June and July are the months for taking time to really enjoy your gardens and outdoor spaces and this June has been wonderfully suited to that. The met office declared it the hottest June on record.

The Community Garden has been looking spectacular this month, thanks to the efforts of our great volunteers. The roses, which have been full of blooms, deserve a special mention as do the poppies on the wildflower mound. The team are always looking for ways to develop the garden and are currently planning a new border, which will be prepared in the coming months for autumn planting. Please do take time to visit the garden – it’s a lovely space and there for all to enjoy. 

Whilst the weather has been wonderful, it does present some challenges, especially for new planting. We are keeping a close eye on the Community Hall borders which we planted out in April. All look to be surviving and most are thriving. This is a longer-term project – the plants will take time to establish, but at the moment they are doing well. 

In the orchards and in the meadow the grasses and flowers have been providing a welcome haven for our wildlife in Fairfield. We are so lucky to have such wonderful spaces that enhance our environment, provide peaceful escapes and, in the case of the orchards, help to generate income for our Community Gardening schemes. To explain: the apples are harvested in September are central to our Fairfield Apple Day, which this year will be on 16 September. (You can find more information in the Apple Day 2023 article.) The proceeds from Apple Day this year will then fund our community gardening, so please do come along, support us and enjoy the fun.

Entry into our Hanging Basket and Container Competition is now closed and judging will take place during the week of 10 July. If you’ve entered the competition, make sure your basket and/or containers are looking their best in the next week or so. The judges will be walking round and taking photos of the entries and the winner will be announced in this column next month.

Our Fairfield It’s Your Neighbourhood team are now focused on preparing our portfolio of community gardening projects for this year’s assessment. This will be our second year of entering Fairfield into the RHS Its Your Neighbourhood programme. In addition to getting external assessment and advice, we were recently invited to attend a seminar on community volunteering at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. I will update on this in next month’s article.

Happy gardening – and remember there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in community gardening. If you are interested in learning more please, contact email gardening@fairfieldorganisations.org.uk.

Sara Chick, It’s Your Neighbourhood coordinator