Summer Festival at Community Market Garden - Saturday 19th August

Sydenham Garden charity is holding its annual summer festival in its community market garden. It is being held on the De Frene Road site (between 35 and 37 De Frene Road, Sydenham, London, SE24 4AB) on Saturday 19th August 12-5 pm.

As well as live music from local bands there will be workshops. These include crafts, childrens activities (den building, magical clay faces on trees, creating bubbles and nature crowns), garden sustainability and bee keeping talks, hula hoop taster, pizza spinning and more.

The majority of the workshops are free, those that are charged for are all under £5 and there in a small charge on the door. All money raised is for Sydenham Garden which supports people recovering from mental and physical ill-health in Lewisham and surrounding London boroughs.
As well as on the door tickets can also be bought in advance online or alternatively email: david [at] sydenhamgarden.org

Sydenham Garden Spring Fair - Saturday 11th May

Saturday 11th May, 11am-3pm.
Enter at 28a Wynell Road or Holland Drive (off Queenswood Road SE23)

• Plants, crafts, nearly new & vintage goods, home-made jams, chutneys & preserves for sale.
• Children’s activities.
• Gardening tips and seed sowing activities provided by South London Master Gardeners.
• Refreshments, & home made cakes.
• Live music.
• Wander round the nature reserve and the food-growing garden, or just sit and enjoy the refreshments! 
• Entry £1 or 50p concessions

For more information go to: http://www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk

Into the Garden

Sydenham Garden will be opening its gates to the public for a unique musical event. Dreamt up by two students from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, ‘Into the Garden’ is all about promoting local musicians and highlighting the work of Sydenham Garden.
This is not your average concert; everyone is welcome to pop in at any time during the event. Performers will include the fabulous Sydenham Garden Choir and students from the Guildhall School, with further acts to be confirmed. Please see their website for the latest information – http://www.intothegarden.moonfruit.com
The event will run from 2.30-5.30pm on Sunday, 15 April at Sydenham Garden (28a Wynell Road, SE23 2LW) with performances taking place around the garden throughout the afternoon. There will be plenty of refreshments and homemade cakes on sale. Entrance is free, but donations for Sydenham Garden will be welcomed. They ask that children under 16 are accompanied by a responsible adult.

Sydenham Garden

Established for ten years, this community project provides gardening and art therapy to local people with physical or mental health issues.

The new resource centre was opened in 2010 and the Garden is looking to expand to serve other community needs. The Gardens are actually just in Forest Hill, on Wynell Road, next to the Forest Hill Bowls club on the site of a, wait for it ... a former market garden (used up to the middle of the last century. The Gardens were proud to win a Lewisham in Bloom prize last year.

The charity has ambitious plans to grow food commercially at the former allotments in De Frene Road. Rubbish and debris has been cleared to get the land ready. In coming years you will dine in local fashionable restaurants knowing your produce is both fresh, local and supports the community. See www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk for further details including how to get involved and open days.

Sydenham Garden's new Resource Centre

On the last weekend of November, hundreds of residents braved the cold to watch the Mayor of Lewisham, Steve Bullock, open Sydenham Garden’s brand new resource centre.

For over eight years, the award-winning local charity has supported people in Lewisham and Bromley experiencing mental and physical ill health without having its own building from which to operate.

The charity has been fundraising to build the resource centre since 2005 and thanks to numerous grants and donations construction finally began in March 2010. The centre will provide much needed indoor space for therapeutic gardening and art sessions in the coming Winter months.

Chief Executive Jennie Graham says, “the building means we can expand the range of opportunities we provide for our service users.”

The building, which sits beside the garden and nature reserve, was designed by Architype to blend with the surrounding environment with sustainable features including a solar panel, thick insulation and a heat recovery system to reduce dramatically the heating requirements. It also has a bio-diverse roof to provide new habitats for wildlife.

Entrance to the garden is via a wooden access gate on Holland Drive, off Queenswood Road.  For more information about the charity, visit http://www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk/, contact it via email on info@sydenhamgarden.org.uk, or telephone on 020 8291 1650.

Local Plant Sales

It's that time of year again when all those gardeners who failed to plant their seeds in time can buy ready grown plants from the Friends of the Horniman and .

The annual Book and Plant Fair is being held at the Horniman today from 11am to 3pm

Sydenham Garden, an award-winning community garden on your doorstep, and are launching a new garden stall! The stall will be open every Wednesday from 19th May 2010 until the end of September. All proceeds from stall sales will go to the charity to support their work in the community.

Why not pop down, spend some time enjoying their garden oasis and pick up something fabulous at the same time! They will be selling

• Plants grown in their garden
• Home-made jams & chutneys
• Hand-made cards
• Arts and crafts
• Fresh, locally grown produce

The entrance to the garden and stall is via a wooden gate in Holland Drive, SE23. A map is available on their website.

Fundraising Dinner

Sydenham Garden and Ponte Nuovo (in Crystal Palace) would like to invite you to join them for an evening of fine dining, entertainment and great company on 16 June 2010 at 7.30pm

You'll meet lots of interesting new people, including many of their regular supporters, volunteers and staff. You'll also get to enjoy Ponte Nuovo's wonderful culinary delights in a spacious, modern Italian restaurant.

Tickets are available in advance at £25 each. The ticket price includes a fabulous two-course meal and a complimentary glass of wine. All proceeds raised on the night will go directly to supporting the charity's work.

They are busy planning some fun activities for the evening, so do make sure you book your ticket in advance as places are limited (only 100 tickets available). Book your ticket via the Sydenham Garden website