A rare non-native plant found last year, at Martineau Gardens, that has kept the experts guessing, has finally been confirmed as the tooth-pick plant (Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam). A garden volunteer was weeding an area around the sundial lawn and spotted a plant that she didn’t recognise. Our wildlife advisor, Brian Perry (pictured here) , called in Mike Poulton (Botanist for the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust) who took a sample which was sent to the Botanical Society for the British Isles (BSBI) referee for alien plants Dr J. L. Mason who confirmed our find. Mike says: “The Martineau Gardens tooth- pick plant find is a first for Birmingham.” The plant is an annual, so we will have to see if it returns.

Calling all intrepid Egg Hunters! Follow a Trail around the Gardens, answering a nature quiz along the way and at the end, you’ll receive a chocolatey prize for your efforts.

Plants, preserves, Martineau Gardens’ t-shirts, produce and compost will all be available for purchase, plus hot and cold drinks. Enjoy the Gardens in all their spring glory.

Cost: £1 per child, Adults free.

Information: 0121 440 7430 www.martineau-gardens.org.uk  info@martineau-gardens.org.uk

Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG

 Grow something new this year! Join us for an afternoon in the company of Garden Organic, the organic growing charity, to find out more about non-traditional crops like shark fin melon, chickpeas, haloon, mustard and many more.  Experts from Garden Organic will be running a growing workshop and a talk on seed saving  - telling you everything  need to know to try out these crops. There’s even a seed giveaway laid on, so you can get free seeds and information to take home.

It will be a chance to refresh your plans for the gardening year ahead, all in the  surroundings of a beautiful organic community garden. Tea and cake available, picnics welcome.

Dudi Fruit

Jamaican Pumpkin

sharkfin melon

Kodu Seeds

Photo credit: Garden Organic – for more photographs and information about these non-traditional crops, visit Flickr and for mouthwatering recipe ideas, Garden Organic has lots of ideas.

Seed Event : 1pm – 4pm       Free entry.  Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG

0121 440 7430 www.martineau-gardens.org.uk

This event is part of the Sowing New Seeds project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund Local Food Scheme  and ensures that the skills for growing non-traditional crops is preserved for the future.To find out more about the people that have been involved visit www.sowingnewseeds.org.uk.

Milk Cap

We have been appreciating the fungi in the woods today. I am told by BP our wildlife recorder, that the mild weather has extended the season for mushrooms and toadstools. Today I have just been shown wood blewit, milk cap, bell cap and a wonderful shaggy parasol nestling in piles of leaves in the wildlife area of the Gardens.

Why not come down to the Gardens this week and see if you can find any fungi? You’re welcome to borrow a field guide to help you with a fungus walk whilst you’re here. Have a look at these pages on the Woodland Trust’s website for further details.

 Wrap up warm, pull on your outdoor boots and enjoy a walk around a winter wonderland at Martineau Gardens this month.

We will see lots of animals coming into the Gardens, as they look for shelter and forage for food to sustain them through the winter months. We provide food for birds and have several bird feeding areas. Bring your binoculars (or borrow a pair from us) and enjoy a session in the bird hide, spotting our feathery friends. We have field guides to help you identify the different species who visit, which you can borrow from our wildlife library to use whilst you’re here.

Of course lots of animals are nocturnal or shy of human visitors, you can always keep any eye out for tracks in the mud or snow which may have been left by birds, foxes, badgers and other small mammals looking for food. Younger visitors can follow the Explorers’ Trail – a new quiz which encourages every budding nature detective to look out for wildlife clues.

As a community garden, we couldn’t survive without the help of our garden volunteers. As the temperature drops, the team will continue to care for the Gardens under the guidance of Stewart Holmes, the Therapeutic Horticulturalist. There will be plenty of chopping of logs for wood and turning of the compost heap. There will be conservation work in the wildlife area: brambles and ivy will be cleared and hedges pruned. All this thinning of vegetation lets in more light, encouraging woodland flowers next year, which attract insects which in turn attracts birds, bats and small mammals and help to maintain this area as a SLINC (a Site of Local Importance for Nature).

Entry to the Gardens is free, and whilst there’s no cafe, you can warm up with a hot drink that we will make for you. Donations are always welcomed.

Great  exercise that helps our wildlife!

Come and join us for a few hours of woodland conservation work in the wildlife area of Martineau Gardens. We will be thinning out overgrown areas to let more light in to increase the plant and animal diversity in this area. The work will include coppicing trees and bushes, digging out roots, pruning hedges and clearing  brambles and ivy.

Leader: Felipe Molina    Wildlife Recorder: Brian Perry

WHEN: Sat 26 November 10.30am—3.30pm and Sat 17 December 10.30am—3.30pm  

Dates for Jan, Feb and March to be announced

If you can only do morning or afternoon—that’s fine. If you want to join us for this day of voluntary work, please book your place, in advance, by telephoning Martineau Gardens on 0121 440 7430 to book your place. In the event of severe weather, work parties will be cancelled, so we do need your telephone number to let you know any change of plan.

Flickering firelight in the woods is the setting for a Halloween event coming to Martineau Gardens. We’ve teamed up with the Traditional Arts Team for an exciting night of ‘Stories for Halloween’ which takes place on Monday 31 October, with walks starting every ten minutes from 6.30pm –8.15pm.

Storytellers invite you to the Gardens to take a walk through the woodland as darkness falls. To the backdrop of flickering firelight, there will be tales of ghosts, spirits and fairy-folk  told to raise fear – but not terror! There will be hot soup available for purchase with a special ‘boots, bikes and bus bonus’ on offer  – a free soup for all who leave the car at home to travel to the event.

Come and experience the Gardens at dusk. As night falls, daylight gives way to a different atmosphere, and though some of the stories may be a little spooky, a warm welcome awaits you at our Storytelling Event.

Admission to the Event:

£5 each (£3 concession) or £12 family ticket (maximum two adults)

Tickets are available in advance or on the Gate (subject to availability). Gates will close when the event is full, so to avoid disappointment, buy your tickets in advance, in person from Martineau Gardens (cash or cheque only).

For specific enquiries, please call Martineau Gardens on 0121 440 7430.

Travelling to Stories for Halloween:

There is a small car park at Martineau Gardens, with limited parking, and so we recommend that you travel by public transport to the event. Martineau Gardens is served by buses  1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X62,  X64, 143 and 144.

Use Transport Direct to plan your journey – use the postcode search. Martineau Garden’s postcode is B5 7UG

Alternatively there are covered bike racks located near the Pavilion, within the Gardens.

We’re delighted to be hosting Apple Day on Saturday 15 October 2011. Organised by the pioneering fruit harvesting project ‘Urban Harvest’ the event will run from 11am-3pm at Martineau Gardens. Come and join in with the activities. Have a go at apple pressing -  bring your own apples to be turned into juice and taste the results.  A local apple expert, Oz, will be on hand to help identify apple varieties at the ‘Apple Identification Station’ and will run a tour of the orchard at Martineau Gardens.

There will be plenty for children of all ages to do with apple themed games including apple and spoon races, apple bobbing and the chance to enter the longest apple peel competition as well as mini-scarecrow making. Apple themed food will be provided by local social enterprise ChangeKitchen. Jams, chutneys and plants will also be on sale.

Apple Day takes place on Saturday 15 October, 11am – 3pm, at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG. Entry is £1 or free for children, Urban Harvest and Martineau Gardens members.

Travelling to Apple Day:

There is a small car park at Martineau Gardens, with limited parking, and so we recommend that you travel by public transport to the event. Martineau Gardens is served by buses  1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X62,  X64, 143 and 144.

Use Transport Direct to plan your journey – use the postcode search. Martineau Garden’s postcode is B5 7UG

Alternatively there are covered bike racks located near the Pavilion, within the Gardens.

About Urban Harvest 

Urban Harvest is a community juice and preserves social enterprise run by Eleanor Hoad and Nigel Baker using surplus fruit picked across Birmingham. Urban Harvest have been picking surplus fruit across the city this season from back gardens and have already picked over 2 tonnes of fruit that would otherwise have gone to waste. The fruit is made into juice, jams and pickles. To find out more about Urban Harvest, click here.

Apple tasting and earth oven baking, pottery and storytelling are some of the treats in store for visitors to Martineau Gardens annual Autumn Event on Sunday 25 September 2011 from 11am – 3pm. Our ‘green’ fete will celebrate the Autumn harvest and provide an  afternoon of family fun.

There will be live music from Ingrid’s Accordions, the Jan Harris Jazz Quartet and the Moseley Village Band, plus performances from storyteller, Helen  Appleton, weaving her magic with a series of tales.

Apples from the Martineau Gardens’ orchard will be pressed during the event with a traditional wooden press, to produce delicious apple juice. The Garden’s seasonal harvest will be for sale including apples, home-made jams, honey (from the Martineau Gardens bees), freshly-cut vegetables and salads. Environmental Artist Lizzy Bean will be demonstrating how to bake bread, pizzas and vegetables using the Gardens’ outdoor Earth Oven. There will be delicious home-made cakes, salads and sandwiches and other refreshments on sale.

For younger visitors, in addition to storytelling, there will be wildlife activities and pottery sessions and a safe environment to play in, including the ‘shipwreck’ play area.

Gardeners will enjoy the opportunity to stock up on Martineau Gardens autumn plants, compost and there will be expert gardeners on hand to deal with any gardening queries. Local environmental groups and crafts people will be running stalls.

Admission charge:

Martineau Gardens are open Monday to Saturday, 10am – 4pm and are free entry except on Event Days. Admission fee for the Autumn Event is non-members £3, concessions £1, families £6 and free to members. If you’d like to become a member of Martineau Gardens, you need to complete and return an application form.

Travelling to the Autumn Event:

There is limited parking on site, and so we recommend that you travel by public transport to the event. Martineau Gardens is served by buses  1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X62,  X64, 143 and 144.

Use Transport Direct to plan your journey – use the postcode search. Martineau Garden’s postcode is B5 7UG

Tune in to a short piece on ‘The National Lottery: Secret Fortune’ which starts at 8pm on BBC1, on Saturday 10^th September. OPAL (the Open Air Laboratories Project) selected Martineau Gardens to be the venue for the promotional film to support its bid for the finals of the National Lottery Good Causes in the Best Environment project category. The film is short – just over two minutes long, but it’s a chance for you to see scientists and children exploring the environment, together, in our beautiful gardens. A great example of the educational work that goes on here.

Heritage Open Day is an opportunity to discover a secret Birmingham. Over 40 venues in the area, from museums to community gardens, temples and churches to art galleries and town halls will be opening their doors from 8 – 11 September 2011. Martineau Gardens is one of the participating venues.

If you’ve never been to Martineau Gardens, we invite you to visit our beautiful community garden with 2.5 acres of organically managed landscape. Come and find out more about this green oasis, so close to the city centre, yet providing a home for wildlife. There’s woodland, an orchard, formal gardens, ponds, a hot house, an earth oven, wildflower meadow, a visitor room (located in a 1940s pavilion), a children’s ‘shipwreck’ play area  and more.

Pottery Activities and Explorers’ Guide:

For  Heritage Open Day, there will be special activities for families. Wildlife-themed pottery activities will be taking place in the pottery studio (not normally open to the public). Session times are 11am, 12 noon and 1pm. Advance booking  for pottery is essential and places are limited. Please telephone Martineau Gardens on 0121 440 7430 to book a place.

We will also be launching  a new family-friendly Martineau Gardens’ Explorers’ Guide where you’ll be able to find out more about Martineau Gardens, our wildlife area and how we care for this area for benefit of the wildlife who visit us.

For more information about Heritage Open Day, visit HeritageOpenDays

The event (which was previously part of Gardeners’ Weekend in Kings Heath Park) will take place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, 2011,  from 10am – 4pm. You’ll be able to buy locally produced honey direct from the beekeepers, make candles from beeswax, view the observation hives and talk to beekeepers to find out more about this fascinating craft. There will be plant sales and refreshments available from ChangeKitchen. Entry is free.

The Honey Show, Sat 10 and Sun 11 September, 10am  – 4pm. Free entry. For specific information: John Gale on 0121 471 1267

Organised by The Birmingham and District Beekeeping Association, supported by Martineau Gardens.

Travelling to the Birmingham Honey Show:

There is limited parking on site, and so we recommend that you travel by public transport to the event. Martineau Gardens is served by buses  1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X62,  X64, 143 and 144.

Use Transport Direct to plan your journey – use the postcode search. Martineau Garden’s postcode is B5 7UG

Don’t miss: The Autumn Event, Sunday 25 September, 11am – 3pm. (Admission fee applies.)

Schools out, the school bags are slung to the back of the cupboard, but Wizard school is in! Martineau Gardens is hosting a new event,‘Wizard School’ for all budding potions makers on Saturday 27 August 2011, from 11am – 3.30pm.

Organised by Bethan Stallwood, of SciencegoRound, would be wizards will be able to try their hand at potion making at a special Wizards Class at Martineau Gardens, Edgbaston. In the surroundings of our beautiful community garden, children will be taught how to write secret messages, make fizzing, popping and colour changing potions, and even learn which type of wizard they are.

Each ‘school’ will last approximately one hour and are geared towards specific age groups, siblings will be given the same slot if requested during booking (subject to availability).

11am – 12noon (5 – 6 years)

12.45noon  – 1.45pm (7 – 9 years)

2.30pm – 3.30pm (10 – 12 years).

Conditions:

Whilst adult supervision is not required during the one hour sessions, we request parents/carers to remain within Martineau Gardens for the duration of the session. Children aged 3 – 5 years are welcome, but parental supervision for the duration of the activity is required.

Cost:

1 ticket £6

2 tickets £10, 3 tickets £15, 4 tickets £20 (i.e £5 for every subsequent ticket)

Tickets cost £6 each (or £10 for two).

To Book:

Booking in advance is essential, visit www.sciencegoround.co.uk or call in person to Martineau Gardens.

Wizard School takes place at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Rooad, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG. Telephone 0121 440 7430 or visit www.sciencegoround.co.uk for further details.

]]> http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/2011/07/wizard-school/feed/ 0 http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/2011/07/weve-won-a-green-flag-community-award/ http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/2011/07/weve-won-a-green-flag-community-award/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 11:09:14 +0000 sarahhd http://www.martineau-gardens.org.uk/?p=577 We’re delighted to announce that Martineau Gardens has been awarded a Green Flag Community Award for a second consecutive year.

The Green Flag Award Scheme has given Martineau Gardens  a ‘thumbs-up’ ,  in recognition that the site is a well-managed and welcoming place, central to the local community. We celebrated the good news on the official announcement day (Monday 25 July 2011) by unfurling the flag and inviting visitors to join us for a cuppa and home-made scones. Martineau Gardens is a community-run garden that’s open for free to the public. This award is a tribute to the dedication of our volunteers who work hard to keep the gardens a beautiful and tranquil spot for Birmingham people to come and relax in. If you haven’t been to the Gardens recently, come down  and enjoy them in all their summer glory. In the orchard, pears, apples, mulberries and figs are ripening; there’s shade and tranquillity on the sundial lawn and the glimpses of darting dragonflies really lifts the spirits. And, if you’ve enjoyed yourself, why not go to www.greenflagaward.org.uk and vote for us in the People’s Choice Award to win a further award.

Events

Storytelling at Martineau Gardens, Wed 13 July, 7pm
Organised by Traditional Arts Team, this will be an evening of magical tales to transport you across land and sea all in the beautiful surroundings of an organic community garden. Picnics and rugs welcome.
Cost: £3 on the gate
Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7UG.
Information: 0121 440 7430

To find out more about the Traditional Arts Team, visit the website on www.tradartsteam.co.uk

Opal Bugs Count, Sat 23 July, 11am – 12noon
A chance to learn new skills, have fun and help scientists with important research. Join us on a bug hunt in the beautiful surroundings of Martineau Gardens. We will be looking for and identifying invertebrates under the guidance of Dr Adam Bates from OPAL (the Open Air Laboratory). Suitable for all ages.
Free
Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7UG.
Information: 0121 440 7430

To find out more about OPAL, visit www.opalexplorenature.org

Environmental Courses

If you’re interested in leading a sustainable lifestyle but don’t know where to start why not try out a one-day course as a taster. Martineau Gardens are hosting a series courses that are a step in the right direction.

Rag Rug Making Course, Martineau Gardens, Sat 9 July, 10am – 5pm
Learn the traditional techniques of progging and hooking! Start a project to finish at home. Maybe you will make a rug or a wall hanging – surprise yourself with what can be used: dresses, curtains, coats, blankets, or synthetics like fleece. Tutor Jenni Stuart-Anderson is an expert in her field, is a published author and enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for making things and for treading lightly on the planet. Course takes place at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7U. Cost is £60, book in advance with course organisers LILI (Low Impact Life Initiative)  www.lowimpact.org or call LILI direct on 01296 714184.

Herbal Medicine Course, Martineau Gardens, Sat 30 & Sun 31 July 10am – 5pm
This course was so popular last year, it’s been extended to two days. What’s in your kitchen cupboard? What’s growing in your garden? Herbal medicine is the use of medicinal plants to treat disease, and to restore and maintain health. This course will teach you how to identify and use a range of home remedies including some surprising ingredients already your kitchen cupboard, commonly occurring ‘weeds’ and garden plants. Course participants will be able to take home remedies they have made. Course takes place at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7U. Cost is £130, book in advance with course organisers LILI (Low Impact Life Initiative) www.lowimpact.org or 01296 714184.

Veronica Lawrie, Ecologist, Atkins, surveying flowers

On March 18 2011, in the bright sunshine of early spring, Veronica toured the Gardens recording her findings:

“As winter passes to spring there are a few species that start flowering much earlier than most. These species include snow drop and spring crocus which are just finishing flowering at Martineau Gardens. The first yellow dial-like flowers of lesser celandine were found open, and purple toothwort could be seen emerging through the soil of a new location within the garden. Patches of lungwort and the less common red lungwort were recorded, as well as a variety of daffodil species. In the woodland the flowers of creeping comfrey and early dog violet were found. Primrose flowers were just opening. Several species of bee were seen foraging around these early flowers. Spring is underway at the gardens.”

Martineau Gardens now have 246 confirmed species of flowering plants within the Gardens. A full Botanical Species List which draws all the previous plant surveys into one place will be available on the website soon. A fantastic resource for us all. Our thanks to Veronica and Atkins for this support!

 The Beekeeping Course runs on Sat 4 June, from 10am until 5pm, cost is £60 and must be booked in advance. Call course organisers LILI (the Low Impact Living Initiative) on 01296 714184 or log onto www.lowimpact.org. The Beekeeping course is just one in a series of environmental courses organised by LILI, taking place at Martineau. To view the full list (which includes Forest Gardening, Keeping Chickens and Baking on an Earth Oven), see www.lowimpact.org

There are wildlife activities and drop-in pottery sessions organised for children.

As always food is an important focal point to the celebrations – Lizzie Bean will be lighting up the Earth Oven to cook freshly-made pizzas and other delicacies outside. You’re welcome to bring your own picnics, but there will be delicious home-made cakes, salads and sandwiches and other refreshments on sale.

Oz the Garden Doctor will be on hand to answer gardening questions. Gardeners will enjoy the opportunity to stock up on Martineau Gardens Spring herbaceous plants (which are grown on site) and compost, plus freshly-cut vegetables and salads for sale. We’re delighted that Plant Heritage (the garden plant conservation charity) are returning and will have a fascinating selection of their plants for sale.

The Spring Event takes place at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7UG. Admission is £3 (non-members), £1(concessions), families £6 (maximum two adults) and free to members. Located five minutes from the MAC and opposite the Priory Hospital. There are a few parking spaces available on site or the Gardens are served by buses 1, 45, 47, 61, 63, X62 or X64.

Mollie Martineau Launching the Nature Trail

Aiming to explain how we manage this part of the Gardens for wildlife, the Guide also illustrates what habitats can be seen and what species to look out for. The Trail leads you along a numbered track through the wooded, wildlife area (designated a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation or SLINC) before emerging by the wildflower meadows and the Bird Hide.  The guide has been written by Brian Perry and Isobel Swinscoe, and paid for by Be Birmingham. A donation of £1 per copy will help us raise funds to keep the Gardens open.

The Trail was launched today (31 March 2011), by patron for the Gardens, Mollie Martineau. Mollie equipped with secateurs sniped through an evergreen, ‘living’ ribbon made from foliage of the Gardens.

Martineau Gardens is named after the Martineau family. Mollie Martineau, who has lived nearby for over fifty years and knows the Gardens well said:

“This Trail will help explain to our visitors the conservation work that is

undertaken to keep the Gardens wildlife friendly. As a community garden, it’s here for everyone. It’s a place where children can run and play freely and get close to nature.”

New for this year – a fantastic course. Building on the popularity of last year’s course (which saw our very own Earth Oven being built in the Gardens by course participants under the instruction of tutor Lizzie Bean) we are hosting ‘Baking in an Earth Oven’.Working outdoors, course participants will be baking in the hand-built clay oven, in the beautiful setting of Martineau Gardens. You’ll be able to learn how to make a variety of breads and pizzas and try your hand at stoking the oven, creating a sourdough starter yeast to take home and find out how earth ovens around the world are used. A food-lovers paradise, you’ll be cooking and eating your freshly baked produce. Course takes place at Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7U. Cost is £60, book in advance with course organisers LILI (Low Impact Life Initiative) www.lowimpact.org or 01296 714184.

We’ve had to re-arrange the course date  – new details coming soon (call LILI on 01296 714184 for latest details).

We have been happy to welcome back building firm Carillion. They have built a coldframe for us, in which we are growing tender crops. They have also improved shelter for humans by re-roofing the area where volunteers chop logs and built a shelter for the bike-shed (no more wet saddles!). Our thanks to Nick Reay and the team.