Gardening help required in Walsall WS5 (Orchard Hills)

Posted on May 9th, 2009 in GardenLend, Gardening, garden sharing by GardenLend

As not all of our members have regular access to the Internet and email, we also accept posts for requests by other means, furthering our aim to connect gardeners, gardens and garden owners.  One such request that has recently arrived is as follows:

Gardening help wanted – Orchard Hills, Walsall WS5

One of our members is looking for someone to them help out with gardening in the Orchard Hills area of Walsall.

The member has several raised beds and a greenhouse and would appreciate the extra help, sharing the produce of the joint gardening enterprise.

Please contact GardenLend directly by emailing info@GardenLend.co.uk and we will pass on your details.

http://find.gardenlend.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=16&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=d#p20

Birmingham gardeners left waiting up to five years for allotments

Posted on April 12th, 2009 in GardenLend by GardenLend

A STAMPEDE for healthy living on a shoestring has left green-fingered gardeners in parts of Birmingham waiting for up to five years for an allotment plot.

Healthy-eating campaigns and the credit crunch are thought to be behind the flurry of applications by people wanting to grow their own fruit and veg.

Now Birmingham City Council figures show that it has 140 on waiting lists for its 560 plots and the Birmingham and District Allotments Council (BDAC) said there were similarly long waits for non-council run sites in the area.

In areas of the city where working the land is most popular, including Sutton Coldfield, gardeners could be waiting half a decade for a coveted plot.

Clive Birch, chairman of the BDAC, said: “It’s certainly true that it quite a few places in Birmingham you can’t get an allotment for love nor money.

“In places like Sutton Coldfield, people might be waiting even longer than five years.

“But I wouldn’t want to put people off by saying that there are none available because on the east side of Birmingham, there are quite a few.

“Having that said, at the rate they are going, people need to be quick because we have seen a phenomenal take-up rate in the last few months and significantly there have been a lot of women taking on plots.”

Mr Birch said the number of women taking on allotments was due to changing attitudes about the activity and because allotments have been made safer and fostered a more family-friendly “community spirit” than in the past.

The figures were released by Birmingham City Council following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

A council spokesman said: “Although we don’t control all of the waiting lists, we believe there are about 900 people waiting at the moment.

“But there are vacancies in parts of Birmingham with an occupancy rate of 86.5 per cent.

“Waiting list times are longer in Sutton Coldfield that other parts of Birmingham for example.”

There is always the option to join GardenLend to find gardens that have been neglected or whose owners can no longer tend them.  As well as putting disused land to more productive ends, there are all the social benefits to be considered, as previously highlighted.

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2009/03/16/birmingham-gardeners-left-waiting-up-to-five-years-for-allotments-97319-23150116/

Free food and free yourself

Posted on April 19th, 2008 in Allotments, Discussion, GardenLend, Gardening, Organic gardening, Promotions by GardenLend

World food prices soar while you have an unproductive garden – does this make sense?  With allotments as rare as hen’s teeth these days, why not turn your garden into one?  Can’t be bothered or have no time? Join GardenLend and meet up with gardeners with no place to garden IN YOUR AREA and then you can both benefit from what your garden can produce.  With the economy in a downward spiral and food prices rising, doesn’t it make sense to maximize the value of your home by turning your plot into an old-fashioned kitchen garden?  You can grow fruit, vegetables and herbs – saving money and getting better quality than you can from supermarkets.  Your carbon footprint will be down and your feelgood factor up.  You can grow the basics that you use every day, or expensive produce like asparagus that will soon be even more of a treat than you’d like.  Join GardenLend and get growing.  Find a garden or a gardener on our site.  Help save the planet and your money too!

Welcome back to GardenLend

Posted on April 11th, 2008 in GardenLend by GardenLend

Got a garden? Fed up with it? Can’t cope any longer? Just not interested? Have the weeds taken over?

Want a garden? Frustrated green fingers? Not even a balcony? No window sill? Dreaming of flowers and vegetables?

Look no further. Well, only a little further.

GardenLend is a website that links up neglected gardens and their owners with keen gardeners who have nowhere to garden.  The site has undergone a revamp and we aim to have as much as possible of the services and features available online.

Registering at our members’ area all that it takes to start to solve your problems. We provide the contacts and you take it from there.

You can also find garden supplies on our pages and links to sites of interest to gardeners, as well as our shop.

Ian (ian@gardenlend.co.uk)

http://www.gardenlend.co.uk/