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Please could you help us get some plants to put in our hanging baskets and containers as we would like to take part in the Trowbridge in bloom competition?

Trevor Heeks our Trowbridge Town Cryer and recently retired worker of Palmer Gardens has started off the donations by providing the residents with six hanging baskets and liners, now they need some plants to put in them.

The residents of Ravenscroft Care home are appealing to the public to help them plant their baskets and containers ready for judging by the Trowbridge in Bloom judges when they will visit all the entries to choose the 2009 winners.  The residents are holding a Planting Day Garden Party, where there will be refreshments and entertainment in order to entice the public to come along with some plants, containers, compost and tools to help the residents get ready for the big flower show, which will start in June.

There are various categories to enter such as, best hanging basket, best container, and best residential home garden, and the residents of Ravenscroft are really excited at being able to take part in this local annual event.

A group of volunteers have recently got together to set up a fund-raising committee. Called the “Friends of Ravenscroft” They are Chaired by Tony Buckingham best known for his work for the League of Friends of Trowbridge Hospital and their aim is to help to raise funds for the residents of the Ravenscroft Care Home which will enable them to be able to take part in such activities and projects such as this gardening one and to have trips out and enjoy entertainment and shows and provide things over and above what the care providers Southern Cross already provide.  The Friends of Ravenscroft will be totally independent of Southern Cross and will run completely as a voluntary organisation. 

As the group has only recently formed they have not yet got enough money to provide all the things that are needed for this project, although one of the friends’ members, Dawn Taylor from Melksham, has made a good start. 

Our Starrye Eyes Member Dawn raised sponsorship by having her hair dyed all different colours and succeeded in raising approx. £150 in order to open the new Friends of Ravenscroft account.

All the friends, volunteers and residents’ families who get involved with helping at Ravenscroft realise just how important these activities are to the residents and want to make sure that they continue to enjoy life to the fullest as much as possible.

The friends are also getting together to make sure we have a really good fete this year at Ravenscroft and are hoping to make it a record year so that they can build up the funds for the residents at Ravenscroft and organise some really lovely trips and provide them with things which will enhance their lives whilst at the same time living in a care setting. The thought of living in a nursing home can be a pretty daunting thought for most of us, so we want our residents to feel at home and enjoy life with some dignity and respect, still being able to keep in touch with community projects such as Trowbridge In Bloom so that they don’t feel cut off from the outside world, which unfortunately can all too often happen.  Trowbridge in Bloom will also be judging a miniature garden competition open to children from all areas and ages at the Ravenscroft Summer Fete on Saturday July 18^th all they have to do is turn up on the day with their miniature gardens at 1pm so we can put them on display ready for judging.  All information and entry forms for Trowbridge in Bloom entries can be found by contacting Trowbridge Town Council Fore St. Trowbridge. 01225 765072

(Please find attached before and after photos of Dawn Taylor’s Hair.

Also photos of the residents making their appeal for plants for their hanging baskets).

I, Sally Boyle, Activities Coordinator for Ravenscroft Care Home, have just joined the a new local group called “Free To Grow” whose web site at www.FreeToGrow.co.uk is building new local communities who share and exchange seeds, plants, shrubs, gardening tools – even sheds and greenhouses!  Free To Grow enables gardeners from across the county to offer advice, discuss gardening hints and tips and post details of what they are currently doing in their own gardens.

Free To Grow also operates Yahoo! Groups (currently Trowbridge and Bath) which are Freecycle-type groups where members can post their offers and wanted messages which are sent out to the entire membership.  Trowbridge couple, Alan and Lisa Batchelor of Beech Grove, Trowbridge, the administrators of the sites have already jumped into action to try to help the residents with their project.

Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) is a set of global messaging groups that enable people who have surplus to requirement goods to pass them on to others and keep them out of land-fills.  Furniture, baby buggies, sheds, cupboards - you name it – you’ll probably find it on Freecycle.

So if you are in need of something and you post a wanted message on Freecycle, chances are you will find someone who has just the thing lying around their house or garage which is no longer needed.  Following the tremendous response that Alan and Lisa received in completely re-homing them and their three children just over two years ago, Selwood, the local housing society, now readily promote Freecycle to their new tenants.

I think it’s a really marvellous idea and helps so many people as well as the earth by recycling reusable items.  We are all too familiar with just discarding things these days and as my mum use to say in her day it was, waste not want not, and I think that just about sums up Freecycle. 

I stumbled across the FreeToGrow.co.uk site after looking on the Freecycle site and discovering someone with some spare plants.  So I contacted them explaining about our garden project at Ravenscroft and she suggested I joint FreeToGrow.co.uk.  So I did and within minutes I received a message from Alan and Lisa offering to help us.

Alan and Lisa set up FreeToGrow.co.uk on the same principle so plants that are surplus to requirements can go and grow in someone else’s garden who needs them and help enhance their home.  This is certainly the way we all need to go; to start growing our own fruit and veg and being more self sufficient in these times of economical hardship.

Alan and Lisa have offered to come and help on our planting day too, which is on Sunday May 17^th at 2pm.  Starry Eyes has offered to come along and provide some music and entertainment for the afternoon too.  I think this is a wonderful example of community spirit, with local community groups coming together and helping each other.  Every one of all ages is more than welcome, the more the merrier.  We would like to mark the occasion with a garden party and make it lots of fun for everybody, young and old.

Please could you help us get some plants to put in our hanging baskets and containers as we would like to take part in the Trowbridge in bloom competition?

Trevor Heeks our Trowbridge Town Cryer and recently retired worker of Palmer Gardens has started off the donations by providing the residents with six hanging baskets and liners, now they need some plants to put in them.

The residents of Ravenscroft Care home are appealing to the public to help them plant their baskets and containers ready for judging by the Trowbridge in Bloom judges when they will visit all the entries to choose the 2009 winners.  The residents are holding a Planting Day Garden Party, where there will be refreshments and entertainment in order to entice the public to come along with some plants, containers, compost and tools to help the residents get ready for the big flower show, which will start in June.

There are various categories to enter such as, best hanging basket, best container, and best residential home garden, and the residents of Ravenscroft are really excited at being able to take part in this local annual event.

A group of volunteers have recently got together to set up a fund-raising committee. Called the “Friends of Ravenscroft” They are Chaired by Tony Buckingham best known for his work for the League of Friends of Trowbridge Hospital and their aim is to help to raise funds for the residents of the Ravenscroft Care Home which will enable them to be able to take part in such activities and projects such as this gardening one and to have trips out and enjoy entertainment and shows and provide things over and above what the care providers Southern Cross already provide.  The Friends of Ravenscroft will be totally independent of Southern Cross and will run completely as a voluntary organisation. 

As the group has only recently formed they have not yet got enough money to provide all the things that are needed for this project, although one of the friends’ members, Dawn Taylor from Melksham, has made a good start. 

Dawn raised sponsorship to have her hair dyed all different colours and succeeded in raising approx. £150 in order to open the new Friends of Ravenscroft account.

All the friends, volunteers and residents’ families who get involved with helping at Ravenscroft realise just how important these activities are to the residents and want to make sure that they continue to enjoy life to the fullest as much as possible.

The friends are also getting together to make sure we have a really good fete this year at Ravenscroft and are hoping to make it a record year so that they can build up the funds for the residents at Ravenscroft and organise some really lovely trips and provide them with things which will enhance their lives whilst at the same time living in a care setting. The thought of living in a nursing home can be a pretty daunting thought for most of us, so we want our residents to feel at home and enjoy life with some dignity and respect, still being able to keep in touch with community projects such as Trowbridge In Bloom so that they don’t feel cut off from the outside world, which unfortunately can all too often happen.  Trowbridge in Bloom will also be judging a miniature garden competition open to children from all areas and ages at the Ravenscroft Summer Fete on Saturday July 18^th all they have to do is turn up on the day with their miniature gardens at 1pm so we can put them on display ready for judging.  All information and entry forms for Trowbridge in Bloom entries can be found by contacting Trowbridge Town Council Fore St. Trowbridge. 01225 765072

(Please find attached before and after photos of Dawn Taylor’s Hair.

Also photos of the residents making their appeal for plants for their hanging baskets).

I, Sally Boyle, Activities Coordinator for Ravenscroft Care Home, have just joined the a new local group called “Free To Grow” whose web site at www.FreeToGrow.co.uk is building new local communities who share and exchange seeds, plants, shrubs, gardening tools – even sheds and greenhouses!  Free To Grow enables gardeners from across the county to offer advice, discuss gardening hints and tips and post details of what they are currently doing in their own gardens.

Free To Grow also operates Yahoo! Groups (currently Trowbridge and Bath) which are Freecycle-type groups where members can post their offers and wanted messages which are sent out to the entire membership.  Trowbridge couple, Alan and Lisa Batchelor of Beech Grove, Trowbridge, the administrators of the sites have already jumped into action to try to help the residents with their project.

Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) is a set of global messaging groups that enable people who have surplus to requirement goods to pass them on to others and keep them out of land-fills.  Furniture, baby buggies, sheds, cupboards - you name it – you’ll probably find it on Freecycle.

So if you are in need of something and you post a wanted message on Freecycle, chances are you will find someone who has just the thing lying around their house or garage which is no longer needed.  Following the tremendous response that Alan and Lisa received in completely re-homing them and their three children just over two years ago, Selwood, the local housing society, now readily promote Freecycle to their new tenants.

I think it’s a really marvellous idea and helps so many people as well as the earth by recycling reusable items.  We are all too familiar with just discarding things these days and as my mum use to say in her day it was, waste not want not, and I think that just about sums up Freecycle. 

I stumbled across the FreeToGrow.co.uk site after looking on the Freecycle site and discovering someone with some spare plants.  So I contacted them explaining about our garden project at Ravenscroft and she suggested I joint FreeToGrow.co.uk.  So I did and within minutes I received a message from Alan and Lisa offering to help us.

Alan and Lisa set up FreeToGrow.co.uk on the same principle so plants that are surplus to requirements can go and grow in someone else’s garden who needs them and help enhance their home.  This is certainly the way we all need to go; to start growing our own fruit and veg and being more self sufficient in these times of economical hardship.

Alan and Lisa have offered to come and help on our planting day too, which is on Sunday May 17^th at 2pm.  Starry Eyes has offered to come along and provide some music and entertainment for the afternoon too.  I think this is a wonderful example of community spirit, with local community groups coming together and helping each other.  Every one of all ages is more than welcome, the more the merrier.  We would like to mark the occasion with a garden party and make it lots of fun for everybody, young and old.

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