News

Spring is nearly upon us and there’s plenty to do in The Rookery. Join us for Volunteer Mornings on the 3rd Friday of every month or Community Planting Days later in spring…

Four new boards containing historical and botanical information are in place in the Rookery. The content for the boards was developed by the Rookery Design Group as part of the Centenary Project (funded by Heritage Lottery Fund). The design was created by south London designer Michiko Nitta – www.michikonitta.co.uk.

The Friends are delighted to have been awarded a grant from the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (MPGA) to support the purchase of plants for the White Garden. The MPGA has provided funding to purchase all of the new roses for the garden – Rosa ‘Iceberg’, Rosa spinosissima ‘Double White’ and Rosa ‘Little White Pet’. Some of the roses have already been planted at our the Community Planting Day in October and the remaining ones will be planted this Saturday at the next planting day (10am-4pm in the White Garden).

The MPGA is dedicated to preserving and protecting gardens and green spaces across London. www.mpga.org.uk

One of the new Iceberg roses

The first Community Planting Day took place in the White Garden on Saturday. We were delighted with the progress we made. Over 20 volunteers came along to help – some old friends and many new faces as well. We concentrated on planting trees and shrubs to create the framework for the garden. If you take a visit to the White Garden over the next week or two see if you can spot the new arrivals: 7 new Iceberg roses, familiar Fatsia japonica, sweetly-scented Sarcococca (also known as sweet box), and some stunning new dogwoods. A hearty lunch of homemade pumpkin and ginger soup was served in the garden and helped to get everyone through the afternoon – thanks to everyone who came to help! If you are interested in getting involved then the next planting day takes place on Saturday 1st November when we will be concentrating on planting the herbaceous perennials. Meet in the Rookery Cafe at 10am. We hope to see you there!

Have you noticed a funny smell in the White Garden recently? You may have done as we have added over 20 tonnes of mushroom compost to the beds in the last few weeks in preparation for the new plants. Mushroom compost is a rich source of organic matter and is an excellent material for improving the soil. As far as we know the beds haven’t been fed in over ten years, so they were very hungry beds! Thanks to all of the volunteers from Lloyds Bank and The Challenge Network who helped to do all the hard work.

Team of helpers from The Challenge Network, Saturday 27th September