As a spin-off from the Marlborough in Bloom campaign Anthony Atkinson, a local gardening expert has been visiting St Peter’s school laden with plants and compost, to educate the children about the food production aspects of gardening.
Making gardening for food fun – encourage children to become involved at a very young age and let them get enthused over planting lettuces and other easily grown food plants, nurturing the small shoots and watching them grow into plants that can be harvested and added to the dinner plate. That’s the theme of Anthony’s efforts as herbs, lettuces and other small food plants can be grown anywhere, even in the smallest of spaces, and can be easy to grow and rewarding to eat.
As a ‘taster’ they planted a mix of herbs, including Purple Sage, Golden Oregano (probably familiar from pizzas), chives, Thyme ‘Silver Queen’ and Celery leaf.
Mrs Caroline Spindlow, the headmistress of St Peter’s School, has been thoroughly supportive of the idea of getting some of the children involved with a gardening project, and particularly the idea of them producing edible plants.
The young gardeners will share their achievements with their fellow pupils in assembly, explaining what they have done and how big the plants have become. When the Marlborough in Bloom judges pass by on 14 July, they might even be offeref the chance of tasting a leaf or two – surely a prize-winning gesture!