NORWICH: Grapes Hill Community Garden - Grand Opening - 7 August

Since the Grapes Hill Community Garden opened its gates to the public on 2nd July it has proved a hit with people and wildlife alike.

We had a great evening in the garden on Sunday 10th July, after St. Benedict's Street Fair. On other days people come in to enjoy the garden's peace and tranquility. People appreciate the garden's wealth of vegetables, herbs and ornamentals, with the wildflower meadow being a particular favourite.

The garden is attracting birds and insects too. A pair of blackbirds nested in a courtyard backing onto our garden and the parents foraged for food here. Bumblebees, butterflies, moths, ladybirds and hoverflies are moving into the garden and we're keeping a note of what we see.

On Sunday 7th August we have our Grand Opening Day. This starts at 11am when Will Giles from Norwich's Exotic Garden officially opens the garden. There will be food, drink, music, ice cream, face painting, competitions, plant sales and information about the garden, until 3pm.

There will also be a one-off chance at this event to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group for half price until the end of 2012 for £5 (waged) or £1.50 (unwaged).

Admission to the garden is free - please come along and see Norwich's newest green space. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Drinks and food in the garden - 10th July 2011. Photo copyright Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website or our Facebook page for more information.

Bungay Beehive Day - Sunday 24th July, 10.30am - 4pm on Castle Meadow

Bungay Beehive Day is a celebration of the honeybee and other pollinating insects along with the plants they love. It’s a first-of-its-kind event organised by Bungay Community Bees (BCB) as part of the Bungay Festival and aims to promote awareness and enjoyment of the key relationship between people, plants and bees.

Although we’ll be celebrating “all things bee” our theme will centre on the importance of insect pollination and how everyone can grow and protect flowers to support bees and other insects in our local environment. Come and find out what our group is doing and what each of us can do in response to the worldwide honeybee crisis and to help restore balance in our overstretched environment.

Central to the day and the marquee will be an observation hive provided by Waveney Beekeepers, so everyone can see how honey bees work within a hive. There wil also be a display of our recent venture into top bar hives. A wide diversity of stalls will be busy giving both information all about bees and bee-friendly plants and everything you need to know about becoming a beekeeper and also selling plants and seeds, bee-related crafts and of course honey! There will be an activities area for children from making a bee swarm to to a flower mural and on the stage there will be a lively series of workshops and talks running through the day.

So if you want to know how to make a bee hotel and beeswax candle, find out about natural beekeeping, bumblebees or how to plant a 'patch in a pot' of bees' favourite wildflowers, this is where you need to be!

We’ll have guest speakers from both the innovative River of Flowers project talking about creating urban meadows in green corridors, pollination and bio-diversity, and the Natural Beekeeping Trust on beekeeping on an earth-friendly scale. On the Bee and Flower walk we’ll visit a variety of ‘green spaces’ in Bungay (including the burgeoning Library Courtyard Community Garden), on the lookout for the wild (and not so wild) flowers that the bees are visiting. There will also be a talk on the healing power of honey. And throughout the day you’ll be able to talk to Bungay Community Beekeepers about all our activities and even join the group if you haven’t yet subscribed.

Oh, and calling all bakers. If you bake and bring along a honey cake and enter it into the competition, you could win a £15 gift voucher from BCB organiser and master cake maker from Three Willows Café, Gemma Parker.

Talks 11am Bee Guardians: Natural Beekeeping Trust 12 noon Bee and Flower Walk 1pm Bee corridors and biodiversity: River of Flowers 2pm Healing Power of Honey 3pm Bumblebees.

Workshops 11-12.30 Wildflowers for gardens and making bee Hotels. 2.30-4 Wildflowers for allotments and vegetable gardens and making bug hotels. Ongoing making beeswax candles and beeframes; children's activities: making puppets, mobiles, masks and bee and flower mural.

Honey cake competition: Bake and bring along a honey cake with the most delicious winning a £15 gift voucher. 3pm Judging

Everyone is welcome. Refreshments are available.

If you would like to help out on the day please let us know.

Contact Gemma: enquiries@humblecake.co.uk or Mark: markintransition@hotmail.co.uk or Tel. 01502 722419