Just like any theatre, Seaford Community Garden has a thriving ‘backstage’ area, where many skilled staff ensure we can put on a good show.
The refreshments area, with its ingenious sink that waters the vegetables, is usually where Veronica is to be found. She will have collected the donated used coffee grains from Baca’s Coffee Bar, to spread around as a slug deterrent. Steph often provides delicious home-made cake, and Jim brings his trademark ‘moreish’ biscuits as well as tackling weeds with Ellis. Val is our ‘props manager’, making sure we have the necessary kit.
Around the outside of the polytunnel is a set of wooden staging, constructed by Brian and Dave, for the small plants which are waiting to go out front to Maggie’s sales table. The garden includes many scenes: the gravel area, the hot bed, the rose bed and so on. The well-established plants drop seeds, or send out runners, and, in the spring, while we are weeding, we find many mini-plants. They can be potted up, using the compost that Stan and Abdul have produced. Jill makes sure we have a programme, and Jan choreographs the division of big clumps of perennials, putting some back in the soil, and some into pots: Ajuga, Phlomis russeliana, Hemerocallis (orange and yellow), Geranium Rozanne and a range of Iris rhizomes have been propagated recently. Katie is our ‘go to’ for horticultural expertise, Marjorie for veggies, and Bob for herbs. It’s been good to have new, and returning, members of the crew: Veronica, Natasha, Dylan, Angie, Ann and Ellen.
We’ve had a mini audience this month: the children from the Hopscotch Nursery participated in planting potatoes and collecting snail shells. The ladies from Blatchington Manor have been enjoying the sun’s rays.
The garden, of course, is the star attraction: we are open every Wednesday 9.30am – 12.30, in the Crouch.
All are all welcome to our Open Day on Saturday, July 13th , 10am until 3pm (see poster!)
Also published June24 in Seaford Scene
