News & Events
Norwich Community Plant Nursery News - Summer 2023
MAKING MILE CROSS GREENER
On the centenary year of Norwich’s Mile Cross estate we’ve been helping the Friends of Sloughbottom Park and Norfolk Wildlife Trust to bring colour and biodiversity to the area. We were able to give the Friends more perennials to add to those provided by Norwich City Council and the Wildlife Trust. Now, as part of their Nextdoor nature project, with agreement from the Council, the Trust have enabled local residents to plant out and manage their own ‘pollinator patch’ on a grassy area at Lefroy Road. We’ve been able to add to the plants provided by the Trust and by residents which will attract pollinating insects and enhance the local environment.
TREES AND PERENNIALS FOR COMMUNITY SPACES
Trees in cities provide valuable greenery, shade and habitat but also need the right site to grow to maturity. We have a limited number of pot grown trees which are ready for planting out this year in the right publicly accessible space where they can be watered until established. We also have a few pollinator-friendly perennials for community spaces.
SITE VISITS AND VOLUNTEERING
Norwich Community Plant Nursery is based at Norwich City Council’s Valpy Avenue allotment site, situated in the north of the city between the Mile Cross estate and Sloughbottom Park, close to the Sweetbriar Marsh nature reserve. The site also has plots occupied by other community groups including Angel Yard co-housing and the Common Plot.
In early September we’ll be hosting a meeting of the Outdoor Projects Network (consisting of local gardening, growing and conservation groups) at our plot. If you want to visit or get involved please get in touch (see email address below).
PLANT DONATIONS – YES, PLEASE! We always accepts donations of spare plants and cuttings for growing on and for propagation stock. To get in touch mail us hello@plant-hub.org
Email hello@plant-hub.org.uk or message us on our Facebook page.
Steve Land
Norwich Community Plant Nursery News - Spring 2023
GREENING MILE CROSS
In addition to taking over ownership and management of Sweetbriar Marshes, Norfolk Wildlife Trust are working with local communities to increase biodiversity in surrounding areas as part of their Nextdoor Nature project. We’ve already been planting out pollinator-friendly perennials in the border of the Sandys-Winsch pavilion with the newly formed Friends of Sloughbottom Park and are looking forward to more opportunities to make Mile Cross greener.
NORWICH SEED AND PLANT SWAP 2023
The 2023 Norwich Seed and Plant Swap, the first for three years, was very well attended and a great success. We were able to give away some small plants and seeds which we had produced and it was great to meet so many interested people
GET INVOLVED – WORK/SOCIAL SESSIONS AND PLANT DONATIONS
We’re planning some work and social sessions on our Valpy Avenue allotment plot starting Saturday March 11th, and again on April 1st, both from 10am onwards. All are welcome but please let us know if you’re coming along. Also, we are accepting donations of plants of all kinds to grow on and plant out locally, or for propagation stock. Again, just get in touch to arrange delivery or collection.
Email hello@plant-hub.org.uk or message us on our Facebook page.
Steve Land
Norwich Community Plant Nursery News - Autumn 2022
COMMUNITY TREE PLANTING WITH THE GARLIC PUPPET THEATRE
It’s been great working with the Garlic Puppet Theatre who have been performing their play ‘the Nosy Little Troll’ at libraries and other venues across Norfolk and elsewhere and have given us the opportunity for our first community tree plantings. We’ve planted apple trees after the play outside Tuckswood library in Norwich and North Walsham library and we’ll be doing the same at Nelson Infant School in Norwich.
NORWICH SEED AND PLANT SWAP FEBRUARY 2023
After an absence of two years, the Norwich Seed and Plant Swap is back! It will be taking place from 1 to 4pm on Sunday 19th February at St. Mary Magdalene Church Hall, Silver Road, Norwich. We’re looking forward to having a stall there and hope to see you at the event.
NEW PLOT AT VALPY AVENUE ALLOTMENTS
Thanks to Norwich City Council we now have another allotment plot at Valpy Avenue where we will have more space to propagate and increase our plant stock. We’ll be growing trees in pots from collected seeds and continuing to work with other community groups based at the site.
GET IN TOUCH – GET INVOLVED
Email hello@plant-hub.org.uk Like and follow us on Facebook
Steve Land
November 2022
Tree seed collecting walk - Saturday 1 October at 10am
Meet-up and walk on Mousehold Heath collecting seeds from native trees for germination and eventual planting out locally. Bring a flask and snacks to share. All welcome.
Where: Mousehold Heath, Norwich (meet at Gilman Rd. car park)
When: Saturday 1 October at 10am
Norwich Community Plant Nursery News - Summer 2022
SURVIVING THE DROUGHT
This summer’s lack of rain and record-breaking high temperatures have been very stressful for our young plants which have needed very frequent watering over recent weeks. Being sited on a Norwich City council allotment plot has meant that we’ve been able to take advantage of the mains water supply, but as the project develops, we’ll be thinking about ways to make the nursery more resilient, such as more on-site water collection and storage, and using living plants as well as netting to provide shade.
TREES FROM SEEDS
While many plants, including young trees, have suffered during the recent extreme weather, this year looks like being a ‘mast’ year for many native trees – a year when nuts and seeds are especially plentiful. Over the next few months, working with other community groups and individuals, we’re aiming to grow as many trees from seeds as possible. Most tree seeds ripen by late September and require a period of cold before they germinate, so they can be collected in autumn and stored outside in a sand and compost mixture in rodent-proof containers over winter. Then in early spring those that are beginning to germinate can be potted up for growing on and eventually planted out.
To start our seed collecting, we’ll be holding a TREE SEED COLLECTING WALK on MOUSEHOLD HEATH on Saturday 1st OCTOBER, meeting up at the Gilman Road car park at 10am. Bring a flask and snacks to share and please let others know about this – all are welcome.
WE’RE ON THE (PERMACULTURE) MAP
The Community Plant Nursery is now listed as a permaculture project on the Permaculture Association website and there’s a lot of other useful information about permaculture on that website. There’s also an active local permaculture Facebook group.
CONTACT US
To get in touch with the Norwich Community Plant Nursery and find out ways you can get involved, email us at hello@plant-hub.org.uk Our website address is https://www.plant-hub.org.uk/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/
Norwich Community Plant Nursery AGM And March 2022 News
We’ll be holding our Annual General Meeting at 10.30am on Saturday 2nd April at plot 108/106A at the Valpy Avenue allotments site. Everyone is welcome – bring a flask and snacks to share. The meeting will include a report on what’s been happening over the past year and plans for the coming one. The entrance gate to that part of the site is opposite number 35 Valpy Avenue. There are usually plenty of parking spaces on the verge adjoining the allotments. Please don’t bring motor vehicles onto the site itself – bikes are fine, though. Also, be aware that it’s a City Council allotment site so please respect the rules and other plot holders.
As from this month we’re also resuming small-scale volunteer work and social sessions at plot 106A on Saturdays, again from 10.30am onwards. Please let us know in advance if you want to come along, by emailing hello@plant-hub.org.uk or messaging our Facebook page.
We’re currently based at a Norwich City Council allotment plot plus another small plot at Marlpit Community Garden in the west of the city. We’re looking for a new site – preferably in the north Norwich area – where we can operate independently, expand the project and involve more volunteers. Please tell us if you know of or hear of any potential sites which may fit the bill – thanks!
Best wishes
Steve Land
Valpy Avenue
Early in the year we took on plot 106A on the City Council Valpy Avenue allotment site, neighbouring the Angel Yard Co-housing veg and forest garden plots. As well as raising plants from seeds and cuttings, we’ve been growing crops on the beds that we’ve cleared and the squashes provided weed suppressing ground cover and a big harvest. In addition to the co-housing group we look forward to working with the Common Plot project, who are also based on the same site.
Marlpit Community Garden
We’ve also been growing on plants in pots on our small plot at the Sustainable Living Initiative’s Marlpit Community Garden site in west Norwich. The SLI are a well established group and there are regular community activities and events at the site.
Tree Nursery
Norfolk County Council are taking part in a government-funded scheme looking at the potential of community tree nurseries and we’re working with their project officer with the aim of setting up a tree nursery plot in Norwich. We’ve taken part in a training day visiting the community tree nursery at Salhouse, learning about issues including tree diseases and biosecurity.
Growing Communities Phase 2
The Growing Communities project involving City College, City Council and a number of community gardening and growing groups has now come to an end but we’re working with the other groups and the Council to see how things can be taken forward. It’s been agreed that to be successful next phase would need a polytunnel, for propagation purposes, sited at a location accessible to all participants.
Seed Saving and Getting Involved
We’ll be at the Norwich Seed and Plant Swap at Silver Road on February 20th We’ll also be re-starting regular work/social sessions at Valpy Avenue every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month after winter. In the meanwhile get in touch by emailing hello@plant-hub.org.uk or leave a message at the Community Plant Nursery for Norwich Facebook page.