Less than a week until our Open Day!

With less than a week to go before our Open Day (next Saturday, 22nd March from 10am - 12noon) we are delighted to announce that we have power in our new building!! That means heating, lighting and - most important of all - a working kettle!!

There are tales to tell of the resilience of the team in getting us to this stage, working with the council to get the site connected to the grid and, most challenging of all, getting the cable through the pre-laid piping in one piece without losing it in the middle of the pipe! It is all testament to the fantastic team that makes up this wonderful garden community, and their ingenuity and determination to make things happen!

The Open Day is from 10-12, do come for the whole time if you can, or as much or as little of it as you are able to - it would just be lovely to see you! The formal opening of our building will take place with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10.30, so do be there for that if you can! After the building has been opened we will then serve refreshments, and informal tours of the garden will take place throughout the morning - or you can just wander round and take a look for yourself.

We were also very excited to receive new residents to the garden in the form of our very own beehive! We have worked closely with the outdoor team at Broadwater school to bring the hive to the garden and are delighted that staff and pupils at the school have been learning about bees and will be our on site beekeepers, taking care of the hive and learning about these wonderful animals (as well as hopefully producing some tasty local honey!). This link to the school has always been an important part of the community vision for the garden.

The bees are located behind a dead-hedge near the railway. The hedge is important for two reasons - one is that it reminds us that, while bees are natural residents of any garden, we should respect their space around the hive, and secondly it encourages the bees to fly upwards when they first come out of the hive rather than staying low to the ground. This is good for the bees and good for us! We are looking forward to providing plenty of flowers for them throughout the year.

So many exciting things are happening in the garden and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday to show you around!

The Broadwater School Apiary Team!