SNAPSHOT: First site visit – It's a jungle out there

First site visit to the Forest Gate Community Garden and it's a jungle out there. Loads of buddleia, blue hoardings and fly-tipping, not to mention a TV and beer bottles a plenty but somehow already has an overgrown charm...

The site is so beautifully wild and overgrown that the butterflies, foxes and creepy-crawlies must already be loving it. We also spotted blackberries, an oak sapling, elderberry and various wildflowers. There's lots of work to do, but it will be worth it. The concrete you can see is the remains of the old doctor's villa that once stood there. As such the plot is pretty much where the house stood plus front and back gardens. It's pretty big, certainly large enough to accommodate everyone's needs and visions for the garden. Thanks to London Borough of Newham (LBN) for the preview – can't wait to dig in.

For more images, see our website Gallery page.

SNAPSHOT: A great day out at our Pop Up Garden

In keeping with the spirit of the Tour de France, we set up a mini 'Pop-Up' garden in Woodgrange Marketplace on 7 July 2014, which was a huge success and great fun to boot. A great tribute to everyone who helped organise the event, took park or got swept away with the excitement of the day.

Thanks to a small grant from London Borough of Newham (LBN), we gave out plants for fostering, spray-painted bicycle wheels, offered advice from our 'Plant Doctor', signed up 22 new paid-up Members, made up containers with plants donated by Homebase and talked to anyone who would listen about plans and visions for the Forest Gate Community Garden.

For more images from the day, see our website Gallery page.

SNAPSHOT: Recruiting new members at the Forest Gate Festival

Did you see us at the Forest Gate Festival this year on 21 June 2014? We had a great day, manning our stall and chatting with members of the public who came to see what we were up to? 

The sun shone (it was the summer solstice after all), everyone was in a party mood, children planted sunflower seeds, we sold loads of plants donated by members and 44 new people joined the Forest Gate Community Garden as paid up Members. Looking forward to more brilliant events raising awareness and recruiting more people to get involved.