Tree Planting with Benhall Primary School

We were thrilled to welcome pupils from Benhall Primary School to our Old Bank Garden for an exciting tree-planting event. Together, we planted a beautiful ring of fruit trees supplied by Botanica, a local nursery and arboretum renowned for cultivating trees, plants, and shrubs of authentic English provenance. This ring of fruit trees will become a small circular orchard in our riverside garden.

This marks a significant and joyful moment for the garden, as these fruit trees will not only enhance the space with their natural beauty but also create a welcoming habitat for wildlife and offer both blossom for pollinators and fruit fro the community and local wildlife. We look forward to watching them flourish and enrich the garden for years to come, benefiting nature and our local community.

Under the expert guidance of artist and gardener Jevan Watkins Jones, along with his dedicated team of volunteers, we demonstrated the traditional English method of planting trees on a mound. This method improves soil drainage and helps protect the trees from flooding, ensuring their healthy growth. Pupils from Benhall Primary School joined in, each having a chance to dig, plant, protect, and label the fruit trees. They also assisted in filling our insect hotels, which were skillfully built by the local social group, Men’s Shed, and will soon be installed on Fromus Green.

The riverside orchard and Insect Village are made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to plant these trees and create the Insect Village together.