Celebrating 20 Years of Community Gardening at Martineau Gardens

One of the longest running Community Gardens in Birmingham, Martineau Gardens, is celebrating its 20th anniversary on Sunday 14 May, 11am – 3pm, with the Spring Event. Admission is £3 (non-members), £1(concessions), families £6 (maximum two adults) and free to members.
When the city council- run environmental centre closed in 1997, a group of local people came together to create a community garden that would stay open for free, for the public of Birmingham to visit and care for. Supporters included former staff, neighbours and members of the Martineau family.  Today Martineau Gardens is a thriving independently run charity: volunteers (many of whom have mental health issues and learning disabilities) care for the Gardens, hundreds of school children come to learn about the environment and Birmingham people (now in their thousands) visit the Gardens annually to enjoy its peace and tranquility.
The Spring Event will celebrate twenty years of Community Gardening at Martineau Gardens.  A gardening workshop, live music (including performances from Black Adder Morris, Drum Voice and Moseley Village Band) and children’s wildlife and craft activities are some of the treats in store for visitors to the family-friendly green fete.
The Honey Stall with its demonstration bee hive will show the importance of bees role in pollinating crops and gardeners will enjoy the opportunity to stock up on Martineau Gardens’ Spring herbaceous plants and compost. Garden experts will be on hand to answer gardening questions and selling plants grown at the Gardens. There will also be a gardening workshop.  Freshly-cut vegetables will be for sale.
Visitors are welcome to bring their own picnics, but there will be delicious home-made cakes, salads and sandwiches and other refreshments on sale. The Gardens, though only two miles from Birmingham city centre, are a green oasis teeming with wildlife. There’s plenty to enjoy within the two and a half-acre organically maintained garden, including woodland (with SLINC status), glass houses, formal gardens, orchard, vegetable plots, wildflower meadow, a nature trail, a bird hide, a children’s ‘shipwreck’ play area and more.

Posted on 18th April 2017