Wednesday 19 June 2013

THE STORY BEHIND THE GORSEY GARDEN
by Susan Stewart
(Chairperson of the Gorsey Garden)


Since it was first raised as an idea by Susan Stewart at a Hazelhurst Residents Association meeting in 2011, under the then Chairmanship of David Roe, the idea of a community garden becoming a reality in the Hazelhurst estate just became more and more exciting and convincing. A social hub is what it would be and a place of calm positive productiveness in the busyness of life and a much needed sanctuary in the midst of a large housing estate.  But there was much to do before it 'came to fruition' and I will jump forward a year to 2012 when a site was identified and a name chosen.

We have been giving a lot of thought to the name of the garden and invited suggestions. The one which seemed to meet with everyone's agreement was my own (although there were so many other really good ones but this one, seemed to tick all the boxes)...

"The Gorsey Garden" 
(Hazelhurst Residents' Garden)

1.  Identifies the location/area (Gorsey Lane);

2.  Gorse is a wildflower so it's a reminder to keep the garden as wild as possible for insect/animal life;

3.  Gorse is also bright and colourful - as we hope our garden to be; 

4.  It has some prickly bits - a warning to us not to mess with nature!

5.  Gorse as a flower can translate to become a bright little logo.

6.  It is a plentiful plant also in the area.


"Gorse thrives in poor growing areas and conditions including drought; it is sometimes found on very rocky soils,where many species cannot thrive. Moreover, it is widely used for land reclamation (which is what we are doing!) where its nitrogen-fixing capacity helps other plants establish better. Gorse is a valuable plant for wildlife, providing dense thorny cover ideal for protecting bird nests." (From Wikipedia).

 And so, with the agreement of all concerned, The Gorsey Garden came into existence.

We had a nucleus of 6 people to drive it forward, and this we would do, until finally...

Saturday 15th June 2103

After almost two years in the making, the time has now come for our first workday. David Roe, Lee and myself arrived on site at  10am to unwrap the centre of the garden, the greenhouse.  Others came and went throughout the day including Matt & Andrea, Mavis, and John and Janice of New Charter.

We stayed until 3.30 and got have way through the work putting up the main structure which came in three parts.



It was an encouraging day and was great to get on site.

Sunday 16th June 2013

We three decided to meet again to try to complete the job and so the alarm clocks were set once again for 10am.  Today, there were only the three of us. it was dull and overcast and we just hoped it didn't rain, at least until we got the roof on.  But that was not to be today!  We worked until 1pm trying to fit the panels which proved very difficult at times, but the result was well worth it in the end. Still, we didn't get it finished and the roof and the door were still to be added.

Wednesday 19th June 2013

I returned to work today so it was down to David and Lee to add the finishing touches to the greenhouse...and that they did!  The finished product was brilliant and so worth all the trouble.  Some of our small group had seedlings already started and so...we can start planting and transplanting on Saturday!

Saturday 22nd June 2013

Diane, had planted some beautiful boxes up and these were delivered today. David, Lee, Diane and myself all came along, with Janice from New Charter, who did a good job of generally tidying up the site.   We put 3 insect boxes on site, filled some of the troughs and pot plants, and got the staging ready inside the greenhouse.   The pergola was put in place and it was really lovely and provided a place for us to have a cuppa.

Posted by at  



  1. Today saw the arrival of the main vegetable beds (2) - and big they are two! They really are superb for their purpose. Just as well we got 20 bags of 125L compost and maybe that's not even enough! It was really bucketing down with rain but David, Lee and myself braved the elements just to get a head start on things. As well as the veg beds, we collected and began to put up the signs announcing the arrival of the Gorsey Garden which we put up using the new generator. All working perfectly! Tomorrow - time for some serious planting.
    ReplyDelete
  2. We were all drowned rats!
    ReplyDelete
  3. Early start today going shopping for washers and nails for the erection of the signs and filling the vegetable beds. After treating the two large beds with wood preservative, we nailed into place the lining and shift around 20 huge bags of compost (125 litres in each) which haven't even completely filled them but has given us enough to be going on with! We also marked out a little corner which will be used for wildflowers and a bird feeding/washing station. Tomorrow will see veg being planted and flower seeds sown as well as all signs being put up and some of the hanging baskets being put in place. Happy days - we might even get some sunshine!
    ReplyDelete
  4. We had a really great day today in The Gorsey Garden. We planted in one of the large vegetable beds sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Flower-wise we planted Calendula and Nasturtium of all different colours and sizes. We have also put up netting against the wall in readiness for some of our climbing plants. The banner outside the wall advertising the garden has now been put in place and would be hard to miss! Things are really coming together now. We are waiting on the delivery of a herb wheel so that will be our next thing for putting in place and planting up. Diane is on watering duty this week and a rota will be set up and written on the noticeboard in the greenhouse. Arfa our next door neighbour also gave us two compost bins and 6 railway sleepers which will come in handy further down the track! It's good to see the curiosity of the locals enquiring about membership. Seems there is excitement in the air in Hazelhurst! Work day next Saturday 6 July from 9.30 - 12 noon and all are welcome.
    ReplyDelete
  5. Summer has arrived - at least for a fortnight or so (that's the forecast anyway)! Anyway, the Gorsey Garden is certainly a 'hot spot' as we found out on Friday when Lee and myself went to meet and greet the guys who were putting on the roof to the pergola (for wetter days) and unload 30 bales of 125lt compost! Ouch - heavy lifting there! The flower beds for the children's garden have also been put in place and before we left we gave all the plants a good watering. Susan is on watering duty this week. There is a noticeboard in the greenhouse to keep track of what has been done. Everyday watering is done, but on a Wednesday we will feed the plants with specialised plant food. There are only a few more things to be added before we have our open day when people can sign up for membership - probably Sept./October time. So spread the word! The herb wheel was delivered but is smaller than first thought so this might be put to other uses OR if there are any carpenters out there.....we could do with a rebuild!
    ReplyDelete
  6. Only a few things left now to put in place in the garden; a round picnic table, two benches, a summer house, setting up a wildflower garden and birdbath, bird feeding station, Astroturf and reed/trellis for the railings and then we will move on to our open day.

     We have added two more water butts as, after two weeks of sunshine, it is obvious that copious amounts of water for a garden that size definitely needs it.

     The children’s garden is in place – all it needs now is children and plants.

     A herb garden has been planted up and a strawberry bed – both are doing well.

     All of the vegetables we have put in are growing well and producing baby vegetables.

     A few fruit trees in pots would be welcome as would some honeysuckle/clematis for the pergola.

     It has been a brilliant July so far to set up a garden and all the seeds and plants that have been sown and planted have benefitted from having warm sun, little wind, and lots of attention.

     We hope to have our main flyer out around the estate by 5 August and have scheduled our open day for 10 August. 
    ReplyDelete
  7. Tonight Lee and myself went round to water the garden. We planted nasturium and calendula in the children's garden with some fun things t'boot. We also planted some hawthorn trees and took round red bricks so we could make a border for the wildflower garden. We want to purchase a bird bath for the corner also. The garden is looking well but needs loads of water in this very hot weather.

     We are getting the flyers ready to circulate around the estate in preparation for the Open Day on 10 August. People are taking an interest!
    ReplyDelete
  8. It was the Open Day last Saturday - we got 7 new members! Everyone worked hard and local gardening groups came to visit. We had eats and there was a lot of talking and ideas exchanged. Hopefully we can sustain the interest and momentum. Plans for the wildflower garden are proving to be of great interest and it's been suggested we put in a small pond. This will attract amphibians which will feed on the slugs/snails in the garden. Also, we could get seaweed based fertilizers which contain salt and which will also keep the slugs and snails away. We could also get some small stepping stones throughout the wildflower beds. It was suggested we incorporate a hedgehog house - well why not?! Some winter vegetables were bought to plant out. We need to sustain the colour throughout the winter months with shrubs and heathers. Some daffodils and crocus bulbs also purchased for planting and blooming next spring.
    ReplyDelete
  9. Went to the garden this morning. Took some red bricks and lavender around. Roughly outlined the garden ready for developing next Saturday morning.
    Began to rain heavy so left and will have to begin next Saturday.
    ReplyDelete
  10. Lee, Andrew, Jenny and myself went to The Gorsey Garden today with the intention of making the wildflower/wildlilfe garden, and make it we did with Lee starting on the front garden t'boot! We worked from 10.30 - 5.00 but the results were great. We made a pond in the centre which now just needs a grid cover. Will need to top up both sites with more compost and a few more plants for the front garden, but other than that, great job which we were all very pleased about. We also planted some winter veg: spring onions, cabbage, swedes, runner beans and peas. A very productive day's work and we will all be very sore tomorrow!

Posted by at 15 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)