Phew, it was hot work at the Community Hospice this morning, but we got loads done!

We met in the Hospice canteen and welcomed Richard to his first GG session.

Jason, the Head Gardener, had two tasks lined up for us and we split into two groups.

Team Firethorn pulled on heavy-duty leather gauntlets and got stuck into cutting back an overgrown and fiendishly prickly Pyracantha 'Firethorn' hedge. They also sawed down an out-of-place and unloved Yucca in the long flower border, before chopping everything into manageable pieces and barrowing it all over to the compost heap.

Meanwhile, Team Moonbeam worked in a different flower bed, planting Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'. The dry, stony soil put up a determined fight as we dug their new homes. Thankfully, being small plants, we didn't need to dig too deep to make room for their roots. Once planted, they were given a good watering before the team headed over to join in the hedging fun.

Time flew by, and Jason was very happy with what we'd achieved. The hedge had apparently been sitting on his to-do list for a couple of years, so it was especially satisfying to help him finally tick it off ✔️. It's always great when we can make such a visible difference!

With the jobs complete, we collected up all the tools and ferried them back to the shed before heading our separate ways.

Well done everyone, such a good vibe and a fantastic job done!

Look out for Cecilia's video on our Instagram and Facebook feeds soon!

This was our second session of letterbox leafleting to spread the word about the Community Hospice's brilliant Open Garden Festival taking place in a couple of weeks 🌻🌾🌿.

Tonight our target area was around one of this year's first-time participating gardens, and with five pairs of trainers hitting the pavements and driveways, our pile of flyers disappeared quickly.

As always, the task was about more than just getting the job done. Along the way we swapped stories of recent parkrun tourism in the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark, debated all things feline, and enjoyed the kind of friendly conversation that makes GoodGym such a sociable way to stay active.

Mission completed, and with 1.5 kilometers-worth of steps logged, we headed to the pub for a well-earned drink before heading home.

Cheers, and have a great weekend everyone!

After a scorching hot few days in London, 12 GoodGym-ers were grateful for a minty fresh breeze at the Community Garden at St Alfege's School in Greenwich. An ice (coffee) breaker & game of shark attack and we were ready for a short run from the Naval College to this oasis of calm in Greenwich's busy town centre.

Our tasks were as expected at this time of year: basil-ically tackling some stubborn weeds while preserving the other plants/herbs 🌱 Plenty of volunteers meant the task was shared out nicely, but everyone worked dill-igently with no chiving allowed, digging, sweeping, watering & currying heaps of vegetation to the stack.

O-Kale...so the thyme parsley-ed quickly enough, and soon we had to be tarragone...for a quick post-task social which made for a lovely end to the day.

Thanks all & hope to cress paths again soon 🙂

Gardening at Hervey Road when the temperature is close to body temperature, what can possibly go wrong? For starters, the gate was locked. The first few minutes were spent trying to find someone to contact to get the code or walk along the field to find another way in. We had no luck with either, so we decided to go to Annie’s place to do some gardening instead. Then, out of nowhere, a woman from across the street appeared, who happened to know the code. We were finally in, and the code to the gate is now a secret that a select few Goodgymers are in on.

Today’s main task was to water the trees and plants that were struggling in the extreme heat. Four watering cans made their way across the car park countless times, providing much needed water to the scorched ground. But all this hard work and scorching sun made us see stars in the end. We decided to wrap up a few minutes early, to seek out some shade and a cold drink. If trees can feel gratitude, then the ones at Hervey Road are feeling it right now!