UPDATE: Grow you tenner has closed, the full £100k match pot has been allocated in just over 24 hours!

Please would you consider setting up a monthly on-line donation to Martineau Gardens with Local Giving?

Through the ‘Grow Your Tenner’ campaign, your direct debit donation will be match funded for the first 6 months, meaning a £10 monthly donation by you will earn £200 (including eligible gift-aid)*. You can find out more here,  or please telephone us to discuss on 0121 440 7430.

On your marks, get set… Grow Your Tenner!

*This year’s Grow Your Tenner campaign launched at 10am on Tuesday 11th December 2018. The campaign will run until the match funding is fully allocated or 12am on Thursday the 10th January 2019 – whichever comes first. The campaign is encouraging people to become long term supporters of their local charities, like Martineau Gardens. If you set up a direct debit to Martineau Gardens (through Local Giving) for a year, Local Giving will match your monthly donations (by up to £10) for a full 6 months.

Martineau Gardens is profiled in a new scheme titled ‘Gardens of Sanctuary’ reporting on the contributions of refugees and asylum seekers participating in community growing activities.

Gardens of Sanctuary is a partnership between City of Sanctuary, Social Farms & Gardens and the Permaculture Association. They explain it as this:

“We have a vision of a network of green spaces with a culture of welcome, in which asylum seekers and refugees feel safe and appreciated as valued contributors and co-creators of community gardens and environmental projects across the UK.

For those who arrive to seek asylum in the UK, community gardens, city farms and other community growing spaces can offer vital and unique opportunities to find community, improve mental and physical health and to learn and share skills.

Around the UK there are some fantastic examples of growing spaces led by, and offering opportunities to, people who have been forced to seek sanctuary. ”

You can find out more about the project on the Gardens of Sanctuary website – there is a Resource Pack, Report and Case Studies, plus links to a range of other resources and organisations that could be useful for any community growing group who is interested in working with sanctuary seekers.

Social Farms and Gardens have included Martineau Gardens in their case studies: Read the case study about Martineau Gardens here.

Martineau Gardens will be lcosing early on Saturday 1 December for Volunteer Training. We will close at 2.45pm.

Re-open 10am on Monday morning.

Sarcococca

Roll up, roll up. Tickets are on sale for an enchanting evening of spooky takes, flickering firelight and a woodland adventure, taking place at Martineau Gardens for Halloween on Wednesady 31 October, from 6pm. Come and be entertained by the good folk in the Traditional Arts Team at ‘Stories on Halloween Night’. Buy your tickets on-line via wegottickets.com(or on the gate subject to availability).

Buy tickets and more details here!

A tranquil spot in late Autumn by the paper bark maple

Bring the family to Martineau Gardens this Autumn Half-Term for a range of activities.

Autumn Stick Man Family sessions (Fri 2 and Sun 4 November) :            click here

Autumn & Halloween Half Term Fun family sessions (Thurs 1 November):         click here

Halloween Storytelling (Wed 31 October) :             click here

Day of the Dead family sessions: (details coming soon)       click here

In addition to the special activity sessions listed above, you can also follow the Stick Man Trail, as a self-guided activity – find out more here. The Stick Man trail is available during our normal opening hours (Monday to Saturday, 10am until 4pm) until the end of December 2019.

For all the event information – click here!

Have you noticed this green fruit at Martineau Gardens yet?

Just coming into season, the young ‘wet’ walnuts are plumping up nicely. Resembling in looks, a perfect, smooth ‘green’ plum and a little larger than a lime, (the walnut is the wrinkled stone inside) we have had lots of interest from visitors asking what they are.

The smell is exquisite.

Martineau Gardens is always delighted to see Ben (left) from Simpsons’ restaurant on a ‘foraging expedition’. This week he brought his colleague Andrei (right) and they left with a crop of walnuts for pickling.

Here’s a recipe (credit: Richard Mabey, Food for Free, ed. Collins Gem 2004) which our Visitor Welcome Team volunteer Roxy has encouraged us to sample:

Walnut Pickle:

“Use green walnuts; they should be soft enough to pass a knitting needle or skewer through. Prick them lightly with a fork to allow the pickle to permeate the skin and leave them to stand in strong brine for about a week until they are quite black. Drain and wash them and let them dry for two or three days more. Pack them into jars and cover with hot pickling vinegard. Seal the jars and allow ro stand for at least a month before eating.”

For the latest information about the Stick Man Trail Welcome Event (including ticket availability and parking options), please visit the dedicated page – click here!