Yesterday, we headed to Harmony Gardens at Broadwater Farm for another GoodGym mission and the garden was definitely ready for some attention!

Mark and Imantha started off with a running session while Sarah reached Harmony Gardens on her glamorous bicycle.

we discovered a young tree that looked like it could use a little helping hand. So we scraped up some of the existing wood chip and that lovely dark, fertile soil and spread it around the tree. Basically, while the rest of the garden was getting a haircut, this little tree got treated to a luxury soil package.

Next was to deal with the plants that had sadly given up on life. There were quite a few of them, so we removed the dead plants and cleared the area. Giving enough space for the living to dance around.

Finally, the hairdressing appointment. ✂️🌳 The branches that were still alive were given a good trim, getting rid of the unwanted growth and giving everything a much neater look. No plants were asked for their opinion on the new hairstyle.

By the end of the session, we had removed the garden’s dead weight, given the surviving branches a makeover and hopefully given our young tree a better chance to grow big and strong.

Another successful GoodGym mission completed — gardening gloves on, soil everywhere, and somehow it still counts as exercise! 💪🌱

We had a lovely and productive morning at the Mulberry Tree Community Garden.

There was plenty to get stuck into around the garden. We did some weeding and tidying, worked on the vegetable beds and harvested a fantastic crop of potatoes. It was very satisfying to see two trays full by the end! 🥔

We also helped look after the other vegetables growing in the garden, including peppers and some impressive pumpkins.

After all the hard work, we had time to enjoy some food together and have a good chat. It was a really friendly session and great to see everyone working together to keep this lovely community garden thriving.

Thanks everyone for a brilliant morning! 🌱💚

Today's crew took on Margaret Hill House for a spot of garden surgery because apparently the trees and bushes hadn't received the memo about keeping out of way!

Dave and Sarah started their journey with a running session while Imantha, Niamh, Mark, and Helen gathered at Margeret Hill House.

Our main mission was to tackle some branches that had become a bit of a nuisance for the residents. We got stuck in with the cutting and trimming, giving the trees a much needed haircut and removing the branches that were causing trouble.

We also cleared away plenty of dead branches from the bushes, which had been hanging around doing absolutely nothing useful so it was time for them to go!

By the end, the garden was looking noticeably tidier, the troublesome branches were no longer troubling anyone, and the deadwood had officially been retired.

Another GoodGym job done: we came, we saw, we cut things back… and thankfully nobody asked us to do any actual gardening afterwards! 💪🌳

Ms M is suffering from 3 fractured ribs, so needed some help in turning her double mattress, and then remaking the bed - my biggest challenge was stopping her getting too involved, when she was clearly still in some pain.

Fortunately it proved an easy double mattress to flip over, and then it was just a question of fitting a new sheet, changing the duvet cover and putting the pillows in place - Ms M was very pleased with the end result, and hopefully will be able to sleep a bit more comfortably now.

Great harvests. Rain needed - maybe the next few days will help

Sarah was first to arrive at tonight's task, having run from home and braved running past legions of Spurs supporters while wearing a red t-shirt.

Our destination was just past the stadium, a small supported housing block. We were met by Maria, who introduced us to the residents and explained that there was a tree in the garden blocking one resident's view.

Armed with a shears, secateurs and gloves Sarah and resident D assessed the situation. Those were some very tall branches, and even with a ladder we might not be able to remove them safely.

Sarah settled for cutting what she could down low, to thin the tree out a little.

Asan arrived and pitched in to help with some litter picking - unfortunately there are some rather unsavoury neighbours who throw things over the fence.

Having cleared the area of litter, Sarah and Asan were able to pile the cut branches under the trees in the corner of the garden. At least everything looked a lot neater than when they arrived.

Saying goodbye to D, Sarah reminded D that soon the trees would lose their leaves and he would be able to see through the branches after all!