Greening up Boston is now well under way – together with a touch of red and gold.
The community growing space in Central Park has been given a revamp, with new hard surfacing, raised beds and improved access for people who are disabled.
To mark the occasion Boston Mayor’s Cllr Alison Austin planted a standard redcurrant bush in one of the raised beds in the former tennis courts area.
Paul Collingwood, chairman of Willoughby Road Allotments Association, and his wife, Pat, are now organising the maintenance of the community growing space. Helen Thorne uses one of the beds in the park to grow vegetables. Anyone who would like to learn to grow or can help and is prepared to give of a few hours should contact Ian Farmer at Boston Borough Council on 01205 314225 or email ian.farmer@boston.gov.uk
Ian explained that the community garden is to encourage the healthy outdoor pursuit of gardening, especially growing tasty and healthy produce.
He says: “It’s ideal for anyone who wants to learn to garden with expert help, enjoys getting their fingers in the soil and wants to make a beautiful difference in Boston. It would be great for anyone who doesn’t have a garden of their own and would like to meet new people. There is an immense amount of satisfaction to be gained from cultivating a patch of ground, sowing a seed, nurturing the plant and harvesting the produce and being able to say ‘I did that’.”
The community garden is funded under the programme Food4Life and supported by Lincolnshire County Council Public Health and Boston Borough Council.
The garden will feature in a Boston brochure to be presented to Britain in Bloom East Midlands judges when they visit the town next month.
Flower power has also been used in Boston to reflect the colours of in-Bloom organisers, the 50th golden anniversary of the Royal Horticultural Society, and the poppy motif in connection with the centenary this year of the start of the First World War.
