WINTER 2010

Winter 2010

During these cold, dark months we have had large amounts of snow and ‘The Big Freeze’ has affected my garden and other green spaces.Although the water will have been good for the soil, there is no telling how it has affected the plants and shrubs. A lot of preparation is needed for the New Year such as ideas to build

structures out of brick and wood. These will need to be gathered, stored and utilised in the coming months. During this time of the month is a planning stage where I mostly discuss, draw and contemplate ideas for gardening months ahead.I have been given the keys for The Pod space and am hoping to use the space productively.

The Avant Gardeners looked into a local school called Welsh House Farm School where a small patch of land could be worked with to create a sensory garden for children to use and learn from.The school has great garden areas as there are playground features, a seating area, a vegetable patch and garden ornaments.

Another location is in Selly Oak Park which we feel needs improvements. It used to be a graffiti park but this idea has been stopped as the space was obliterated with tags. We are going to look into this to see what could be done to enhance the space. It is a prime location which connects the canal, the railway and the retail park. There is a lot of abandoned space around the park and we want to contact the council to introduce innovative, communal design.

Out & about

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Earlswood

peacefully

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Earlswood

Decking for fisher men.

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Earlswood

Feathers

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Earlswood

More features like this are definatley needed. Entertainment for young teenagers and adults to venture through green forest lands. Another useful tip to use logs.

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Earlswood

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Earlswood

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Earlswood

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Earlswood

A trip to Earlswood was relaxing, while stroling round the lake collecting feathers while walking along the narrow footpath.

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THE AVANT GARDENERS VISUAL EXPERIENCE

The garden project display has finally been completed after displaying for gardens weekend which was on the 5^th and 6^th of September.

So much has happened and allot of changes had been made.

Managing this project became quite difficult after plans had been changed due to the first existing space that we were given to us had, to be altered. There was no existing plan for this second space due to time was running out so everything was put together daily by using existing materials that were lying around. We utilized what already existed within the space such as purple slate, stones and various few plants. Due to the change of space we were now working with a smaller scale section. The original theme wasn't expressed as clearly so the wall became the focal point being The Avant Gardeners visual experience. Firstly the wall needed to be painted to prevent damage done to plants.

The wall feature was an abstract architectural painting of a house to incorporate the transformation of the house environment to the garden. On the back wall features a wall paper interior feel which was painted by Tim. The colours were a worm feel making this area a comfortable lounge section. I really enjoyed Tims involvement as this wall gives a birds eye landscape look. Wooden railway sleepers were able to get cut into size to create a decking feature, stones that were in the square cubes were taken out and placed on the ground to give more texture to the space. Slate was washed and put back into place leaving room for the side beds to be planted. Choosing plants were difficult as they had to be considered for colour harmonization and all round growth. Due to the deadline for gardens weekend, we all became quite stressful and anxious towards the end of the project but I believe that the timing was right on getting the space completed.

THE HUB

Another example of where i see change could be improved is a local park near where I live. A small youth community project has been put together by Chantel and friends who are willing to get young people motivated using creative arts. The name of this is called INFLUENCE. This is situated in the metal Hub off Selcroft Avenue based in Quinton. This project is the umbrella organisation of Welsh House Farm Youth Project.
I was concerned about this pod looking building as there had been graffiti art painted on already and i didn't know what this metal hub was used for. The hub was vandalized over time with tags and it needed a new makeover. Luckily I had been asked to paint the hub by a friend who lives locally and we are now in the process of decorating this hub. More local artists will get involved so please stay tuned to see the finished look.
Discussions are being made to work with related organisations to improve the existing surroundings.
For more information please contact liftyouthproject@gmail.com

Project Garden Space

With funding nearly secured the project garden space hit upon several problems earlier on in the month. Firstly the actual space that we had spent so much time clearing was earmarked for the council to use for their ‘silver guilt medal’ award winning design in the urban garden category at the Chelsea flower show. They will be showcasing this garden at the gardeners weekend show in September. The group involved in our design were all very disappointed, however after talks with the park staff and college tutors we have now managed to secure another area we can develop. This caused a few problems with the designs as the new area is totally

different. As well as this one student has now decided he no longer wants to be part of the project and another is away on holiday and cannot be contacted to sign forms that the Princes Trust need to release the funds to the project. So, it has all been rather stressful and the future of the project is now in question. We have written an email to the awards manager to explain the situation and are hoping that the enthusiasm and dedication of the other members of the group will shine through and that the Princes Trust will still fund us. During this time we have also been discussing how the art that we are interested in showcasing and our other ideas can be best promoted and shown to members of the public. Talks have begun with local galleries and we are looking into other gallery spaces. A huge part of the design project is arts based with a portfolio of works collated over a period of nearly 12 months now. We are trying to use this body of work to complement the garden design in the park. Leon will contact the arts council and also ‘Edgbaston one’ to see how best to do this. So, we are waiting to hear back from the Princes Trust and

will post an update as soon as possible.

The Original space was split into three sections with the themes. 1.House Home Garden 2.Global Spirit 3.Concious Number 9

With a new and smaller area it became difficult to include these subjects into our new space.