May News from the Garden
Happening in the garden this month…
May’s Community Gardening session is taking place THIS SATURDAY, Saturday 9th May 10am-12 noon. We’ll be planting strawberries and tomatoes in the Edible Forest, a pop of pollinator colour in the seasonal planter and preparing the shubbery for a new stumpery to honour the garden’s Victorian heritage. Plus there'll be a puddling station workshop for any children who are keen to help bees and butterflies survive summer in the city!!! No need to book or stay all morning, come for the coffee and stay for the conversation :)
On Wednesday May 20th, our first BioBlitz is taking place in SJG (more on this below), led by Susanna, alongside a children’s pollinator workshop from 4pm led by the wonderful students from Queen Mary University and Queens College London. If you're keen to make a bee hotel or a hoverfly lagoon and go on a bee safari in St John's Garden, now's your chance! Children of all ages (up to 110yrs old) are welcome to join - just bring your curiosity!
Taking us into the evening, Poetry in the Park: Spring Edition kicks off at 6pm, Wednesday 20 May. This is a seasonal event in the garden, where we read our favourite poems about nature, drink lemonade and eat crisps :) No need to book for any of these events, just stop by and say hello :) All details are in the summer calendar attached below, on Instagram @stjohnsgarden.ec1 and on the Welcome Board at the top of the garden.
Looking ahead to Friday, June 26th, Fran will be taking us on an evening guided walk round Bloody Smithfield! This is also a free event but places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment! RSVP by replying to this email.
The Clerkenwell Pollinator Path 2026 is in full swing and May's special events are attached to this email. Last month's Pollinator Tree Pit Workshop with guerilla gardener John Welsh and the One Pot Pollinator Workshop with author Alison Benjamin were really good fun - we learnt lots AND got pollinator plants on the streets of Clerkenwell. Pollinator ecologists at PLT have completed their first survey of 15 green spaces, we've installed 15 bee hotels across the neighbourhood, planted hundreds of pollinator perennials in local parks and have started bee makeovers on unloved pots and planters in the neighbourhood as we aim to have a pollinator pitstop every 100m in Clerkenwell. If you'd like to know more and get involved, reply to this email, follow us @clerkenwellpollinatorpath or learn more about the project and download the Clerkenwell Pollinator Toolkit at the St John's Garden website here. Even the smallest flower pot can be a lifesaver for struggling city bees.
Get involved with caring for SJG! If there's anyone reading this who enjoys spending quiet time in nature and appreciates the care that goes into keeping the garden looking so loved, you might enjoy being part of this summer’s watering crew. Half an hour a week (or whenever you can manage it) makes a massive difference to the health of plants and shrubs. Just respond to this email and we can add you to the Garden Care WhatsApp group. No gardening skills or super powers needed!
It's nesting season in SJG! You may have spotted the harried mum and dad bluetits flitting around the garden in the last few weeks...Research globally shows that the presence of dogs in a park or garden cuts the number of baby birds by 40% as parents are too anxious to mate and too afraid to forage for nesting materials. Many of us are dog owners and we can all help by keeping our four-legged friends on the lead and close by our side so we give our blue tits, great tits, robins and blackbirds a chance to raise their families in peace this summer.