News from Stony Stratford in Bloom
3 July 2012
Stony Stratford in Bloom 2012 Judgement Day
The Regional Judges will be coming to judge Stony Stratford in Bloom at 10 am on Tuesday, 3 July 2012.
22 June 2012
Pig Roast at York House
On Friday, 22 June 2012 there will be a Pig Roast at York House in aid of Stony Stratford in Bloom. Book this date in your diary. Real ale, Fairtrade wine, soft drinks. More details to follow.
4 June 2012
Jubilee Big Lunch Celebration at Mortimer Park: Healthy Eating Table
On 4 June 2012, as part of the Town Council’s Jubilee Big Lunch Celebration at Mortimer Park, Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers will have a Healthy Eating Table, with produce that has been grown by the pupils of St Mary & St Giles and Queen Eleanor Schools. Members of the London Road Allotment Committee are growing ten plants each for Stony Stratford in Bloom to use at the Healthy Eating table to encourage vegetable growing.
8 May 2012
Bluebell Party
The annual Bluebell Party will take place at 3.30 pm on Tuesday, 8 May 2012 (weather permitting) at the Bluebell Wood next to the Children’s Centre at the top of London Road. Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers will be providing cupcakes.
20 April 2012
Pupils at St Mary & St Giles School look for lovely, luscious lettuces for their lunch
Encouraging healthy eating is something that Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers hold dear, as does Michele Parsons, the Chef at St Mary & St Giles School, who sponsors the seeds and compost for the school gardening sessions at the school. The pupils were delighted to see how well the lettuces they’d nurtured from seed had grown in the polytunnel, and, having chosen the biggest and finest, carried them in triumph to Michele to prepare for their lunch.
Wild flower seed scattering at St Mary & St Giles School
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has been giving away free wild flower seed to In-Bloom groups and schools, so in the gardening session at St Mary & St Giles School today (20 April 2012) the pupils learnt how to prepare the ground for the wild flower seeds and to scatter them in the two beds immediately in front of the school. We’re hoping that by the summer there will be a blaze of blues and pinks from the cornflowers and corncockle the pupils planted there.
15 April 2012
Stony Stratford in Bloom launching the In-Bloom Campaign with wild flower seed planting at Mortimer Park
This year the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) sent Stony Stratford in Bloom free wild flower seeds to launch the In-Bloom Campaign, the start of Gardening Week, and to encourage the creation of wild flower meadows for butterflies and bees. On Sunday, 15 April, Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers, and those interested in the Town Council’s creation of a community orchard at Mortimer Park, off Calverton Road, came with rakes and forks in hand to plant the seeds. Miltonn Keynes Council had kindly done some initial preparation of the ground, and volunteers needed to move the clumps of grass and rake the soil so the seeds would have a comfortable bed to lie in. The seeds could be watered from the river close by. Theresa Wedderburn explained to the other volunteers what to do, and Mary Sarre brought delicious damson buns and elderflower juice to sweeten our labours.
Let’s hope that in the summer walkers who saunter by will see a bright splash colour from the cornflowers, red campion and corncockle among the barley seed ndash; and perhaps a butterfly or two as well.
14 April 2012
A grand total of £460 raised at the Stony Stratford in Bloom plant sale
Once again Stony Stratford in Bloom combined with York House for a fund-raising plant sale and coffee morning, with coffee and cake consumers being tempted by the rows of value-for-money plants outside that had been donated by Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers, and the plant hunters being tempted by the delicious home-made cakes made by York House volunteers inside. There was also an ‘everybody wins’ tombola and a bric-a-brac stall, and York House had laid on a great ‘seed swap’. From the plants, tombola and bric-a-brac Stony Stratford in Bloom raised the considerable sum of £460, which will be used to make Stony Stratford even more beautiful.
The face painting by Cherry Cheeks Face Art was much appreciated by the younger clientele and their parents/grandparents.
11 April 2012
Capturing the beauty of spring before it leaves us
St Mary & St Giles Church gardens always bring a beautiful sweep of spring colour from the daffodils and the delectable waft from the scent of wallflowers. Nearby, the Library bed and planters are full of cheerful spring colours too.
It's time for volunteers to start on their milllennium beds, which gladden the eye of visitors and residents as they enter the town.
And it's worth a special trip down Calverton Road to see the dramatic white tulips in the perennial bed on the corner of Augustus Rd
31 March 2012
The week when so much got done!
With two working parties a week, often lots gets done – but during the week ending 31 March 2012 we seemed to achieve more than ever! On Wednesday, 28 March there was a split working party: one group watered the hedge saplings that were planted in Mortimer Park and did some weeding there. We were delighted that some of the volunteers who’d come to the Community Orchard consultation came to help as well. Another small group helped Fiona Collins, teacher at Queen Eleanor School, to widen the flower bed at the school.
Gary Marshall, a regional archeologist for the National Trust based at Stowe, had been given an afternoon to help us by his employers as part of the Leap Year volunteering initiative, and we were delighted to have his skill and muscle power in lifting the turf!
On Friday, 30 March one volunteer spent four hours mowing the grass around our perennial beds in the town.
On Saturday, 31 March an astonishing amount of planting took place in a number of different places around the parish:
Ousebank Way Play Area: after consultation with residents on what plants they would like to see grown, and help from Milton Keynes Council in preparing the ground, work began on the new bed early in the morning. Local residents came to help, and everyone was pleased with the result.
Ousebank Way/Calverton Road: again, after consultation with local residents, and help with soil preparation from Milton Keynes Council, two news beds were planned on this eye-catching corner. Another group began the planting here, then moved on to repair the raised beds at St Mary & St Giles School.
Once the working party at Ousebank Way Play Area had finished, they moved on to Galley Hill to replace some roses, and then, near Rovely Court, to plant a bed of lavender. Galley Hill residents had prepared the ground the previous day and the money for the lavender had come from a generous donation to Stony Stratford in Bloom from Jessie Griffiths.
Meanwhile another group had gathered at the north end, near the Queen Eleanor Garden. Ron and Eileen Cox had kindly sponsored a fine English Oak Tree to celebrate the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and they helped Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers to plant it here. More roses were planted too. (The previous week Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers had planted a number of ancient fruit trees specially grafted by a local tree specialist near to the Queen Eleanor Garden, and the Queen Eleanor Garden was weeded and pruned.)
There was still one more task remaining: to find a suitable spot near the river for a flowering cherry which Ron and Eileen Cox had bought for a friend’s birthday. A perfect place was found, and the digging and planting was done. By then it was well passed 1 pm, and the volunteers went home tired, hungry, but very proud of all that they’d accomplished since 9.30 am.
14 March 2012
A feast of spring blooms near the Queen Eleanor Garden
It was hard work planting all those daffodils and crocuses in the gravelly soil under the grass near the Queen Eleanor Garden last Autumn, but as we gaze on the feast of colour – gold, purple and white – now Spring is here, we feel it was definitely worth all the effort!
8 March 2012
Delight as the daffodils start to grow
In the Autumn (10 November 2011) the Rainbows planted daffodils and decorated the pots. Now spring is here, and with it the exciting part – the daffodil shoots and buds appearing! After talking about how plants grow in their Rainbow Session on Thursday, 8 March 2012, the Rainbows will be giving their pots of pretty spring blooms to some elderly Stony Stratford residents living in a sheltered housing complex in the town.
25 February 2012
A multitude of volunteers at the first Mortimer Park Community Orchard planting event
On Saturday, 25 February 2012 more than sixty eager volunteers arrived at Mortimer Park (off Calverton Road), where Stony Stratford Town Council plans to create a Community Orchard. Ian Reed, the Deputy Town Clerk, who had organised the event with the help of Stony Stratford in Bloom and the Riverside Parks Group, was delighted with the response. Mary Sarre, from Stony Stratford in Bloom, had staked out the areas for the saplings to go. (These had been provided free from the Woodland Trust to celebrate the Jubilee.)
Many who came hadn’t taken part in such activities before, and had heard the planting was happening from Twitter; from Aboutmyarea; from the leaflets that the Milton Keynes Council community wardens had kindly distributed; from newspapers and from posters in the town. The sun obligingly shone down, and with so many keen planters armed with forks and spades, it only took an hour for the 104 saplings to be planted in gaps in the hedge. Some elders were saved to plant as a windbreak. Varieties included blackthorn, elder, crab-apple and dogrose. There was even time to do a quick litter pick before having a nice warm cup of coffee from Theresa Wedderburn's camper van.
Danni Kushner, the new Bard of Stony Stratford, declaimed a fine poem, written especially to mark the event, and now the Town Council is putting in a bid to the Big Tree Plant for fifty local fruit trees to form part of the community orchard. It was good to see a number of the very younger generation enjoying the digging too!
22 February 2012
Thinning and pruning on the riverside
On Wednesday, 22 February 2012, when wintry rain and wind decided to send Spring packing for a day, a number of Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers, working with Milton Keynes Neighbourhood Management Team, began work on the riverside between the Ousebank Way bridge and the old pumping station, clearing self-seeded elder, rotten willow and ivy.
Three valiant Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers began at 10.00 am, sawing and clearing from the old pumping station end, edging towards Stony Stratford, and didn’t finish until nearly 2.00 pm. The rest started at the other side at 12.00 noon, their aim being to free the old quince tree and pear tree which were in danger of being suffocated by ivy and sprawling old willows. 
By 1.30 pm there was a gigantic pile of branches along the riverside, as Milton Keynes Council had obligingly offered to shred the debris after the Stony Stratford in Bloom group had done the pruning and sawing. The miserable nature of the weather is reflected in the rather miserable photographs, but the volunteers had a great sense of satisfaction when the job was done.
18 February 2012
Many hands make relatively light work of lifting & planting saplings
Though it was a chilly, windy day on Saturday, 18 February 2012, and the spare hedge saplings that Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers were transplanting from the Boundary Crescent Allotments to the Wolverton Road Recreation Ground were firmly embedded in the allotment soil, there was an excellent turnout, and so the saplings were uprooted and replanted astonishingly quickly. We were delighted to have Gary Marshall’s little daughter, Eva, supervising the proceedings and bringing a cheerful burst of colour to the rather grey day.
The saplings will fill in the gaps in the Wolverton Road Recreation Ground hedge along the boundary with Queen Eleanor Road, and the neatening of the untidy boundary is a key part of Stony Stratford in Bloom’s plan to lift the recreation ground towards Green Flag Status.
Later in the year we hope to clear debris to create an open pond or seasonal wet area here for wildlife and native plants.
16 Febuary 2012
Mortimer Park Community Orchard and the Big Tree Plant
As mentioned in previous news items, Stony Stratford in Bloom and the Riverside Parks Group are working with Stony Stratford Town Council on two exciting new initiatives – the proposed Mortimer Park Community Orchard (in memory of the well-respected councillor and environmentalists, Pat Mortimer), and the bid to the Government’s Big Tree Plant to get a large part of the funding for the planting of a variety of trees in Stony Stratford Town, Fullers Slade and Galley Hill. On 16 February 2012 a public consultation meeting was organised by the Town Council in the Library, and Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers helped explain the idea of both to members of the public who attended the meeting. The residents who came were able to share their views on what kind of community orchard they wanted to see. About forty people came, and there was immense enthusiasm shown for both projects.
15 February 2012
Spring cleaning ready for the start of gardening sessions at St Mary & St Giles School
Over the winter, Stony Stratford in Bloom’s polytunnel at St Mary & St Giles School had become rather messy with dry leaves that had swirled in, and dried mud from boots, and the number of plastic flower pots had multiplied to the point where there was no room for all the gardening activities that happen in the polytunnel once the school sessions resume after a winter break. 18 February 2012 was the day chosen for a grand spring tidy up and sort, and afterwards, when all was spick and span, the Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers gazed at their handiwork with a proud feeling of a job well done.
Mary Sarre and Pat Thurling also took the opportunity to plan the school sessions, due to begin on 24 February 2012. The plan is to grow salads that will be ready for 4 June, the day chosen by the Town Council to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee with a Big Lunch in Mortimer Park. Stony Stratford in Bloom will have a table at the Big Lunch to promote healthy eating, and by growing salads the children will be able to contribute to the town’s celebrations. Queen Eleanor School will also be growing salads in its plastic bottle greenhouse, which now is totally complete, with the plastic bottle roof in place.
Once again, Michele Parsons, the Chef at St Mary & St Giles School, has generously agreed to sponsor the seeds, seed potatoes and compost for the school’s gardening sessions. As for Queen Eleanor School, Homebase has kindly provided compost free of charge, so that the children can learn of the delights and usefulness of gardening in school.
28 January 2012
Weeding the Galley Hill rose beds
The working party on Saturday, 28 January 2012 attacked weeds around the Galley Hill rose bushes. On a crisp, blue-skied morning, Stony Stratford in Bloom volunteers gathered to nip sticky willy and dandelions in the bud to prevent more weeding work later in the year.
24 January 2012
The Healing Garden
Sue Minter’s talk, The Healing Garden – arranged by Friends of Stony Stratford Library and Stony in Bloom – was just the thing to replace winter blues with warm optimism. Sue spoke eloquently and entertainingly to a packed audience at Stony Stratford Library on Tuesday, 24 January 2012.
Currently a writer, broadcaster and lecturer, and President of the Institute of Horticulture, Sue used her career at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Chelsea Physic Garden and the Eden Project to illustrate the many ways horticulture benefits us all. She described the early medicinal use of plants by apothecaries and their creation of physic gardens, and the plant origins of the majority of pharmaceutical drugs in use today.
As well as established drugs such as aspirin and digoxin, Sue described the discovery of newer drugs making such a difference to the treatment of cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, heart conditions and malaria. She reminded us that gardens offer a welcome retreat from the stresses of life, and that plants promote our emotional well-being by soothing and stimulating us through all our senses.
The audience responded to Sue’s talk with enthusiasm, and many questions followed.
The evening finished with cakes and refreshments provided by volunteers.
7 January 2012
Planting the ‘Pocket Garden’ at Clailey Court
Louise Reidy’s project for a ‘pocket garden’ at Clailey Court on Galley Hill took another step forward on January, 7 January 2012 when the small bed, designed by Louise, was planted by a team of Stony in Bloom volunteers and Galley Hill residents.
To see what we did in 2011 go to Stony Stratford in Bloom 2011. There are also pages for 2010 and 2009.
