We’re looking forward to our next event here at Martineau Gardens, the Spring Event. To find out more about the event, please click through the event page here: https://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/events/spring-event/

Wildlife Report  Monday 27 April 2015

Our wildlife recorder Brian Perry walks around the gardens, usually every Monday, observing wildlife happenings. Here is today’s report, just in:

Spring flowers: in the woodland (and elsewhere), the Bluebells are out; shade growing hedge garlic (look for the white flower and the garlic-scented leaves), a patch of dog violets and the yellow petalled celandine. More unusual species include the marsh marigold (by the pond), resembling  a giant bright yellow buttercup. Purple toothwort can be seen growing by the twisted hazel (near to the sundial lawn) and under the hazel by the Pavilion, there is a white wood anemone (the only place we have spotted this).

Birds: some summer visitors have started to arrive including blackcap and chiff chaff (they are both warblers).

Insects: a speckled wood butterfly was spotted, surprising because it is a little cool today (it is brown with cream spots).

We’re sorry to announce but tomorrow’s winter working conservation party has been postponed, the next planned session is Saturday 14 March. If you’d like to know more about what happens at these outdoor sessions, read a report here:

Galaxy Hot Chocolate Fund – Vote for Martineau Gardens by Sunday

Every week, the Galaxy Hot Chocolate fund will donate five cash awards to local community groups and charities across the UK and Ireland. At the end of each week, the People’s Choice entry will win £300.

http://www.galaxyhotchocolate.com/galaxyfund2014/profiles/martineau-gardens

Please would you follow  this link to our page on the Galaxy Website – vote on the website (click the brown button VOTE) and if you use facebook or twitter, please do share the message there too.

Birmingham Running Events 2015

If you’d like to run for Martineau Gardens, let us know when you’ve booked your place and we can provide all the support needed to make your fundraising a success. We can send you sponsor forms; help you setup a Local Giving page so you can ask for donations online; promote your fundraising and order you a branded running top. Call 0121 440 7430 or email info@martineau-gardens.org.uk.

For some inspiration, take a look at our Trustee, Peter Arnold’s success in the Great Birmingham Half Marathon https://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/2014/10/peter-runs-again-2014/ Peter’s completed the run four  years in a row and raised thousands of pounds to support our work with vulnerable adults from across the city.

Bupa Great Birmingham 10k

• Sunday 3 May 2015
• Across Birmingham City Centre
• Enter online at www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-10k
• £25 entry

City of Birmingham Triathlon

• Sunday 19 July
• Sutton Park
• Range of distances and ticket prices from £56.50-£76.50 – see website for full details www.uktriathlon.co.uk/tristore/311-city-of-birmingham-triathlon-19th-july-2015

The Color Run, Birmingham 5k

• Saturday 15 August
• Birmingham City Centre, starting at NEC
• Registration has started via: www.thecolorrun.co.uk/birmingham (places fill up quickly!)

City of Birmingham 10k and 5k Fun Run

• Sunday 6 September 2015
• Sutton Park
• £17 entry for 10k distance, £14 for 5k.
• Enter online at www.uktriathlon.co.uk/events/city-birmingham-10k-5k-fun-run

Big Fun Run, Birmingham 5k

• Saturday 12 September
• Cannon Hill Park
• £20 entry on the day, early bird tickets available at £11.49. Enter online at http://www.bigfunrun.com/birmingham

Bupa Great Birmingham Half Marathon

• Sunday 18 October 2015
• Across Birmingham City Centre
• £35 entry
• Enter online at www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-10k

It’s artichoke season! We’ve dug up our first few and its a  good crop. There are three unrelated artichoke plants, Jerusalem, Chinese and Globe Artichoke, the one that we grow here at Martineau Gardens is the Jerusalem artichoke. Related to the sunflower family, it grows tall stems, over 4 foot in height. The part that is edible, the knobbly brown tubers, are hidden below the surface of the vegetable beds. It’s not until harvest time (usually December) that we find out how well our artichokes have done.

Call into the Gardens to buy a handful of artichokes*. If you’re wondering what to do with them, we recommend turning  them into soup or roasting them. Jamie Oliver has a tasty looking recipe here:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/saut-ed-jerusalem-artichokes-with-garlic-and-bay-leaves

*if you’re making a special journey, call ahead to check supplies!

Sieving leaf mould to create soil improver

Raking through the leaf mould

Ever wondered what the Garden Volunteers at Martineau Gardens do once the wintery weather sets in? There’s always plenty to do to keep the Gardens looking beautiful, even if the weather is becoming more challenging. Our Garden volunteers continue to come in over the winter. Pictured here are the Tuesday team in action, working hard with leaf mould. This sack of decaying leaves is nearly a couple of years old. Located close to the entrance of the woodland, leaves are added to the sack during  the  Autumn months.  The resulting leaf mould gets sieved to produce a rich, crumbly soil conditioner. Stewart and the Team bag this up throughout the year to be used around the garden as a soil improver.

Leaf mould is a really useful material to add to your homemade compost to improve it’s properties as a potting compost. If you’d like to know how to make your own leaf mould compost, the RHS have a useful article here.

Here’s a  lovely article written by Stewart Holmes and Jean Fletcher, which was published with Autumnal pictures of the Gardens, last month in GEM Magazine.

Martineau Gardens – Garden Tips GEM Magazine 2014

Martineau Gardens is hosting a series of Crafty Kids with Kika workshops this Autumn and Winter.

Following on from the fun of  Trail Tale – Night Animals in mid-November, you can now book on-line (via wegottickets.com) for:

Paper Mache Animal Heads (Sat 29 November and Saturday 6 December, 2-3pm)

Aimed at: 4 to 11 years old, (with a parent / guardian in attendance). A workshop to make an animal head decoration that you and your child will be proud of. Hang it on your bedroom wall, your living room wall- it will look fantastic on any wall. This workshop requires two sessions to complete the project and cost £10 in total (siblings £5) plus booking fee. (If you can’t make 29 November then start on the 6 Dec and finish off at Christmas Decorations workshop (Sat 13 Dec)- please call Kika on 07899 778601 so she can make provision for you.)

and

Christmas Decorations (Sat 13 December, 11am-12  or 2pm-3pm)

Aimed at 2 to 11 years old, (with a parent /guardian in attendance). Come and make stylish cards and decorations to adorn christmas trees and your homes over the festive season. This workshop is a single session, choose one of two identical sessions (at 11am or 2pm); the session costs £5 (siblings £2.50), plus booking fee.

Activities will take place in the Studio, within the setting of this beautiful community garden.  

Children must be accompanied by an adult –  this is an opportunity to spend time with your child and to enjoy being creative together. Ten children per session, so booking in advance is essential via wegottickets.com (see below). Martineau Gardens is a two and a half acre family-friendly landscape to explore and is open to the public, 10am until 4pm, free entry, (Monday to Saturday except Bank Holidays), so bring some warm waterproofs if you want to explore the Gardens before or after . There’s no cafe but we will make you hot and cold drinks (donations welcome) and you can bring a picnic. To plan your visit to Martineau Gardens, click here.

Find out more:

www.craftykidswithkika.com  or email: craftykids_kika@yahoo.com

Call Crafty Kids with Kika on 07899 778601

Tickets:

Booking only available on-line via wegottickets.com – search Martineau Gardens.

ON-LINE BOOKINGS for Christmas Decorations workshop (Sat 13 December) close at 4pm on Friday 12 December (or sooner subject to availability). Please contact Crafty Kika direct if you wish to book a ticket after 4pm, see contact details above.

To book for Paper Mache Animal Heads (Sat 6 December), please contact Kika direct on 07899 778601.

Gallery:

Trail Tales leads children through the woods, encountering curious homes

Keep your eyes open wide!

Two days to go until the Autumn Event – our family friendly green fete. Taking place on Sunday 28 September, from 11am until 3pm, this is a chance to enjoy the Gardens in all their Autumn glory. We’ve got lots planned – please click here to find out more.

A4 Poster Autumn Event 2014 12.8.2014

Crafty Kika is back with this fantastic workshop – book direct with Kika