This evening we headed to our sponsored riverside plot at the Three Pigeons. We go every month but this one was different as we were saying goodbye to a very special GoodGym Richmond member: Anita

Anita has been a member since 2017, was the first Richmond member to hit 500 good deeds and is already 150 beyond that. Beyond how much Anita has done for the community, she has been instrumental in the taking on, designing, leveling up and maintaining of our riverside plot. On task nights that means instructions with military precision but behind the scenes there has been even more work, liasing with the council, getting plant donations, planning task nights to make the most of them, and single-handedly looking after the area through drought periods and special events.

Although there is sadness at Anita's leaving as she heads off to an exciting new chapter in Swansea, the evening was a celebration of all that Anita has done - including her signature tasks: watering from the river and weeding with table knives! You can see more of what we got up to here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOX_wlTCBPT/?igsh=cDYxanUzbm43eXJ5

❤️Thank you so much Anita, from all of us and everyone who has walked past the arcade and Three Pigeons ans enjoyed the results of her hard work. ❤️

An astonishing amount of planting and a little bit of ‘watering in’ packed into this Monday lunchtime Buccleuch Gardens mission. All the new plants were sourced for free, mainly by division from established perennial plants.

Woodruff around the benches at the far end of the Arcade;

Campanula in sunny/crevassed spots in the Arcade rockery and beside some of the benches;

Stachys, divided from where it is thriving in Arcade Rockery, relocated to more than a dozen sunny spots including empty spots in the Rockery and between three benches.

More planting in Buccleuch Gardens, this time orange Day Lilies (Hemerocallis ) which may be OK in a couple of dry, shaded spots where we have repeatedly failed to get anything to grow.

Back at Buccleuch Gardens to plant out the remaining 4 potted plants and get them watered in. One shrub went in at the far end of the rockery where the substrate proved more rock than rockery. After removing soil to expose the stones, I eventually found a spot where I could dig down deed enough to give the plant a decent chance of rooting and thriving.

And as usual there were many other weeding and tidying tasks that distracted me.

Gardening odyssey at Good Gym Richmond’s sponsored plots in Buccleuch Gardens Richmond: planting out some of the recently donated plants ( 6 down, 4 to go); weeding; tidying and sorting the tool store in the Arcade.

A highlight of the session was finding that someone had already done a really excellent job of dead-heading all the stachys (lambs’ ears) in the Arcade Rockery. Hopefully I have recruited this community gardening hero, Homer, to join GoodGym.

The lowlight was a 3rd loss of the brass tap handle for the outside tap at St Mary’s church. Carefully but inadequately tied to the Arcade key.

(To the tune of 'round the mulberry bush')

Round and round the local streets,

With a stack of leaflets,

Sharing news with all we meet,

Of Richmond's best kept secrets!

Of GoodGym's way of keeping fit,

More sociable than doing HiiT,

Getting out rather than choosing to sit,

Giving back and doing our bit!

Took 10 donated plants to the Arcade in Buccleuch Gardens, Richmond, ready to be planted next week.