Re-Launch Event for New Shoots Gardening Club

In 2019 we started a gardening club on a vacant plot at St Margarets Road with the help of a 12 month Age Concern grant.  Now here we are, 4 years further on, and planning a second plot to extend the benefits of club gardening to new people.

It’s been an interesting experience because soon after we set up, the pandemic lockdown was imposed.  Undaunted by this, we kept going through the whole period with a small group of people including a retired plotholder called Ivan who helped us put together Grow-your-own-at-home kits for Unity Hubb to distribute to people who were self-isolating.  Ivan died in 2022 but we remember him with a bench donated by his family, a rose tree on the plot and a bay tree in a pot on our plot patio.

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Our original plot is now overflowing – we’ve got fruit trees, raspberry canes, herbs and strawberries in boxes, raised beds full of lettuces, peas and onions, loads of pots and boxes of flowers, other beds with beans, potatoes and pumpkins, not to mention the polytunnel bursting with tomatoes and peppers.

The Club has been self-financing since 2020, with everyone chipping in via £10 membership fees to pay for seeds, as well as donating gardening items and bringing along tea, coffee, bananas or cake for our breaks. 

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In these times of more extreme weather conditions – rain followed by drought, our members have had their work cut out with a lot of weeding and watering, as well as sowing and planting.  But we’ve managed to make time for starting a new plot.  The idea of this is to enable the club to expand its membership AND welcome people with disabilities to the club.  With the help of a 12 month grant from the Hodge Hill Neighbourhood Network Scheme, we have bought wood for raised beds including a special one for use by people in wheelchairs and a three-step raised bed to cater for people with limited mobility.  The site toilet is also going to be refurbished with additional provision for wheelchair users.

Taking on a whole allotment, even a small one, is a big commitment and involves people being prepared to put a lot of time, effort and money into gardening on a site which is not usually next to your home.  It’s not for everyone – especially those with many other commitments or who have to take extra care of their health.   But gardening as an activity outdoors, working alongside other people who share the same interest, really suits the many people who enjoy the social side and don’t want the sole responsibility of looking after a plot.   We’re hoping that new people being invited along to a launch event on 13^th July (St Margarets Road allotments, Birmingham B8 2BA) will be able to enjoy the benefits without the hassle factors which make many new plotholders give up within 12 months of starting. 

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The club is also a place where people new to gardening can learn more quickly and gain confidence from having a go while getting tips from more experienced gardeners.  We’ll be running 2 sessions a week, the Thursday one led by the WEGA Secretary Hester and the Tuesday one by our sessional worker Meena who brings flower gardening experience partly from her role at the Birmingham Central Library.    

We’re aiming to develop more opportunities for trying new types of plants – fig trees from cuttings is one that Abdel Ali initiated – or No Dig gardening which is something that Hilary is keen to try.    And of course, if we do get wheelchair users or other people with mobility issues, we want to try out ways of enabling them to manage most of the gardening tasks.  After all, if Sue Kent* who was born with an upper limb disability due to thalidomide can be a top class gardener presenting items on Gardeners World, there shouldn’t be any barriers to anyone who’d like to enjoy the pleasures of growing!

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