Top Award For Elburton's 'Dig For Victory' Garden

On Friday 30th September 2011, representatives from Elburton Primary School attended the Plymouth in Bloom awards presentation at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth.  

Guests included residents, businesses, schools and community groups, all of whom have worked hard to create a blaze of colour with floral displays around Plymouth this year.

The Lord Mayor Peter Brookshaw presented the awards to those who impressed the local judges in categories including best garden, school garden, window box and allotment. 

Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet Member for Community Services (Street Scene, Waste and Sustainability) and Chairman of the Plymouth in Bloom Committee, said: "There has been some wonderful work across the city this year with people making a huge effort. I'd like to thank everyone who's taken part in Plymouth in Bloom and helped continue to make the city a great place to live and work."

 

The winners of the Royal Horticultural Society's South West in Bloom 'It's Your Neighbourhood' competition were presented with their awards at the beginning of the evening. This year there were 35 Plymouth winners, a big increase on previous years. Elburton were presented with one of these RHS awards, along with other community projects including the Maker View Project, West Hoe Flats, Plymouth Barbican Association (The Elizabethan Garden), Jigsaw Garden and Friends of Efford Valley. 

Earlier this month Plymouth picked up gold in the large city category in the South West in Bloom and a silver-gilt award in the coastal city category at the prestigious Britain in Bloom ceremony.

The next awards to be announced were within the schools category. Due to Elburton Primary School's support of both the Plymouth in Bloom Awards and the RHS South West in Bloom, we were honoured with a special award within the 'Best School Garden' category. Staff and pupils were honoured for their 'Outstanding Contribution to the 'In Bloom' Campaign', and received a special trophy for our 'Dig for Victory' garden.

Finally, Elburton received a Silver award within the 'Best Scarecrow' competition, being narrowly beaten by Lipson Vale Primary School.

The children who attended very much enjoyed their evening, and Elburton were very pleased with the outcome of the evening!

The full list of winners on the evening is detailed below:

• Best School Garden/Allotment - The Southernway Federation Schools Allotment
• Outstanding Contribution to the 'In Bloom' campaign - Elburton Primary School
• Best Scarecrow - Lipson Vale Primary
• Best Window Box - Mr Grant, Pentyre Court
• Best Hanging Baskets - Mrs Couch, Old Laria Road
• Best Patio - Mrs Couch, Old Laria Road
• Best Balcony - Mrs Burns, Morley Court
• Spring garden -Mr Mulvey, Chichester Flats
• Small Front Garden - Mrs Couch, Laira Avenue
• Large Front Garden- Mr Goad, Cot Hill
• Guest House - Berkeley's of St James
• Hotel - Duke of Cornwall Hotel
• Residential Home - The Retreat
• Best Allotment site - Embankment Road Allotments
• Best Allotment plot - Mrs Marchal, Seymour Road Allotments
• Community Environmental Project - East End Community Allotments
• Communal Garden - Devonport Park Memorial Garden
• Community Effort Floral - Mr Mulvey, Chichester Flats
• Most nominated garden on a City Bus route - Mrs Couch, Old Laria Road
• Best Street - Citadel Road East
• Outstanding Effort - Mr Tommy Best
• Special Award - Best use of perennial plants - Mr Samuel Weir
• Best in Competition 2011 Mrs Couch - Old Laria Road
• Champion of champions - East End Community Allotment

'School Digging For Victory'

For those of you who missed it, our garden project received a good write-up and a full-page spread in The Herald on Friday 9th September. It was included as part of the paper's 'The Secret Garden' feature, which will run over the next few weeks. 

We have also received our invite to the Plymouth in Bloom prize giving evening later in the month, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!!

Judging Update: July-August 2011

On Thursday 21st July, 4 representatives from Elburton were invited to West Hoe Park in Plymouth to meet the Plymouth in Bloom judging team. The judges were on a tour of selected gardens, allotments and community projects, all of which have been entered in this year's competition. 

The children proved, once again, to be superb ambassadors for the school, and discussed their 'Dig for Victory' garden project in detail and with enormous enthusiasm. They were able to show the garden portfolios from the previous 2 years, as well as sharing the photographs and information gathered this year. The meeting only lasted for about 15 minutes, as the judging team were in a rush to see everything Plymouth had to offer, but there was no doubt that the children's enthusiasm for the project impressed the judges. 

On Wednesday 10th August, there was yet another opportunity to meet with a judging team in Plymouth. However, this time, the team was visiting Plymouth to judge the gardens, community projects, public spaces, coastline and allotments as part of the RHS 'Britain in Bloom' competition. Last year, the City of Plymouth did particularly well in this competition, and are hoping to repeat this, especially as the city has been listed within the coastal category for the first time. 

This time, 2 children were invited to the National Marine Aquarium to meet the judging team and talk to them about their project. Despite the 8.30am start, and the fact they had to wear their school uniforms in the holidays, the children did a fine job once again, talking to all the judges in turn about their school garden and the story behind the project. Representatives from Plymouth Parks Services were delighted with their efforts, as were the other adults in attendance. The children did a fantastic job, and should be very proud of themselves! They were rewarded for their efforts with a free trip around the aquarium before it opened to the public that day.

With all the judging now over for another year, all we can do is await the results of both the Plymouth in Bloom competition, and the RHS competition. Results will be announced sometime in September / October, so watch this space!!

The Blackout

Everyone pulled together for the war effort. There was a great fear of air raids and people had to ensure that no light escaped from windows or doors. Blackout curtains were fitted to doors and windows. The door curtains had to be closed when an outside door was opened and even then a pencil beam of light would sure enough attract the attention of an Air Raid Patrol (ARP) Warden!

One of the main jobs ARP Wardens did was to patrol the streets during blackout to ensure that no light was visible. If a light was spotted, the warden would alert the person/people responsible by shouting something like "Put that light out!" or "Cover that window!"

There were no illuminated street lights so lamp posts (and roadside trees) were painted with a band of white to reduce the risk to pedestrians. Kerbs were painted white. Rear mudguards on bikes had a section painted white to minimize the risk of being knocked into. Car headlights were fitted with beam deflectors to cast the beam downwards close to the vehicle. 

 

A torch became an essential piece of kit but batteries (usually ‘Number 8’ batteries) were scarce. Number 8 batteries were about half as big again as the modern AA size, were 3 volts, and were used in most small torches. However, they didn't last long.

Using a wartime photo of an ARP warden adjusting a blackout clock, we constructed our own to be used as a feature in the 1940s garden.

 

Questions and Answers

When did The Blackout begin?

Britain was blacked out on 1st September 1939; two days before the outbreak of war.

What was The Blackout?

During the war, everyone had to cover their windows and doors at night (before sunset) with heavy blackout curtains, cardboard or paint.

Why did people have to cover their windows and doors?

They needed to prevent any glimmer of light from escaping and aiding enemy aircraft during the bombing raids.

What about other sources of light during the blackout. Were they covered too?

Street lights were switched off or dimmed and shielded to deflect the light downward. Traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect the beam down to the floor.

What effect did the Blackout have on people's lives ?

Thousands of people died in road accidents. The number of road accidents increased because of the lack of street lighting and the dimmed traffic lights. To help prevent accidents white stripes were painted on the roads and on lamp-posts. People were encouraged to walk facing the traffic and men were advised to leave their shirt-tails hanging out so that they could be seen by cars with dimmed headlights. 

 

Other people were injured during the Blackout because they could not see in the darkness. Many people were injured tripping up, falling down steps, or bumping into things.

Plymouth in Bloom Judging Afternoon

On Thursday 14th July, the judges from 'Plymouth in Bloom' arrived to judge our 1940s garden and scarecrow! A group of children from years 3, 4 & 5 were there to great them and show them around. The main focus for the judging was what was actually growing in the garden, how well things were growing and what the children understood about growing and caring for the plants. Although the judges commented that they really appreciated the historical relevance of the features and artifacts from an educational point of view, they were not there to judge that aspect of the garden. 

The children were asked some pretty tough questions, but despite this, they did us proud and proved themselves to be great ambassadors to the school. We're now looking forward to receiving our second group of judges from the Royal Horticultural Society on Monday morning.

The following photos were taken in the garden on Wednesday evening, the day before PIB judging took place.

 

Judging and yet More Judging!!

Things have been a little busy lately, so this is the first Blog entry in quite a while. Things have continued to grow in the 1940s garden, and on the whole, things are looking much more healthy as a result of the recent rain. 

The children at school have harvested potatoes, which have been used by the kitchen in the children's lunchtime meals. The kitchen have also continued to take advantage of the salad beds in the garden to supply their salad bar with fresh salad leaves and radishes. 

Many other crops are ready to be picked / harvested, including carrots, turnips, beetroot, broad beans and garlic. Other crops are continuing to grow well, and will be producing edible food shortly, or later on in the summer ready for the start of the Autumn term.

Last week, on Tuesday 5th July, the regional judges for the Plymouth in Bloom competition came to judge the garden for this year's competition. Unfortunately, due to the school receiving its OFSTED inspection on the Monday and Tuesday, neither myself or any representatives from the school's gardening team were available to meet with the judges. This was very unfortunate, and as a result of the call coming as a complete surprise, the garden wasn't looking its best. Many of the artifacts usually on display in the garden were inside the main building, including our ARP Wardens, and the scarecrow that the children will also be judged on was still partially finished inside the school and not on display. Luckily, we have since received word that the judges will return on Thursday this week (14th July) to complete their tour around the garden where I and some representatives from the school's gardening team will be on hand to answer any questions and point out any features missed the first time round. 

 

In addition to this, we have also received conformation that a separate judging team from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) will visit the school on Monday 18th July to view the garden as part of their regional gardening competition. Again, this came as a bit of a surprise, as we didn't enter this particular competition; however one of the key members from within the Plymouth Park Services team entered our garden on our behalf. We look forward to receiving these special visitors on Monday!

Finally, in case you hadn't already seen them, the following two articles appeared recently in The Herald newspaper and online on the Plymouth Post website; both articles feature our school's 'Dig for Victory' garden. The first, featured in the Herald, contained photographs taken during our 'VE Day' celebrations, and celebrated the children's week-long WWII themed week and the official opening of our Anderson shelter.

The second features our garden in celebration of the launch of this year's 'Plymouth in Bloom' competition; this article can be found by clicking the following link:

http://www.plymouthpost.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3791:judges-to-pound-the-city-streets-for-plymouth-in-bloom&catid=34:news&Itemid=64

I hope that brings you all up to speed with what's been going on in the garden recently, and I'll keep you posted as to how the two rounds of judging go on Thursday afternoon and next Monday morning.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading the Blog and keeping up to date with what's been going on - we have now had over 2,000 hits, which is fantastic!!

What's Growing in the 1940s Garden?

The recent rain has done wonders for the garden, and after a dry spell that seems to have lasted for months, the vegetables are, at last, beginning to look more healthy. Things are definitely growing much more slowly this year, and crops that were providing our school kitchen with fresh food last year, have yet to produce very much. We have, however, been eating fresh salad leaves and radishes, and soon there will be new potatoes to add to the menu. 

Many other vegetables are being grown in the garden this year, the majority being varieties that would've been grown during the war years. The following pictures should give you an idea of what is being grown in our garden this year.

 

Potatoes growing in barrels and bags.

Tomatilloes.

Radishes growing in the salad bed.

Lettuce growing in the salad bed; 'Little Gem' and 'Giant Red Mustard'. Carrots and Pac Choi grow behind.

Pac Choi.

Potato bed with sugar snap peas growing around the outside.

Gooseberries.

Pansies.

Tomato plants in the greenhouse.

Peppers and chillies growing in the greenhouse.

Kale plants waiting to be planted out.

Runner beans.

 Broad beans.

French climbing beans; Borlotti beans; Ying Yang beans (foreground) Chard & Spinach (background).

Broad beans - dwarf and long pod varieties.

Spinach and Chard bed. Cabbage is growing along the far side of the bed.

Root Vegetables including carrot, Swede, parsnip, turnip, beetroot, garlic and Shallots.

Another view of the root veg bed.

Anderson Shelter with Nastertium plants growing on top.Globa Artichokes growing to the right, and sunflowers to the left.

Apples growing on our new apple trees.

Sweet potatoes growing in pots.

Pumpkin & Squash patch.

Another view of the pumpkin bed.

Jerusalem Artichokes.

Borage.

Florence Fennel.

Herb Garden: Thyme, Rosemary, Fennel, Welsh Onion, Chives, Lavender, Camomile, Mint, Dill, Parsley, Lovage, Borage, Marjoram & Sage.