, many of them local.

Not only are they endlessly affixed to walls and fences and gates, they are often taken down by residents or broken down by vandals and left littering the pavement and obstructing pedestrians.

Their presence attests to the highly transient nature of our neighbourhood, and especially to the large number of rented conversions, student and social housing, and absentee landlords.

So it’s not just the overwhelming presence of the letting and sale signs up and down the street; it’s also the fact that like it or not, estate and management agents are a prominent part of our little community. And as such, they are stakeholders in the greater good of the neighbourhood, as people don’t rent or buy just a flat or house, they also buy into the quality of life in the neighbourhood.

That’s why Garden Friends NW2 is starting a plan to pull in estate and management agents into our ‘Green-up and Clean-up’ initiative. Over the coming months we’re taking an inventory of every agent that posts a sign on Fordwych/St Cuthbert’s Road property to develop a list. We’re in the process of identifying a few of these agents who have expressed an interest in our campaign to work closely with them to develop a charter of community involvement for agents and their clients to become informed about the ‘Green-up and Clean-up’ initiative. Hopefully most agents will sign up to the charter and pledge cooperation and support, including maintaining sale/let signage properly, sponsoring the tree pit planting project, and encouraging owners and tenants to maintain front gardens with more greenery.

As far as we’re aware, this vision of partnering with estate and management agents around community gardening is (pardon the pun) breaking new ground. If you happen to be working with an agent or know an agent who might be interested, or if you are an agent representing property along Fordwych and St Cuthbert’s Roads, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at gardenfriendsnw2@gmail.com. Hopefully before long, all that estate agent signage will mean something different to our neighbourhood as it carries a ‘Proudly supports Garden Friends NW2 Green-up & Clean-up initiative’ logo on it.

Keep calm and carry on (buying, selling, letting & managing) gardening!

These boots aren't made for walkin'

So, what to do with a row of ugly electrical boxes stuck on your front wall? Garden Friends NW2 spotted this transformation recently in our neighbourhood and thought it was brilliant!

But when the house occupants were asked about it (it's a large conversion made into student rooms and small studios mostly), they said they had no idea where the lovely planted boots and shoes came from - they just mysteriously appeared one morning. Apparently a gift to them and the community from some generous guerrilla gardeners to put a smile on weary faces and say 'welcome' to our neighbourhood. 

It looks like a great idea to recycle old boots and shoes into planters to brighten up drab areas. Hopefully we'll be seeing more creative ideas like this in more front gardens around Fordwych Road.

Keep calm and carry on gardening (and check your closet for old shoes and boots and have some fun)!

All it takes is one black swan...

This pretty London Street (Ryland Road in Kentish Town) is lined with tree pits bursting with hollyhocks, irises, Jerusalem artichokes and a mixture of annuals. It's hard to believe but this impressive avenue is the work of a blind gardener Sean Canavan. He has spilled out of his front garden, tree pit by tree pit along the road, starting as a guerrilla gardener but earning respect and support from Camden Council on the way, who he says have even removed paving slabs to make his tree pits more practical to plant. Sean was the winner of an honourable mention in the EPICS (Exceptional People in Camden Awards) in 2006 for his efforts and has carried on with his remarkable tree pit gardening ever since and in the process has created a sense of community pride that has seen vandalism and litter decrease.

There's a saying in the philosophy of logic that you can never prove that all swans are white by continuing to point out white swans. But you can easily disprove it by providing a single example of a black swan. So thank you, Sean Canavan, for teaching all of us, garden friends, neighbours, and Camden Council alike, that your one beautiful black swan on Ryland Road proves that tree pit gardening is alive and well in Camden. And surprise, surprise, more are being spotted because of it.

   

Adapted from http://www.pimpyourpavement.com/blind-pimping/

Cleaning graffiti safely off trees - a simple 'how to' guide!

Hi Garden Friends,

Diversity - all for it. Destructive antisocial behaviour - all against it. Recently two trees on Fordwych Road have been tagged with spray paint. Not only is this antisocial and unsightly, lowering property prices and contributing to negative impressions of our neighbourhood, it's also damaging to our lovely trees and needs to be removed as quickly as possible. This is especially so in warm weather, so it doesn't seep into the bark and poison the trees.  

Garden Friends NW2 have safely and ecologically removed these two tags now, and we'd like to share with everyone how to do it, again with no harm done to the trees. It's simple, easy and only takes a few minutes.

Step 1: Notice what's going on in our neighbourhood. When you spot spray paint graffiti on a tree, don't just walk past it vacantly or with a mutter. Empower yourself to take responsibility to repair this breach in our social fabric.

Step 2: Have the right tools ready at home to do the job correctly. This consists of:

• A container of clear water and a cloth
• Latex gloves
• Olive oil
• Citrus oil based de-greaser spray (Halfords has it in their bike department on Kilburn High Road)
• DO NOT USE DETERGENT OR OTHER DE-GREASER PRODUCTS THAT ARE NOT BIODEGRADABLE OR ECOLOGICALLY SAFE
• Gentle scrub brushes

Step 3: Apply some olive oil and citrus oil de-greaser to the graffiti area and let stand 5-10 minutes.

Step 4: Gently brush the area, using some water to agitate the cleaners a bit. The spray paint will start coming off.

Step 5: After a few scrubbings, rinse the area with the clear water.

Step 6: Result!

Step 7: Pick up all your kit and head home, head held high!

Step 8: Reward yourself for a job well done!

If you spot any spray paint graffiti on our neighbourhood trees, and you'd rather Garden Friends NW2 take care of it, just report it here or send us an email at gardenfriendnw2@gmail.com and we'll be happy for one of our volunteers to swiftly  respond.

Spray paint graffiti on our trees? - we think not. Diversity - all for it. Destructive antisocial behaviour - all against it.