Sue Godfrey Garden
YOUR COMMUNITY GARDEN NEEDS YOU!
We now need as many people as possible to get involved in helping to run this exciting new Community Gardening project.
- Meet new people in a sociable setting.
- Learn new skills in food and flower growing.
- Help make Crossfields a Greener and more beautiful place to live
Whatever your level of experience or amount of time you can commit…
We will be organising a series of “Working Fun Days”
- Digging Day: Get fit and clear those Beds!
- Raised Bed Building: One for the hammerers and sawers.
- Starting to Grow: Food growing starts NOW!
Lets us know if you are interested..
Leave your details as a comment at the bottom of this page
Phone: John 07981 020 862
Stage One Nearly Complete!
The work on the new raised beds area at the side of the sheds has now nearly been completed. We now need to compile a WISH LIST of what else we want to do in the garden. We have been told that there should be enough funding to cover all our initial proposals AND renovate the sheds and have a green roof on them with water capture! fantastic news!
As soon as the wish list is agreed we will post it here. In the mean time contact us with your ideas for the garden.
Christopher has very generously produced a plan for the raised bed area next to the sheds.
see plan here
We will be organising a WORK DAY to build the beds as soon as we get delivery of the kits from Glendales.
We have £600 to spend on plants for the garden.
See Latest Proposals:
Sue Godfrey Proposals as PDF
£8,000 of London Development Money has been set aside for the worksThis is the “wish list” we have sent to the Architects drawing up the plans:
A TAP would be essential!
Remove all post fencing behind pram sheds. (Could the solid posts be reused ?) garden thus widened to back of
sheds.Remove brambles and etc from area between current fence and back of the sheds. We can do this if necessary.Removal of fence between new area at side of sheds and main garden to completely open it up.
Paths in the new area of the garden should be wide enough and suitable for disabled access.
All other post and chain link fences stay but any rotten or insecure posts need to be removed and replaced.New planting along all sides of new area to side of pram sheds.
To reduce as much as possible pollution from the road and to enclose the area. Any other new planting required to be discussed with Claire and Davy.
Raised beds to be built in new area as per consultation with Davy and Claire. We have already had 2 requests from tenents who want to take over beds BUT , they have requested that they are built at a waist height so that mobility problems reguarding bending are minimised. Perhaps all beds could be built at this height to enable maximum accesibility, also a wheelchair accesible bed.
Enterances to garden and new paths are needed to ensure maximum, and wheelchair access to the garden. The current paths are not safe or wide enough to cover basic access requirements at all. However the current planting and overall structure of the garden should be maintained as respectfully to its founder as possible.
Keep wooden arch that seperates the two parts of the main garden, repair and make safe if necessary. Both enterances should have gates that can be locked if necessary.
Removing the burnt tree from the corner of the garden where the compost heap is placed currently. Moving compost heap so it is at the road end of the garden near the raised beds.
Clearing the Garden
DEFRA Volunteers Work Wonders
Well Done! A group of volunteers from DEFRAs policy division came along and did an amazing job of clearing the garden as a first step in its regeneration.Enthusiasticaly weeding digging and pruning their all , the volunteers deserve our most profound thanks for a job well done. Many thanks also to Claire and Davey for organising the event and to the volunteers from CGS who also turned up.The garden is now well cleared and ready for the works proposed as part of the Creekside Urban Park Project.
See Album of Pictures here
A Garden Inspired by John Evelyn.
Writer, diarist and gardener. John Evelyn lived at Sayes Court in Deptford from 1652 to 1694. It was there that he built a garden sandwiched between the slaughterhouses and the dockyards.
One of the first vegetarians , he was keen to get the English eating more green vegetables and salads. A message that has many echoes in our own times.
“Acetaria, or a Discourse on Sallets” Part gardening , part recipes and part philosophical thoughts, this 
fascinating volume provides inspiration for the planting of the garden.It would be a fantastic project to grow as many as possible of the 70 or so “sallets” he mentions. Herbs, spices, vegetables we would recognise, and some we would not. Capturing something of the spirit of the man , his times and his ideas.
In 1699, at the age of 79, he wrote a book called
Evelyn’s intriguing recipes for savouries, sweets, pickles and puddings can also inspire us:Just imagine trying “Carrot Tart” or “Pickled Nasturtiam Buds” made with produce fresh from the garden! Growing, picking, cooking and eating. All with a fascinating historical perspective.
A range of events built around these themes could provide for the education and involvement of local schools and community groups.
- Gardening
- Local history
- Healthy eating
- Cooking
- Medicinal and herbal use of plants
More Things To Look at:
John Evelyn’s Garden at Sayes Court
http://londonslostgarden.wordpress.com/
Crossfields Green Spaces 
A Fan! said,
August 17, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
Sounds like a fantastic idea. I’m sure its something a lot of people on the estate would like to get behind and help out with!