More than 25 people came to visit the garden on our open day on October 28th.
The majority were seeing the cottage and garden for the first time and, fortunately, the rain held off giving us all a chance to set to work. We cleared the old potato patch, finding a few previously undetected specimens which have since been hungrily devoured, sowing green manure to cover the bed in winter and enrich the soil. Additionally, we built a compost heap and made progress in clearing the lowest terrace of the garden. In parallel, the Hayle branch of the “bramble police” went about their prickly business.
The gardening was conducted in a very social atmosphere which was followed by a Common Ground led by Elgin. This participatory group activity is a simple and often fun method to uncover synergies and differences within a group and allow the individuals to show what is important to them. We used this to share such things as where we are from, how we can imagine our involvement in the project, our interests, and what aspects and qualities in the garden and associated community are important to us.
Conversation flourished over tea and scones and continued into the evening when soup was served.
It was a perfect day to share the vision of the project with a diverse and receptive group of people and move towards founding the various groups that the project needs: Growers, Volunteers and Circle of Friends. In the coming months, we will deepen these connections to establish the groups together.
