Purple Wellies

I’ve often thought that it would be lovely if Horsell had its own community gardening group. We’ve already got the Pares Woodland team and many Horsell residents have their own gardens or allotments, but a community garden has the ability to link different generations, socio-economic, cultural and religious groups and give the chance to garden for those not fortunate enough to have an outside space or allotment.

The price of pretty much everything has gone up recently and gardening and horticulture are no different, but there are still money-saving and cost-effective ways of buying. Some will even help save the planet in the process.

Have you ever considered the best way to water garden plants? Are you watering the soil, or the foliage? Plants take water up from thousands of tiny hairs on their roots, so any water on the leaves will be wasted and evaporate. It could also lead to fungal problems. Just as stems grow towards the light, roots will also track moisture in the soil growing towards it. This is called hydrotropism.

Bees and butterflies have been on the decline in recent years and last year’s drought coupled with the heatwave have meant numbers dwindled further. Insects generally play a key species in our ecosystems so we should encourage them into our gardens, not just bees and butterflies. There are plenty of other pollinators too.

Often overlooked, spring bulbs are relatively cheap and easy to grow, adding some impactful colour to our gardens. Many will increase yearly rewarding you for the minimum effort of autumn planting.