Whickham Heritage Garden - October 2009
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A Heavenly Garden…. the only way to describe it! I wandered into Whickham Hermitage Community Garden this week to ask David Peacock about developments which had taken place since we featured the Garden in the magazine last November. The beauty of the enlarged Garden took my breath away. So much colour and well-ordered attractive displays lifts the spirits at this time of the year David said that Phase Two was now well on its way for completion of the work to be done. He said all praise must be given to the men from Community Payback because they had turned a wilderness into a garden in seven months. They had worked hard, barrowing 110 tons of soil up the lane to establish the new part of the garden. (I do hope they came back to see the final splendid results of their labours!) A relationship has been struck with Durham Botanical Gardens and it is hoped, with their help, to have much more in the way of unusual plants, for example – tea, coffee, cocoa, cotton, and whatever else they know can be grown so that they can be shown. The idea is to give an education lesson to pupils from Front Street School and also to others who may never have understood where these things come from. It is a tremendous boost to the Garden. On a recent Tuesday night, the Garden played host to ten Japanese gardeners from the city of Komatsu. These gardeners are here to create a Japanese garden in Saltwell Park. Gateshead itself is twinned with the City of Komatsu, so the Garden hosted the ten gardeners and their representatives. They had a wonderful evening, entertained in the Community Centre by children from Front Street School singing Geordie songs and dancing,. and the visitors thoroughly enjoyed their evening. David said that, unfortunately, they had been unable to get any funding for a café within an Orangery. He gave me a Wish List for the Garden:-
There is no sponsorship for the Garden and they would appreciate donations. All the work is done by dedicated volunteers. The Garden is situated behind the Community Centre on Front Street. David Peacock can be contacted on 07854438187 or email: sharonpeacock@btinternet.com If you haven’t visited Whickham Hermitage Garden, or not for a while, take a look around before winter sets in – it will cheer you up! Joan H.Smith October 2009 |
