Languages
Pages
Legal
Group newsletter
March 2019 Anglia in Bloom Gold Award winners
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Welcome to Spring Maldon is looking very floral with the colourful Crocus displays at both the Prom Park and St Peter’s Churchyard. The 10,000 Crocus bulbs purchased by the Maldon Rotary Club have appeared in a river-shape swath at the Prom. This was a joint initiative with members of both Maldon in Bloom and Maldon Rotary Club helping with the planting during November 2016 and 2017. The bulbs have purple flowers with yellow anthers, and purple signifies the colour used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised. The ‘Purple 4 Polio’ campaign is part of a national campaign in which the Royal Horticultural Society and Rotary International have planted six million Crocus Ruby Giants. There are pockets of Daffodils and Narcissus waving about in the March winds and, now as I type, the snow and hail stones. They return every year to bring a smile to Princes Road, St Peter’s Churchyard, the Prom Park and many other areas around the centre of town.
We hope you had a chance to see our display at the Town Annual General Meeting on March 19th.We have a lot to look forward to in the next few months with National Gardening Week and National Children’s Gardening Week taking place during April and May, the run-up to the Maldon in Bloom competition in June, plus many other local gardening events.
Working parties busy We held a very successful coffee/tea morning when new volunteers could meet and chat with others to find out about this year’s campaign for our Maldon in Bloom competition, our planned Anglia in Bloom judges’ route, and our other activities and projects. Our weekly working parties are continuing under the guidance of Jane who is working on the neglected areas that will be on the Anglia in Bloom route which takes place in July. If you would like to join our working parties, please contact [email protected] for details. We would like to thank the businesses who have contacted the Environment Officer to sign up for the hanging baskets scheme around their premises this year. Residents and visitors alike really enjoy the extra colour which can be seen around the High Street from May to October.
2
What a load of rubbish!
The Maldon in Bloom team have again organised a litter pick during the Great British Spring Clean Campaign month (22nd March – 23rd April). This took place on Sunday, 24th March between 10.00 and 12 noon starting from West Maldon Community Centre. We had a big turnout from the local community and from Maldon 1st All Saints Scout Group. As you can see, they found plenty of litter!
Maldon Scouts get involved Maldon 1st All Saints Scout Group will be working with members of the Maldon in Bloom team during the coming year. They have already helped out at our March litter pick and they are helping to tidy and green the area around Scout headquarters at Brick House Farm. Later in the year, the Scouts will be involved in other projects around the town and this work will be a contribution to their Essex Scouts Centenary Challenge awards.
Prevent one-use plastic pollution Cafés in Maldon have signed up to the Refill Scheme - a nationwide and worldwide scheme - which means they will happily fill your empty drinking bottle for free. So, save money, stay hydrated and prevent harmful plastic pollution. Who can argue with that? So that we can all take advantage of this generous service here’s a list of the participating cafés: The Art House Café, Bee’s Café, Black Cat Coffee Shop, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Maldon Coffee Company, Maldon Pie ‘n’ Mash, Mrs Salisbury’s, Oakhouse, Sophie’s Kitchen, Suzie’s Gift and Tea Shop, The Vintage Rose Tea Room plus The Bakehouse at Madison Heights. Look for the BLUE and WHITE LOGO! I am now extending this scheme to Maldon Restaurants and Pubs where, so far, there has been a good response. So, you Bloomers, keep a bottle in your bag for Refill rather than buy a new one! Flo Shaughnessy
Time to enter the Maldon in Bloom competition We hope to increase the interest in the Maldon in Bloom competition this year. The theme for entries is ponds and their benefits to wildlife, which is in line with the 2019 ‘Wild About Gardens’ initiative - a joint project between the RHS and the Wildlife Trusts. Hard copies of the entry form will be sent to every home in Maldon. Copies will be delivered to each primary school and the two Plume Academy sites as well as making sure that our community groups all receive a copy. Entry forms will also be available online at http://maldontowncouncil.gov.uk/maldoninbloom/maldon-in-bloom-2016/ or from Maldon Town Council offices on Market Hill. All entries must be returned no later than Wednesday, 5th June by 3.30 pm to the Town Council offices. The categories for entry are: Best Front Garden, Best Hanging Basket/Container, Best Florally Decorated Street (minimum of three houses) Best Allotment, Best Communal Garden, Best School/Youth Organisation Green Project, Best Residential Home, Best Florally Decorated Pub/B & B/ Business, Best Children’s Recycled Container (mini garden including water). There is also a children’s art competition - the theme is ‘ponds and pond life’ and maximum size of entry is A2 for the picture and A3 for the container.
3
National Gardening Week coming soon National Gardening Week is the country’s biggest celebration of gardening. It aims to raise awareness of gardening and horticulture and to encourage more people to take part in the healthy and productive outdoor activity of gardening. Now in its eighth year, the annual event has grown in popularity every year with 2018 seeing hundreds of events taking place around the country and thousands of people sharing their ‘passion for plants’. This year’s National Gardening Week, held between Monday, 29th April and Sunday, 5th May, will focus on encouraging everyone to grow-your-own. The theme is ‘Edible Britain’ with the (RHS) calling on gardeners up and down the country to share their love of home-grown produce. The aim is to demonstrate that everyone has space to grow something delicious to eat, whether it’s a single pot of herbs on the windowsill or an allotment overflowing with vegetables courgettes. The RHS Chief Horticulturist, Guy Barter says ‘the RHS has seen sales or fruit and vegetable seeds outstrip flowers at its plant centres over the last year’. In the 1930s, 75 percent of Britain’s food was imported by ship, but by 1943, it was estimated that 55 percent of households were growing fruit and vegetables. In 2019, the RHS hopes even more people will get involved this year. The Society has created a brand new website so people can find out how to take part: www.rhs.org.uk/nationalgardeningweek. Registration is now open for this year’s event, with everyone invited to upload their events and activities to the website and discover hints and tips for taking part. A few weeks later, it’s National Children’s Gardening Week, which celebrates the fun that gardens hold for children, parents, grandparents and schools. Events run from Saturday 25th May to Sunday 2nd June. As part of National Children’s Gardening Week, the Friary Walled Garden will be open on Sunday 2nd June and will offer a handout for children to help them explore the garden with things to find.
Dig for Victory photographs wanted To mark 80 years since the outbreak of the Second World War and the Dig for Victory Campaign, the RHS are asking for photographs and memories of wartime vegetable gardens for an exhibit this autumn. In 1938, the RHS began working with the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage the public to grow food. The information and advice given by the Society helped to get a nation growing at a time when food supplies were under threat. The idea of the exhibit is to share memories and photographs with the public so a celebration of the contribution of gardening to wartime history can be recorded. If there are any local residents who were involved or know of the effort made by Maldon residents, could they please send photographs and information to the RHS library by email - [email protected] I am sure that the Maldon Society would also be pleased if these could also be shared locally at the Maeldune Heritage Centre - either on the wide digital screen (having been scanned and returned) or as a recording for our oral history recordings.
4
2019 the Year of the Nasturtium and the Carrot Fleuroselect, a global non-profit organisation set up to boost seed and plant sales, selects a vegetable and flower each year as its focus. 2019 is designated as the year of the Nasturtium and the Carrot. Carrots grown in the wild were originally purple or white but, in the 17th century, Dutch growers cultivated orange carrots as a tribute to William of Orange. Traditional yellow, white and purple carrots were virtually wiped out until the resurgence in heritage varieties. As you can imagine, all the seed merchants have been adding new varieties to their existing collections to encourage more people to have a go at growing carrots. Carrots are a healthy crop, and they are so versatile they can be baked, boiled, pulped, pureed, fried, grated, steamed or mashed. They are delicious and nutritious whether raw or cooked. There is a black variety which is thought to be beneficial to heart health by helping to reduce blood pressure if eaten regularly. This variety has been tested and found to have twice the level of anthocyanins of its nearest rival. Carrots are an easy crop to cultivate and have a quick seed to harvest timeline. There are early and maincrop varieties, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Certain varieties are thought to be perfect for an allotment when all year round roots are needed, while shorter varieties such as Caracas are suitable for heavier soils or containers. Experts recommend that rosemary, sage or chives are grown nearby as their strong scents confuse the carrot fly.
Maldon & Heybridge Horticultural Society
Meetings are held in the United Reformed Church Hal, Market Hill starting at 7.30 pm. Tuesday, 16th April - Nick Dobson, ‘The World of Dahlias, Pelargoniums and Fuchsias’ Tuesday, 21st May - Claire Matthews, ‘History of Easton Lodge’ The Society’s Summer Show will be held on Saturday, 27th July at the United Reformed Church Hall, Market Hall, Maldon. The plant sale will start at 10.00 am and the show opens to the public at 10 am; admission is 50p.
Maldon Open Gardens for Christian Aid Maldon Open Gardens for Christian Aid will be held on Sunday 23rd June from 2pm to 6pm with some new first time openers this year. Programmes, which cost £5 per adult with under 16s free, will be available from the Tourist Information Centre (we think it will still be open then) from Monday 10th June or outside All Saints Church from 1.30 pm with a few available from certain gardens on the day.
The year of Green Action—don’t bottle it This year, the focus will be on collecting and disposing of single-use plastic from our streets, parks, beaches - recycling as much as possible. The ‘Keep it, Bin it’ anti-litter campaign is working in partnership with the environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. The group plans to continue to introduce deposit return schemes for single-use drink containers and ban the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and plastic stemmed cotton buds. They are working with national food outlets to ensure 2019 is the last year these items will be used.
New email addresses If you want to contact us, we have two new email addresses:
Top Related