Following a successful tour of the Ormonde Road allotments on Sunday, Wokingham Town Mayor and Mayoress – Tony and Claire Lack – returned on Monday to meet committee members of the Wokingham Horticultural Association, of which Cllr Lack is Vice-President during his term as Mayor.
The Mayoress was delighted to be presented with a fabulous vase of sweet peas, grown by allotment holder, Terry Miller.
They inspected the progress of a new ‘Garden Room’ and were able to meet WHA members Paul Jarvis and Terry Miller who have, in the space of two weeks, transformed a small piece of waste land near the WHA Trading Store.
The work should be finished within the next fortnight and provide a pleasant and safe environment for those in the community who have been unable to leave their homes during the pandemic.
Social distancing was maintained during the visit by the use of 6ft bamboo canes laid out between chairs.
Funding for the Garden Room project has been made available jointly by the Town Council and a grant from the supermarket Tesco.
The Tesco grant was awarded to fund initiatives undertaken during the Covid-19 emergency situation and initially went to help provide items for the ‘Sow a Seed’ kits.
These were put together at the Trading Store, under strict social distancing in late April.
The kits contained seeds, some of which were donated by Ormonde Road allotmenteers, plant pots, compost and instructions.
The 50 kits were included in the goody bags distributed from the hub at St Crispin’s School and their aim was to help create an interest and diversion for the recipients – some of whom may never have sown a seed before.
The WHA launched a virtual show in April to replace their cancelled horticultural Spring Show and members are now preparing their entries for a virtual Summer Show.
Judging will be by popular vote with the results announced on Sunday, June 28, followed, we hope by a certificate presentation by the Mayor the following weekend.
We hope that some of the restrictions will have been relaxed by then and that we will be able to invite more people to visit the Garden Room for the presentations.
For further information about Wokingham Horticultural Association, visit the website at www.w-h-a.org.uk
Pauline MacBrayne
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