This weekend the Community Healing Garden in Vauxhall held a big free summer party for local residents to enjoy the garden. We’ve been holding monthly community mission sessions in the garden and it’s been so lovely to see how much progress the volunteer team have made to this beautiful green space.

The party was a great success, with loads of homemade food, craft activities, a bug hunt, face painting, and live music performances on the main stage (we couldn’t choose between ‘V-Fest’, ‘Vaux-Stock’ or ‘Gardenbury’!)

But we weren’t just there to enjoy the cakes! We helped out by setting up the chairs, table and stage, putting signs up, and running the badge-making stand. After a few false starts we became expert badge makers and took a few home ourselves!

The Community Healing Garden are holding their big summer party next weekend, so needed all hands on deck for party-prep. Luckily, Goodgym-ers descended from all across London to boster numbers - Julian, Marta and Khai from Greenwich; Tracey from Wandsworth; and Manuel all the way from Elephant and Castle!

Head Gardener Hugh started with a tour of the garden and it was great to see the planters thriving despite the endless dry spell - the residents have done a great job with the watering efforts!

The main task of the day was to shift piles of poles, planks and pallets from the central party zone, to the far corners of the garden. Many hands make light work, and by setting up a production line we efficiently lifted and shifted everything in sight. Our efforts were rewarded with a well earned cup of tea and a cookie - but the real celebration will be next week's party - Sunday 6th Sept 12-4pm, all welcome!

The sun was shining and there was a bumper turnout at the Community Healing Garden this weekend. Four green-fingered Goodgym gurus (Nehal, George, Michael and Katie) joined three local legends (Hannah, Sharon and Thallis), and the boss man Hugh.

Between us we tackled lots of weeding and watering; planted out squash, pumpkins, courgettes and sunflowers from the greenhouse; and filled new planters with soil from the compost heap.

We were rewarded for our efforts with tea, doughnuts, and a lively chat about the best Lidls in South London (don't tell anyone but it's the big one on the Old Kent Road!)

On a sunny Saturday morning I jogged from parkrun to the Community Healing Garden. My job for this session was to plant dozens of seeds into pots and trays for the greenhouse - cucumbers, beans, and squash. We all enjoyed a cup of tea together at the end.

On a beautifully sunny Saturday, Goodgym-ers from Lambeth and Wandsworth joined forces to help the team at the Community Healing Gardens in Vauxhall. It was especially good to welcome Amy to her first ever Goodgym session!

The Community Healing Gardens is a gorgeous green haven in the middle of an otherwise built-up area, which provides residents with essential outdoor space, and a habitat for birds and other wildlife. The volunteer team have recently planted mixed native hedge whips around the perimeter of the garden and our mission today was to give these freshly planted areas a bit of TLC to encourage growth.

We were given a warm welcome from Head Gardener Hugh, and then joined local residents Hannah, Nehal and Stella, as well as Gareth from Friends of the Earth Lambeth, to tackle the tasks…

🌿 Ben and Michael filled a huge planter with soil

🌱 Tracey and Katie weeded the beds where the new hedges had recently been planted

🍃 Amy filled in potholes in the lawn and collected litter

Once those jobs were completed, we all took it in turns to fill wheelbarrows with mulch to put down in the freshly weeded beds to discourage weeds.

As if by magic, two flasks of tea and a Victoria sponge cake appeared just at the perfect moment for a well-earned break!

We all agreed that many hands make light work, and that we like the Healing Gardens very mulch - hopefully we’ll be back soon!