It’s Gardening Week and Farnham Town Council is urging residents to take advantage of the many opportunities it offers to get involved in one of the UK’s favourite pastimes. 

From big ideas on a small budget to bold and inspiring large gardens, there is a category for all scales of gardening in the annual Secret Gardens of Farnham competition. The 2019 competition opens for entries in the middle of May and is a chance for gardeners to receive recognition for their efforts. 

Farnham Town Council owns around 325 plots on nine allotment sites in and around Farnham and some of these plots will soon be available for allocation to a new tenant. Iain Lynch, Town Clerk at Farnham Town Council says: “Allotment gardening is known to offer many positive benefits to a person’s health and wellbeing. As well as having the potential to provide you with a year-round supply of produce, our allotments are very sociable places too. 

“Alongside the volunteer site representatives, we organise and coordinate an annual garden visit, an allotment lecture, an annual bbq, seed swaps and a seed club. This year we are revamping our Allotment Show which will take place at the last Music in the Meadow of the year on 1 September in Gostrey Meadow. If you have the time and commitment to make a success of an allotment, please contact us so we can add your name to the waiting list.”

Having a garden is not an essential requirement for getting involved in gardening. Bloomin’ Friends is a group of volunteers who help out at the Town Council’s greenhouses with tasks such as potting-on the thousands of plug plants which are grown for Farnham in Bloom, deadheading, tidying up flower beds in public places and other hands-on tasks. 

Anybody who is interested in joining Farnham’s successful local gardening team should contact Lara Miller at Farnham Town Council by emailing lara.miller@farnham.gov.uk or calling 01252 712667.