Friday 31 July 2015

The flowers continue to blossom & grow

The bedding plants on the Tower road green continue to bring wonderful vibrant colorful joy to the raised beds and barrels.The printed black and gold signs look fabulous and have now replaced the temporary ones.The flowers should continue to bloom until beginning of September.




 We are looking for sponsors for sponsors for the raised beds during the winter months.If you would like more details please email eppinginbloom@gmail.com

By Victoria Robertson



Monday 20 July 2015

Herbs growing on Tower road green

Salvia Officinalis Tricolor
 
Lucy from Ivy Chimneys school designed bed two on the tower road green.She particularly wanted sage as part of her design.This evergreen perennial is known for it's pungent flavor and highly scented aroma This cultivar Salvia Officinalis Tricolor has a beautiful ornamental value and looks great.The green leaves have white margins along with pink or purple running through the leaves too.During the middle of summer it flowers with lavender like spikes.
 
By Victoria Robertson

Thursday 16 July 2015

Geranuims on tower road

In bed five on the tower road green we have planted Geraniums that are growing really well in partial shade.The variety we have used especially for Emilia's design is called Patriot Bright Red.Botanical name Pelargonium.They do make good houseplants, bedding or greenhouse plants.Flowering time spring-summer.
During the winter months these Pelargoniums will be put into pots and protected against the elements by being brought indoors or in a greenhouse.They will spend time re-growing and bushing out.We can then replant them out again in the Spring.

By Victoria Robertson



Tuesday 14 July 2015

Epping in bloom meet the Essex Boys & Girls NCS


On Tuesday 14th Epping in bloom were invited along to speak to the Essex boys & girls


 
We all enjoyed a very inspiring evening at the Frenford club, at the Jack carter centre Ilford.
It was great for us to talk about the changes that Epping in bloom have already made to Epping.We shared photo's with the Essex boys and girls showing them before and after picture's of the tower road green.We had lovely feedback and all had fun listening to the amazing ideas the young adults gave to us.This will help us to progress and make design changes at our new site which is near the back entrance of M&S.They also shared with us some brilliant fundraising idea's and craft idea's for the school children competitions for 2016.













Tuesday 7 July 2015

The flowers look blooming marvelous

The Summer sun shone brightly yesterday on the tower road green.The flowers have now almost doubled in size since they were planted 5 weeks ago.We took the last flower bottle display from Tesco that was made by the Epping primary school children and planted them all against the wall.
What was once a shady area has now been transformed with an infusion of vibrant coloured bottles.They require no watering and have helped to encourage recycling too.We have received 152 flower bottle entries from five local schools.Councillor Les Burrows judged the competition each week in Tesco Epping.Les selected 5 winners and 5 runners up from each school.All of the children have received an invitation to our Epping in bloom presentation evening in September.They will be awarded with a certificate and a medal.

The strawberries are now ripening up on Lucy from Ivy Chimneys raised bed design.They are hidden slightly from public view as the sage is covering them.A lovely lady that was sitting on the bench yesterday was very surprised to know they was there.We picked a few and gave them to her as a treat.She told us she sits on the bench almost every day and she loves what has been done to transform a green lawn area.

The dahlias in the wooden barrels are growing very well.The bright yellow flowers compliment the purple tones of the highly scented lavenders.The aromatic scent blends mixed with rosemary now fills the air.Wooden barrels make great garden features and are not that expensive to buy.Plants tend to grow well in them as they tend to hold the water well.

 Have you visited the Tower road green yet? If you have let us know your thoughts or send to us any pictures.Email: eppinginbloom@gmail.com

We are looking for volunteers to join our lovely friendly team.If you or any one you know enjoys being outside then Epping in bloom could be the community project for you.If you have any ideas to help transform other Epping site's or can  help with a watering rota let us know.Our next Epping in bloom meeting will be on Thursday 30th July at 7.15pm Epping Hall.Come along to find out more or email us to find out more details.

Update by Victoria Robertson chairmen of Epping in bloom

Wednesday 1 July 2015

The school winners of Epping in bloom 2015

On Monday the 29th June the local school children winners of the Epping in bloom design a raised bed competition were invited to the tower road green to see their floral designs.The Epping in bloom team looked through 100's of entries before choosing just five winners.The raised flower beds have been growing well since they were planted on Sunday 31st May.Since then the Epping in bloom team have been watering, dead heading and feeding them to keep them looking great.Deputy mayor councillor Les Burrows presented all the winners with an invitation to collect their award in September.We all enjoyed meeting the winners on Monday.The children were delighted to see their growing floral designs.

Sydney winner from St Johns school 
A delightful fragrant design which includes a willlow deer as a central feature, Lavender, Rudbeckia and Pansies 

Lucy winner from Ivy chimneys 
A simple elegant edible design that includes strawberries and two varieties of sage.


Casimer winner from Coopersale hall school

A vibrant colorful design with marigolds, geraniums and pansies.

Emilia winner from Coopersale & Theydon garnon school.

A fabulous design with grasses and geraniums it looks lovely swishing around when there is a breeze.


Terri winner from Epping Primary school designed this floral extravaganza she was unable to attend.Her family will be visiting the tower road green soon and I'm sure they will email us a picture of her.

Thank you to all the local schools for your amazing support.We have really enjoyed seeing all your creative floral designs.We are hosting a presentation evening in September.All the school designs will be on display and the winners can collect their medals and trophies.


Update by Victoria Robertson Chairmen