At the beginning of the year we registered for RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards. Robin and Chris paid us a visit and had a very good look at all the nooks and crannies and here is what they’ve come up with. Lots of room for improvement, but not bad, eh?

Caldmore Community Garden – Walsall, West Midlands
Assessors: Chris Blythe & Robin Russell
Level 3 Developing

A lovely community garden in the middle of Caldmore, Walsall, lots of green space and food growing. The garden is sandwiched between a school, the road, houses and a social centre and is an oasis in what is otherwise a built up area. In the garden there is a mixture of flowers, fruit and vegetables, there is also a shelter that provides a dry spot when it is wet; this overlooks a lawn area that when we were there the children were enjoying to the full. There is great scope for the gardens, and the group just need pointing in the right direction, something that we as assessors are able to help with. You know what they say from little acorns mighty Oaks grow and this garden could well develop into a great site.

Areas of achievement:
– The garden has made a huge leaps forward in the last 12 months
– The involvement of local businesses in the construction of the seating area should be commended
– Good to see such a focus on providing wildlife habitats within the garden.

Areas for development:
– Some element of training around fruit trees would benefit the group and allow better management of trees
– Next year, a portfolio showing evidence of all the community involvement would be of value.