Time to relax and enjoy our hard work.

Costoluto Fiorentino Tomatoes

After many moths of hard work we now have plenty to show for our labours.  Much assisted by the weather, for although it has been hot and dry we haven't had a hosepipe ban.  This has meant that we have been able to keep watering, even when our rain water supplies run out.  Hopefully next year we will have even more tanks installed to catch the rainwater off our rooves.  The tomatoes and cucumbers have done really well in the poly tunnel.  The ones shown above are an Italian variety, which I planted far too many of.  All of them germinated and these are showing alien tendencies.  We certainly didn't subject them to radiation.  The small varieties have provided food for the under 4s to forage on their Friday morning sessions.  We have also had young foragers from the Spencer Trust, a group supporting LGBT+ families which Lucy our resident foraging expert is working with.  

Aaron and Jas with Beans.

  Some of our produce has been used in our weekly lunches.  These have been cooked by Toni and Aaron and Jas from Tiger Community Enterprise, alternating with Erica and our volunteers.  There have also been other cooks who have produced wonderful Pakora and Middle Eastern food.  We have been treated to vegan and vegetarian delights.  Really healthy tasty meals, made with some of our produce and accompanied by yoga sessions with Lisa Henry in the Orchard.  About 12.30 on a Thursday, people suddenly start appearing out of the bushes and we often end up with 15 or more people eating.  The following afternoon DIY and Maintenance session with Ben has prospered because of this and they have created a den from old palettes behind the kitchen, an arch for the rogue pumpkin to grow over and carried out various repairs.  They have also assembled 3 Teak benches which we have been donated.

Volunteers enjoying a Thursday meal.

Drew and Richard enjoying their hard work

Another reward for our hard work was an outing to Barnsdale Gardens near Rutland Water.  These are the gardens created by Gardeners World while Geoff Hamilton was presenting it in the 1980s and 90s.  They are now owned by his son and open to the public.  He was serving in the shop and very interested in our group.  We were worried that we might be too late for flowers, but we needn't have worried, there were plenty of the lovely gold and red autumn varieties and still some lovely roses.  The main part of the gardens is a series of example gardens for different types of property and effects, like First Time Garden and Reclaimed Garden, which had some interesting features.  One of the favourites was the Japanese Garden which was really peaceful with a pond and golden bamboo.  There was also a Stream and Bog garden with a trickling stream, which could have given us some hints for our bog garden, but unfortunately the water in ours doesn't trickle, it appears and disappears with the seasons.  My favourite was the Mediterranean Garden with grasses and plants growing out of gravel.  Giving a dry dusty appearance.  We were all impressed by the fruit, there were so many varieties of apples pears and crab apples.  We had to sample a few and we were allowed to pick up windfalls, but sometimes they just happened to fall off the tree when we were passing.  So many thanks to Tracey for organising the trip and Tracey, Shelagh and Dina for driving us.

Apple and Pear Pergola

Malus Sun Rival

John in the Japanese Garden

Bev enjoying the shade.

Rosie Jarrett 12.9.2025

Bio Blitz Sunday 3rd August

Bio Blitz at Windmill Community Gardens 

Sunday 3rd of August saw another successful Bio Blitz with the fabulous Dr Linda Birkin aka DrLJBees (you can find her on facebook and Instagram).

Although a slightly soggy start the sun shone into the afternoon and we welcomed lots of visiting families. After an engaging and enthusiastic introduction from Dr Linda everyone set to work seeing what could be discovered around the gardens. 

Many different species of insects were found, photographed and identified before being left to go on their way. This sessions finds included a wide variety of bees, a lace weaving spider, several different beetles, an ant nursery filled with lava, and loads of other creeping, crawling and flying bugs.

These are being recorded as part of a citizen science project run by Dr Linda at the gardens. With hundreds of species identified so far.

Alongside looking for insects we had a go at crafting our own from fruits and vegetables. It was a lot of fun and tasty at the end too! 

Overall a successful and enjoyable afternoon, we all look forward to the next one. 

 

 TODAY

 

Greetings from Windmill Gardens 

    We welcome volunteers on site on Mondays from 10 to 1pm and Thursdays from 10 to 4pm.  On Thursdays there is an opportunity to learn woodworking and other DIY skills with Ben from 1pm.  Of course you can come and eat with us too, as we hold a Lush Lunch every Thursday for a small donation.

If you are unable to join us during the week, we hold monthly volunteer sessions on a Sunday. You can find information about these and other activities on our Facebook page: (1) Facebook  or by emailing: wcgnottingham@gmail.com or phoning 07816899978

Lucy the Nottingham Forager is based at the Garden's and also holds sessions there: (1) Facebook

We also hold sessions for under fours for Small Steps Big Changes.

The allotment is available to use by community groups and individuals, particularly our Super Shed and Really Wild Space.  You can also become "A Friend" of Windmill Community Gardens, for £20 for individuals and £60 for groups.  You will receive some free seeds and plants and reduced cost for hiring.  Please use the contact details above.

Hoping to see you soon,

Rosie Jarrett (Chairperson) 

ART IN THE GARDEN 2025 

After our two previous, successful Art in the Garden events, we are holding another on Saturday the 12th July.  If you are a local artist or crafts person, amateur or professional, or a member of an arts or crafts group, we would love to display your work for the day.  We take the greatest care of works we are given and have gazebos and our super shed to protect paintings photos etc.  We are also looking for musicians, poets etc. to entertain us:

Contact: 07816899978 or wcgnottingham@gmail.com