From little seeds do mighty oaks grow ...

Jane and Carol (and Jilly with the camera!)
assisting with seed planting
at Mighty Oaks YOuth Group

Members may remember that, in recent meetings, we discussed the possibility of working with local youth groups.  To start us off, three stalwarts of the Club visited the Mighty Oaks Youth Group, which meets every Friday night at the community centre.  We are hoping to collaborate with the group to improve the environs of Hurst Green, starting with a project at the station later in the year.  In the meantime, we sowed seeds - both literally and metaphorically - with the youth group with the aim to plant flowers in the vicinity of the Community Hall where the group meets.
As it was our first outing, we started small, and planted sunflowers, nasturtiums, and nigella.  All the children knew sunflowers, and we brought pictures of the nasturtiums and nigella so that they could see what they were planting.  There was a definite gender divide on the nigella; the boys liked the blue colour, while the girls liked the soft floating wispiness of its appearance!  Jeremy and I had visited the RHS London plant fair a few weeks ago, and we asked advice from the ever-helpful Joy of Sea Spring seeds (click to follow the link); she suggested that the children might like to grow pea shoots; although this strays from the brief a little, it has the dual advantage of providing a quick result - the children will be eating them within four weeks - and educated them in how easy and rewarding it can be to grow our own food.

This project is an important start in introducing the Club to the wider community, and to making a difference in it.  If it is something that you would like to be involved with, please speak to Jane, Carol or Jilly for more information, or email us on HGgardeningclub@gmail.com.