With our usual task leader Jo away this week, three GoodGymmers stepped up to help the Friends of John Innes Park with some critical watering. The ongoing heatwave has been hard on the gardens, and with a new hosepipe ban in force, there was no choice but to do it the old-fashioned way!

Armed with nothing but watering cans, we set about watering the key plants and trees (and discovered geraniums are amazingly hardy, even in drought). The GoodGym team also filled and refilled the park's 150L bowser numerous times, towing it to the watering can brigade as a mobile tap.

So no Jo, but we moved plenty of H2O and made sure the park can continue to grow!

The team joined the Friends of John Innes Park for their monthly Friday session, to help with gardening jobs. We started by sprucing up the GoodGym garden area to keep it looking pristine. Then got stuck into watering including test-driving the park’s brand-new water bowser. We filled and emptied the tank three times over, delivering nearly 200 litres of water to very thirsty plants and trees across the park. Great job team!

Three GoodGymers were on hand to help the John Innes Society and the Friends of John Innes Park set up for their Music in the Park event on Sunday. We tackled the tasks of erecting gazebos, arranging chairs and carrying equipment, ensuing the audience could enjoy the fabulous Merton Concert Band perform in the beautiful surroundings of John Innes Park.

Fantastic work today! There is nothing quite as satisfying as looking at a freshly edged path and a neatly chopped-back tree - except, of course, taking a moment to admire a thriving GoodGym bed. Well done team and welcome to Emi and Lai on your first GoodGym session, we hope to see you again soon!

It was a small but mighty team of four this week as we returned to John Innes Park to support the Friends group. We started at the circular bed that we seem to have now adopted. It’s always satisfying to see the progress we’ve made on this particular patch, and a quick clear-out and watering ensured it remained in top shape.

After a round of watering next we moved on to a much larger challenge: a massive bed completely overrun with alkanet. Known for its stubborn roots and hairy leaves, the weeds didn’t stand a chance against the team’s persistence. By the time we finished, the bed was transformed, with a large pile of weeds for the compost and leaving the area looking much tidier.

There’s nothing like a fresh Friday morning to get the blood pumping! The team joined the Friends of John Innes Park to kick-start the weekend with some gardening jobs.

While two members took on the technical challenge of recreating the perfect edge for a circular bed and re-fixing the wire fencing, others tackled the catmint and gave the rockery a thorough weeding. It was a brilliant morning filled with great company and crisp air, leaving the park looking much better for it!