BGU Grant F'bck 2024 Gilnow Green Island

Gilnow Road Green Island | Friday 15 March 2024 | 0 Comments

Thank-you for the BGU grant! 
It was particularly good to have a quick decision as plants have seasonal availability
We purchased plants as follows:
Snowdrops/ bluebells in the green, Hardy geranium, Michaelmas daisy, Winter flowering heather,  nerine bulbs, eryngiun planum, Primula vulgaris
Have planted the plants on the green island. Up till now we've only had seeds & donated plants, the grant enabled us more choice over what to get so we could choose plants that would fill niches in flowering & interest. Particularly wanted snowdrops as they provide hope of spring in winter but because they don't grow well from dry bulbs are more expensive & are only available for a short time. The timing of the grant was good for being able to get plants for spring that would settle in before dry weather arrives & would need lots of watering.
When we were planting lots of people stopped & said what great work we were doing & have had positive feedback off social media too, which made the volunteers feel like it was worth it as it was rainy. Getting the grant made our volunteers feel supported & valued. Volunteers had requested plants they wanted to see & things they wanted (eg winter colour) so we were able to do that with the grant & shape the green island according to volunteer input.
The green island is now becoming established as a focal point in the area & people are commenting they are enjoying seeing different things grow & see how it's changing. The heathers were flowering when they arrived so this has put some extra early spring colour in. The other plants will give the green island a boost in the summer alongside donated plants & seeds already sown & donated seeds yet to be sown
Have had comments from lots of people saying they keep an eye out for it. When we've been working on it people come up saying thank you & bringing us drinks & beeping car horns & waving thanks