Our most successful Winter Fair so far! The cold, damp weather didn’t put off over 330 visitors coming to our annual Winter Fair who generously spent over £3700 on the various stalls and activities. This will be the most we’ve raised at a Winter Fair. All proceeds help us support local people attending our projects…
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Sow & Grow Animated!
Thanks to the wonderful filmmaker, Katy Milner, our Sow & Grow co-workers have created an animated film, which was shown as part of the recent Age Against the Machine festival in Lewisham. We wanted to make a beautiful film to show the positive and remarkable achievements that come about in the Sow & Grow groups…
Read moreCo-worker Focus
Growing Lives Co-worker I was referred by my Psychotherapist. I have always enjoyed gardening and wanted to do something that would help my mental health as I struggle with ups and downs. Being part of the group and being around other people has really helped me, I have been able to build relationships with people…
Read moreArt in Action
We have been enjoying so many creative activities in the Art and Craft groups. Some highlights have been dying paper and fabric using the shibori folding technique, painting plant pots, and lino cutting and printing. Recent weeks have been busy with preparations for the Winter Fair in November. The Art and Craft stall at the…
Read moreGlorious Gardening
We are all slowing down in the garden after a very hot and busy summer. We have spent months propagating, growing, watering, and harvesting, and we are just starting to reflect on the past months and how much we have achieved and enjoyed in our garden groups. Our glut of cucumbers, the stunning colours in…
Read morePath to Recovery
Thanks to everyone for your patience and understanding during the recent major (for us!) works – which included resurfacing and altering the gradient of the footpath and redesigning our courtyard area. We hope you agree that the entrance is finally accessible and that it provides a good welcome to Sydenham Garden. We are almost there,…
Read moreFarewell Tom!
Here at Sydenham Garden we know that it’s a real privilege to welcome people. Our wonderful staff and volunteers are doing this many times every day – being able to offer an acknowledgement of someone’s unique identity because of the strength of the community life we have built here. It’s probably the most important thing…
Read moreNews in Brief
Our new knitting group on alternate Monday mornings has been a great success so far, with lots of creative people sharing ideas and supporting each other. Growing Lives are selling cut flowers to local florists each week, raising funds for the project and creating great publicity for our work. We welcomed a new member of…
Read moreGive us Shelter
Every Friday, Harvey arrives at the entrance to Sydenham Garden. He’s always on time. Harvey looks forward to coming here and tells his carer he doesn’t want to go anywhere else. With a helping hand from one of our volunteers, Harvey is able to walk slowly up our tree-lined path to the oasis and…
Read moreCut flower workshop
Last month we ran a workshop covering everything you need to know to start growing and selling local, sustainable and ethical cut flowers. We covered growing site requirements, which flowers to grow and why, how to turn your crop into a product including flower arranging techniques and finally, routes to market. This was all lead…
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