Transition Town Kingston

Some useful sources of advice and ideas on food-growing, community gardens, sustainable gardening...: 

• What do bees like to eat? 10 common herbs are among some of the best plants in providing bees with valuable nectar and pollen throughout the year. They also happen to be some of the best herbs for cooking with and easy to grow. Let FoE guide you on how to grow these bee-friendly plants that will make your food taste delicious. 

• Droughts - useful advice about water conservation, watering and drought-resistant plants:
  https://watersworthsaving.org.uk/top-tips/gardening/
  https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-jobs/water-collecting-storing-and-using
  https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/for-places/drought-resistant
  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/07/james-wong-on-gardening-clever-use-of-water-saves-time-and-effort

• Please plant for pollinators - gardeners can help wild bees and other declining pollinators by planting flowers that provide forage for a wide variety of pollinating insects. Using scientific evidence, the RHS’s extensive experience and the records of gardeners and beekeepers, the RHS has selected a range of year-round flowering Plants for Pollinators to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers.

• Four ways to be a greener gardener from the RHS - reduce, reuse, recycle and reinvest
• Why climate-change gardening means breaking all the rules
• Century-old weather records give glimpse into climate change - every day since 1904, the weather conditions at the RHS flagship garden in Wisley have been meticulously recorded, come rain or shine, war or recession. 
• The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has predicted that “planet-friendly gardening” will become more popular among gardeners in 2022.
• Four ways to be a greener gardener from the RHS - reduce, reuse, recycle and reinvest

• Plant for pollinators  - gardeners can help wild bees and other declining pollinators by planting to provide forage for a wide variety of pollinating insects. Using scientific evidence, extensive experience and the records of gardeners and beekeepers, the RHS has selected a range of year-round flowering Plants for Pollinators to tackle the decline in pollinator numbers.

• Why climate-change gardening means breaking all the rules 

• Century-old weather records give glimpse into climate change - every day since 1904, the weather conditions at the RHS flagship garden in Wisley have been meticulously recorded, come rain or shine, war or recession.
• The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has predicted that “planet-friendly gardening” will become more popular among gardeners in 2022.
• LFGN London Friends of Greenspaces Network  - celebrating Friends Forum’s efforts, sharing ideas and experiences, and supporting each other in valuing and improving London's parks and open green spaces.
• Food Not Lawns is  a network of ecologically conscious gardeners around the world, sharing seeds, food, resources and information toward building a more sustainable gardening community. 
• Learn about urban food growing and running community gardens at Capital Growth training sessions (online for now) which cover a number of themes from climate resilience to growing for nature. Recordings of some sessions are also available to members on the Capital Growth member's dashboard.
• Go wild in your garden! Together, our gardens are a vast living landscape. With an estimated 24 million gardens in the UK, the way they are cared for can make a big difference to the natural world
• AllotMe, a recently launched digital platform touted as the “Airbnb for gardens” to enable people who have green spaces they don’t use to rent them out to would-be growers looking for land. Read all about it in Positive News.
• Community Harvest,Capital Growth’s initiative providing community food gardens with tools, materials and advice to grow more food for their local community. 
• Buzz Club for the science behind wildlife gardening - a citizen science club, bringing together gardeners and volunteer scientists of all ages to answer important questions about garden wildlife
• Start seeds in an egg carton say Milk and More: “For spring seedlings, forget shelling out on plastic pots [not that we do!] and make the most of something much better, more sustainable and free – egg cartons!”
• Royal Horticultural Society advice on drought-resistant plants: as climate change presents us with the challenge of gardening with less water, choosing plants to suit our growing conditions becomes paramount. In a short RHS video Ian Bull from RHS garden Hyde Hall explains how with some conditioning of the soil and careful watering, there is a considerable range of plants that can tolerate dry conditions once they are established. Or read about drought-resistant plants on the RHS website and see also RHS section for community gardeners
• Don't worry about planting late!
• Great ways to get kids into gardening, from The Observer Magazine 
• The Parks Community website (“helping Friends Groups thrive”) includes: a 'Better Friends' checker tool; Management Plans - how are they useful?; How to campaign to save a site under threat; and a Healthy Parks Audit for local authorities and community groups. 
• Help Buglife save the planet. by gardening with  bees and bugs in mind: “The best environments for British insects are those that are closest to our native natural habitats. In many cases, that means that the best thing you can do is not very much...”
• Sustain briefing: Fringe Farming in London - the social, economic and environmental case for more commercial, agro-ecological fruit and vegetable production in London’s urban fringe. And lots more useful resources accessible from this page.
• Find out more about community forest gardens.
• Capital Growth for online training sessions - learn about urban food growing, running community gardens and themes from climate resilience to growing for nature, in some short and some longer workshops. Recordings of some of sessions are also available to members on the Capital Growth member's dashboard.
• How to plant a wellbeing garden, from The Guardian 
• Eco-gardening tips from the RSPB: Eco garden tips and Actions you can take to reduce your plastic usage in the garden
• Hubbub’s 6 tips for easy watering
• Seed Swap - an online resource for exchanging heritage and open pollinated seeds. Swapping seeds is easy - it works in the same way as going to a seed swap event. You just do it online instead 24/7.
• Garden Organic  “If all... gardens were cared for organically, it would create a much better environment – for our families, plants and wildlife.”
• Grow veg in the tiniest space
• Parks Community UK is a new space created by and for Friends' groups to share experiences, info and ideas..
• London Friends of Greenspaces Facebook page and website..
• Guidance on companion planting to help your garden thrive
• Gardening 2020: even the smallest patch can help fight climate change