We marked, sawed and bundled recycled pallet lumber for building planters. There were more volunteers than work, so we finished early. It was difficult to find the place - it was through an overgrown iron door in an alley behind the Lewisham Arthouse.

Our two volunteers from Goodgym Lewisham, Phil and Sander, passed their first challenge - to carry their bikes across the full flow of Mile 8-marathoners 💪

Once at the garden we figured it out as we went along. We’d recently been donated wooden planters and bags of topsoil from construction company Wates. Sander wheelbarrowed 40+ bags of topsoil down to the raised beds. Then Phil filled beds so that we could plant out the saplings and some bright flowers to provide cheer to the passers by.

Regular volunteers planted out seedlings and labelled the produce. Once it’s bearing fruit, we’ll welcome back Goodgym and Wates to share the harvest. Opening every first and third Sunday of the month, there will always be weeding, watering and planting to do.

It was genuinely so helpful to have two pairs of extra hands this weekend as we lifted heavy things that would take hours solo! Thank you 🙏

We dug up some invasive plants from the flower beds, took these to the compost pile, then trimmed a hedge that overhung a fence and was bending it down. The fence straightened up again. The weeding involved bending and straightening oneself as usual, but the body was not the only thing doing that. The digging tended to bend the tines of the pitchfork, but these could be bent back by putting the pitchfork on the asphalt and stepping on it. It was a nice day for gardening. My first time in Luxmore Gardens, which are quite beautiful and peaceful.