September News from the Garden
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the SJG newsletter.
GONG!!!! Sound Bath & Guided Meditation in the Garden
Tomorrow morning - and every Thursday morning in September - we welcome Silva Wellness to St John's Garden from 8.30-9 am, where their Briset St practitioners will lead a season of FREE Sound Bath Guided Meditation Sessions. No experience or equipment is needed, and there's no need to sign up in advance - just wear comfy clothes and look forward to a relaxing and grounding start to the day. If the weather is wet, the session will take place around the corner, indoors, at the Sylva Wellness Studio on Briset Street & Claire has let me know that tomorrow's session will be inside at Silva Wellness.
Summer in the Garden - image credit - Analisa Plehn
GRRR!!! Free Strength and Conditioning Sessions for YOU...
The brilliant Adam at Movement Labs Studio has been making our neighbourhood stronger for several months now, with his Neighbourhood Strength and Conditioning sessions held every Tuesday morning, 9 am-9.30 am at the Movement Labs studio in CowCross Yards. These free sessions are designed for all levels of fitness and are enjoyable as well as effective! No need to sign up, just come along and prepare to watch your muscles bulge!
SWOOSH!!! Community Gardening is THIS SATURDAY 10 am-12 noon...
There have been a whole lot of leaves falling in the last couple of weeks, and on Saturday, we'll be sweeping paths, raking leaves and making new leaf cages as well as mulching beds and developing the fernery. You don't need any gardening experience - just enthusiasm and a pair of sturdy shoes!
WHAT THE DICKENS!!!! The Literary Clerkenwell: Guided Walk is on...
Led by Official Islington Tour Guide, fantastic Fran, this leisurely stroll around the storied streets of Clerkenwell is happening on Saturday, 13 September, 10 am -11 am, meeting at the Welcome Board in SJG. Please RSVP to book your free spot. The last one filled up fast, so book soon to avoid disappointment!
SCRUNCH!!! Tackling litter in the garden...
The hot days of summer were lovely for lounging, but did lead to an uptick in litter being dropped in the garden, especially around overflowing bins following the lunchtime rush. With so much takeaway food and drink being sold in the area, it's not surprising and even though we had a big - double-sized, new bin installed last year, it's not made that much difference to litter levels so we're keen to continue exploring solutions! Chantelle has very kindly offered to lead a working group exploring potential solutions - if anyone would like to be part of the conversation and share examples of what's working well in other parks/cities, please RSVP and Chantelle will be in touch.
Crunch!!! The Orchard Project is taking shape...
As many of you will know (and have helped with!), we've created Farringdon's First Edible Forest this year, planting edibles such as fig trees, passion flower, blueberries, wild strawberries, ginger and rainbow chard with the help of forest gardener Billy. We've been considering next steps, and over the last few weeks have been talking to The Orchard Project, a pioneering charity focused on planting new orchards in urban green spaces and training communities to care for them. We're excited to announce that St John's Garden has been selected by the charity as a candidate orchard for 2026 and they have applied for funding for the project. In the meantime, they are offering free orchard training to anyone who's interested in learning how to plant and care for an urban orchard. Respond to this mail if you're interested and I'll share course details. We're working with the council's tree team on the project too to ensure we select appropriate fruit trees for a changing climate and if the funding bid is successful, we'll be planting trees in Winter 2026.
Shhhh!!!! The Hidden Histories are all installed and there's a trail map too...
There are 10 interpretation boards dotted around the garden, very kindly installed over the last few months by Scott, positioned in more or less subtle locations so they don't detract from the natural woodland feel of the garden. We launched the Hidden Histories Trail last week with a group of U3A (University of the Third Age) students from Croydon, who came to visit the garden and followed the fantastic trail map that Liberty has designed to accompany the signs. The map is on the Welcome Board if you need help finding any of the signs, and it will also be available on the SJG website, which Analisa and Thomas have been working away at over the summer. Hehe - that's a sneaky trailer for anyone who's read this far! More on the website and on the Wildlife Habitats workshop next time.
Hope to see you this Saturday for community gardening!