IT'S WEDNESDAY, SO IT MUST BE.....

…..Girls About Town!  It was a good programme this morning and our special guest was Linda Kasmaty, who has been instrumental in getting the community of Old Town involved in making community gardens in the area.  As a Councillor for South Swindon Parish Council and the “Britain in Bloom Supremo” for Swindon, it was good to hear her enthusiasm for the venture and the gardens have certainly had an impact and brought communities together.  Yesterday she escorted judges from “Britain in Bloom”  around the various gardens in Old Town and she said they seemed very pleased, but the results won’t be out until October.

I had to go up into Old Town after I had visited my Mother, who is doing well, so took the opportunity to go round the various gardens that Linda had mentioned on air this morning and decided that it might be a good idea to make a collage.

The top left photograph is of the “Girls” - Jo at the front, looking rather serious, probably because she was tasked to take the photograph - then clockwise, me, Clare, Angela and Linda, holding her hair because it was so hot in the studio we had to have a fan on constantly, otherwise we would have expired - having already perspired!

At the top right is the garden with new benches provided by the Local Council, outside Mr. Cod, a fish and chip shop in Victoria Road.  There are some lovely plants in this garden, with quite a few tall ones, all swaying in the breeze - and I can imagine if you were sitting on one of the new benches, having your lunch of fish and chips, it would be a very good outlook.

My next stop was outside the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, where there was a very colourful display - both in the bed by the sign and also on the other side of the path, where there were lots of herbs - I noticed the sage plant was looking particularly good, despite the pollution from the traffic on the busy road nearby.  I guess it's a sign of the times that I had to remove a can of drink that had been left beside the sign and put it in a nearby litter bin before I took the photograph!

Then it was on round to the Arts Centre, where the beautiful display in the middle of the collage was hiding a downpipe;  there was lots of begonias in pots on the wall opposite and other lovely flowers dotted around in pots too.  The shot in the middle right of the collage is the pub almost next door to the Arts Centre, called The Hop - where there were lots of colourful displays on all the windowsills - which really brightened up the area.

On to the small bed at the corner of Devizes Road and Newport Street, and opposite what is known locally as “The Three Pubs Corner”, because The Plough, The Wheatsheaf and the Royal Oak share the corner.  This particular bed, just along the road from Earle’s Newsagents, has mainly grasses because the presence of a rather large birch tree is not conducive to plants growing under it.  However, once again, the tall grasses swaying in the breeze good to see.  I did pop in to see Rose, the proprietor of Earle’s and told her that we had given lots of “shout-outs” for the shop on the programme, but sadly she hadn't heard them, but was pleased to hear that - and said that Linda was a fantastic worker in the community.  Interestingly, our older son used to work for her many years ago, when he was 16, and whenever I see her, she always asks after him.  When I told Rose that I was photographing the various gardens in Old Town, she told me that lots of people in the community are interested and always asking her the names of the various plants.  Linda told us this morning that she is working on putting in name tags for the various plants in all the gardens.

Crossing the road from Earle’s, I saw under a large hoarding not only a flower garden, but also the few vegetables that Linda had told us about in the middle at the bottom of the collage.  Again, despite the fumes from traffic, this garden seems to be doing quite well, except that someone from a nearby office sprayed weedkiller on some pavement weeds that did kill off some of the vegetables - shame the person didn’t look before spraying!

I was quite tired by this time, having walked some way - and with wonky knees, had slowed down considerably, but I eventually reached the beautiful garden that has been planted in front of a large oak tree near to The Marriott Hotel.  This is at the beginning or end, whichever way you look at it, of a long pathway through an avenue of trees that were planted by the Council a little while ago.  I had seen this when Mr. HCB and I had passed by a few days ago, so was glad to know that it was one of the gardens Linda was involved with.  She told us that someone she knew had kindly made plaques that were set in each garden, which says, “This garden is cared for by Friends and Members of Old Town Residents’ Association.”  I noticed in the last garden I went to that the carnations were in need of dead-heading, so hope that Linda and the residents won’t mind that I stopped to do that.  They did look better afterwards!

“Flowers always make people 
     better, happier, and more helpful; 
          they are sunshine, food 
               and medicine for the soul.”
Luther Burbank