It might have been blowing a hooley but that didn't deter our hard-working team, including Isabella who was joning her first Merton session. Maggie set us to work clearing leaves (the wind had already made a start) and planting, while Williams spent his second day in a row taking care of compost! The local residents are all super appreciative and one even donated a chocolate cake. As the evenings are getting shorter, we ended the session in head torches. This may be our last evening here for a while but it will be lovely to see the fruits of our labour come spring.

Packed sunday today at Canbury Community Garden with Marylin & 4 GoodGymers. We rebuilt the 2 tables in the toddlers area, cleared away the rotten wood, made additional seating with hay bales & cleared away fallen leaves. We cut back over grown branches, thorns & nettles to improve access to the composing area & chopped up the cuttings. We topped planters with compost, harvested the prunes & refilled the barrel with river water

Two GoodGymers turned up to set up the 118 Petersham Horticultural Show first time in Ham. We got stuck in lifting chairs, tables and putting up bunting for the 118 show on Saturday.

On one of the hottest days of the year, three determined GoodGymers – Emily, Isabella, and Jana – braved the heat to help tidy up the Staywell Garden in New Malden.

On arrival, we were welcomed by the manager Clair, who set us to work on a rather tangled mission: freeing the garden from the grip of bindweed. Armed with patience (and gardening gloves), we untwisted the clingy climber from anything and everything it had wrapped itself around. Once we’d done the delicate detangling, Clair’s friend gave us handy tips on bagging it up carefully – the plan being to treat the roots with weed killer the next day for a longer-lasting solution.

With the sun blazing above, we wisely sought refuge under the shade of the beautiful big oak tree, where we continued weeding and also gave the patio a good sweep and tidy. The whole team got stuck in and – incredibly – we completed the whole task in just two hours!

Shoutout to Emily, who joined us straight from a night shift – what a superstar! Meanwhile, Isabella kept us entertained with fascinating stories about shared living and her house-buying journey – garden chat at its finest.

To top it off, Clair kindly provided us with cold water, which felt like absolute gold on such a scorcher of a day.

All in all, a brilliant task with lovely company, leafy shade, and satisfying results. Bindweed: untangled. Patio: spotless. Spirits: high!