Hoedown! ('a social occasion when lively dances are performed')

Every day is a school day with GoodGym, and it was definitely a night of learning and trying new things when we visited the Windmill Community Gardens for our latest session. Not only did Tom get to wear a hard hat, but we also had a lesson in hoeing and learnt various other bits of garden-related knowledge from our wonderful host, Tracey. As if this wasn’t exciting enough, some of us also got to act as tool models, another first for GoodGym Nottingham!

We met Tracey on arrival and she explained our tasks for the evening – pruning some overhead branches, clearing a couple of paths which had become overgrown and generally weeding around the garden paths.

After a quick game of ‘who is the tallest?’, it was decided that Tom should take on the pruning as it involved some quite high-up branches. With help from a 3-legged ladder specifically designed for tree pruning (who knew!) and a trusty hard hat, he got to work, first clearing branches from around a chimney before moving to another area on the far side of the garden.

Nat and Rachel L tackled the overgrown pathways. Neither of us had used a hoe before so Tracey gave a quick demonstration and a little lesson on which plants were which, what she wanted removed and what should be left. Our aim was to re-create a pathway and restore access to some raspberry plants so that they can be picked when ready.

Meanwhile, Leah and Rachel W took on the general weeding and helped transport the cuttings to the ‘fling it and forget pile’ – something else new that we learnt about last night. They even managed to find an egg amongst the weeds, which resulted in yet another discussion and lesson about the egg’s origin. It was a very educational evening!

Whilst we were working, Tracey needed to take some photographs of us using the tools. They are putting together a fantastic resource called ‘World Garden Words’ aimed at making gardening more accessible to those for whom English is not their first language and these pictures would feature to help people learn how to use the tools.

As the hour drew to a close, two questions remained:

1. Would Nat sniff out a dead hedge? The answer was yes!

2. How many GoodGym-ers does it take to put a broken slide into the back of a car? The answer to this was eventually one. After pondering how best to do this, stomping on it and Tom heading off to find something to tie it up, Rachel W scooped it up and popped it in the boot like a car-loading pro. Well done Rachel!

We waved good bye to Tracey as she headed to the tip and we all went home. We will be back at the Windmill Community Garden next Wednesday for more fun!