On a lovely sunny Saturday morning 3 GoodGymers arrive bright and early in Canbury Gardens to spread some mulch on the GoodGym flowerbed. Mulch to our surprise it had vanished leaving the remnants in its place. Undeterred the hour was well spent doing some other much needed tasks including dead heading the tulips and daffodils, weeding and watering. Emily fought with the weeds and brambles at the back of the bed whilst Saber made numerous trips to the river for wheelbarrows full of water to make sure every plant was well watered. Claire meanwhile gave the bed a good weed and tidy.

It was lovely to have one lady come over and say how much she enjoyed looking at the the flowerbed, especially all the tulips.

Hopefully we can get it just as colorful for the Summer.

We had a chat on the phone instead of a visit.

Best-laid plans often go awry... and tonight was one of these times. Our resilient leader Rachel had organised two tasks for the evening (as our little group is not so little anymore!) but alas one fell through at the last minute so all 13 of us ended up together at Claremont Gardens in Surbiton. Fortunately the task here was big enough to take us all and then some.

We all congregated by the dried up pond in Claremont Gardens and task owner Georgina explained that the pond needed to be stripped back of rubbish, sticks, logs and dead/unnecessary reeds so that it could be filled up again. The liner had unfortunately failed which meant, even after all the rain fall of 2026 so far, the pond was mostly dry.

Many hands really were needed for this task as there was a whole load to do. Sticks and logs were collected from the pond bed and turned into a bug hotel up on the bank; reeds were pulled up from the driest parts; Dead vegetation was removed; huge clumps of reed roots were extracted and swathes of grass were dug up, roots and all. We found a few of our amphibious friends along the way and made sure that they hopped off to a safe spot.

The hour flew by and we made great progress. The next step is to fill the pond and hope that our work means that the water holds this time! There's plenty more work to do in and around the pond so hopefully we'll be back to check it out again sometime soon.

The mission at Raleigh House was short but seriously satisfying. With the sun shining and spirits high, our team Jana, Charlotte, Adam, and Emily rolled up their sleeves to tackle the front entrance and give it a well-deserved refresh. Armed with some impressive pick-axe style tools (which definitely made us feel more hardcore than your average gardeners), Adam got straight to work on the stubborn weeds around the entrance sign. He powered through and cleared the whole area an absolute transformation and a job brilliantly done. Charlotte turned her attention to the rose bed, which had been completely taken over by weeds. With patience and determination, she brought it back to life, leaving the roses with space to shine again. Jana took on the long bed under the bush no small task but made great progress clearing it out. Adam jumped back in towards the end to lend a hand, and together they finished off the front section, leaving it neat and tidy. Meanwhile, Emily worked her magic on the driveway, clearing all the weeds and making the whole entrance look instantly more welcoming. As if the satisfying results weren't enough, we were rewarded with some lovely chocolate treats from the Staywell staff, very well received! And to top it all off, Jana brought along homemade chocolate brownies, which went down an absolute treat as we wrapped up. A beautiful morning, great teamwork, and a front entrance that now looks so much better what more could you want?

Spent an hour chatting with Mrs D.

This afternoon, a lovely time was spent digging up weeds under and around a lovely tree. Easy digging as the gentleman had spent many years previously on composting it, he obviously used to cherish this haven of his a lot. So it will be lovely to work on this project so that he and his wife are safe and able to enjoy their garden again. I'LL BE BACK