News

Martineau Gardens Wins Green Pennant
We are delighted to announce that Martineau Gardens has been recognised as a superb community run green space and has been awarded a Green Pennant Award (part of the Green Flag Scheme). We were judged earlier this year against eight criteria: a welcoming place; healthy safe and secure; clean and well maintained; sustainability; conservation and heritage; community involvement; marketing and management. To celebrate the news, we will be hoisting the flag up the mast of the Pirate Ship on the day of the official announcement, Wednesday 28 July at 12noon. Bring a picnic and come and enjoy a lazy afternoon in our little paradise. Come to the Gardens for a relaxing afternoon, there's plenty of shady corners to read a book or enjoy a picnic in. Catch the breeze rustling the Eucalptus trees, listen to the hum of insects buzzing around the summer wildflower meadow or escape to the country with a stroll through the woodland.

Environmental Courses at Martineau Gardens
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. Just think, by the end of the summer you could be in your garden sitting under your new willow arbour, picking home-grown mushrooms for pizza baked in your hand-made earth-oven.

Clay Rendering Course, Martineau Gardens, Sat 31 July, 10am – 5pm
Ever wanted to build your own house? This course is a hands-on, practical workshop looking at one of the processes involved - participants will be involved in rendering a demonstration structure with clay. Run by Amazonails.
Hosted by Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7U.
Cost is £60,book in advance with LILI (Low Impact Life Initiative) or 01296 714184

Lime Rendering Course, Martineau Gardens, Sun 1 Aug, 10am – 5pm
Learn how to use this magic carbonating material while rendering a demonstration structure. Lime is a traditional building material used for pointing, rendering, paving and as building blocks. On this course you will learn the theory behind using lime as render, get hands-on experience of working with it and learn the benefits of this material for sustainable construction. Run by Amazonails.
Hosted by Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7U.
Cost is £60,book in advance with LILI (Low Impact Life Initiative) or 01296 714184

The Good Life: Making our own Honey and Bread
The Environmental Courses, organised by LILI, have brought new audiences into the Gardens. Bee Keeping proved enormously popular and generated some good coverage in the local newspapers - tutor John Gale, our Bee Keeper, was interviewed by BBC Radio WM.  
Also we now have a wonderful Earth Oven (in the Bonfire Area) hand-made and sculpted by students on a course run by Lizzie Bean: this is a wood-fired oven made from clay, sand and straw which can be used for baking breads, pizzas and roasting garden vegetables outdoors. 

Potting Shed News
How about some delicious organic vegetables and salads for these warm summer evenings? The range changes according to the season, but at time of writing the favourites include runner beans and French beans, beetroots, chard, salad leaves, tomatoes and tomatilloes. There's also late summer flowering plants to transform your garden.  

If you'd like to receive e-mail alerts when new plants and produce are ready for purchase, please e-mail  

Summer Fruits and Summer Jam
We grow an enormous variety of fruit at Martineau Gardens; all organic including apples, greengages, figs, medlars, mulberries, currents and kiwis. Volunteers Jean Fletcher and Helen Woodall have been busy harvesting and preserving, the fruits of their labour are starting to appear on the shelves in the shop. Preserves include Gooseberry and Elderflower jam and Rose Petal Jelly; pop down to the Gardens to see what's in.  

The Mud Lady
Have you spotted her yet? Have you been into the woods today? Stewart has crafted a living sculpture, from earth, which has been covered with moss. Don't worry, it's not going to get up and walk away, but it is a live sculpture, the moss will grow on it and in time it will return to the earth. Stewart had some help from a local Woodcraft Folk Group with the laying of the moss.

Dates for your diary in 2010

Autumn Event - September 26th

Outdoor Stay and Play - Thursday mornings, 11am to 1pm

Courses

• July 31st Clay rendering
• August 1st Lime rendering
• November 27th Living willow structures

All courses are based at the gardens, from 10am to 5pm
Details of all these courses can be found at www.lowimpact.org

Building Plans Update
We have a decision in place about the precise location of the new building. The 3-D virtual model of the Gardens incorporating the new building was finished recently and this has enabled us to visualise possible locations for the building. It will be located where the Pavilion is, facing south-east and looking out to the shipwreck. Our next stage is to submit plans to the City Council's Design Panel Review Team and the Conservation Heritage Panel.  

Carillion Brings TLC to Gardens
Construction company Carillion selected Martineau Gardens as the charity for their Sustainability Week. Their in-kind support has involved decorating and repairing the exterior of the Pavilion to brings it a fresh lease of life and extend its use until the new building arrives. Carillion also repaired the fishpond (home to breeding frogs, Marsh Marigolds and water lilies) and they built the base for our new Earth Oven. Our thanks to Nick Reay and his team for all their hard work.  

Spring Success
The Spring Event was a huge success. We had our biggest turn-out yet, with a large number of people visiting the Gardens for the first time and we raised more income than ever before, which will be ploughed straight back into the charity's work. Thanks to all those who helped to make it such a wonderful experience for all. We couldn't have done it without you! The Autumn Event returns on Sunday 26 September (11am - 3pm) make a date on your diary and look check the website nearer the time for full details.

Watering cans, bonfires and mud pie birthday cake
A group of parents and children are meeting every Thursday morning from 11am - 1pm for unstructured outdoor play. If you would like to join us, please call Fran on 0798 414 3873. Warm clothes and waterproofs are essential. Please bring lunch to share and £1 contribution per family to Martineau Gardens. Children must be accompanied and remain the responsibility of their own carer throughout.

Volunteers Wanted!
Could you spare a half-day on a Saturday or Sunday to welcome visitors to the Gardens? You need excellent social skills and to be very reliable. There would always be two volunteers on site and between them they should be able to carry bags of logs, sell plants and produce, make visitors welcome, sell drinks and snacks and keep everything clean and tidy. Contact Caroline Hutton on 0121 440 7430.