Bloomin' marvellous!

Lovely golden-flowered wild rose at the top end.

Hi all
'Our' Graham has been hard at work in the garden, planting the most beautiful combination of flowers, herbs and even vegetables. Here's a taste for you. Enjoy – and come visit!
Really sorry, no dogs, no wheels, though.

Centre piece in gold and purple – Chives, Aquilegia (Granny's bonnet), tulips – golden-flowered rose in the background

Mysterious Mecanopsis – what a success story here!

Beans flowering in the vegetable patch

Friday, 16 Nov 2012, 7pm – "Old Oban" slide show – fundraiser for our garden

Dear All

There will be an "Old Oban" slideshow to raise funds for the project – a fantastic kick-off of Oban's 2nd Winter Festival.

7pm, Glencruitten Church Hall, Glencruitten Road, Oban, Argyll

Bring a friend or three – and why not bring a generous donation also. We look forward to seeing you there.

For further details, please see flyers posted all over Oban, or call Kay at 01631 564 092

More photos from the Lynnside Community Garden

Dear All

The top end of the garden is taking shape beautifully, thanks to a lot of work, thanks mostly due to Graham's tireless efforts.

He has contributed the photos here, taken over the last few weeks. Lovely autumn colours, don't you think?

If you would like to contribute in terms of time and/or money, we will be happy to get back to you. Simply leave a comment at the end of this post with your contact details – your comment will not be published.

It is hoped that the garden can at long last be opened to the public next spring. Watch this space!

After flood no 6: debris and choked-up grate in Black Lynn

The worst of this morning's flood is over. As I type these lines, the sun has been shining for a couple of hours and the water has receded significantly.
Debris, including a sizeable stump of wood, has collected at the foot of the tall new fence across the burn along Dalintart Lane:Your blogger spent quite some time this afternoon removing several long pieces of wood and planking as well as more substantial rubbish, lots of plastic bottles etc., not least to make sure the youngsters in the neighbourhood can't toss this material back into the burn.
The burn still flows fiercely and has been eating away at its bank, especially below the footbridge in Dalintart Lane.
Further downstream, however, there is a badly choked-up double grate that protects the entrance to a sizeable culvert. The yellow bouncy ball in the photo below has meanwhile been claimed by an adventurous first-year High School pupil. He was going to toss it back into the burn but I suggested he take it home to his little sister, if he has one.

Flood no 6

Hello again
As you can imagine, with the heavy rains of the past two days or so, the Lynnside Community garden was once again flooded earlier this morning. Flooding has affected large areas of Argyll & Bute, with several roads closed just when the commuters wanted to use them.School kids and workers were unable to use Dalintart Lane because the water was at least 10 inches deep.It is the 5th such event since 10th October, 2008, and so far the 2nd worst I have observed since I arrived here in early May last year. The bad thing is that much more rain has been forecast for the next few days... It remains to be seen how much of the produce, the potatoes especially, that Graham has so diligently put into the ground will pull through without rotting.Personally, I think some mitigation work is required:
A lot of debris has been caught up by the footbridge on Dalintart Lane, some of it planking, some of it heavy wood, threatening to damage the fence erected last September.One of the problems is definitely the fact that the modern concrete slab across the burn is significantly lower than the original (19th century?) arch; the pipes/culverts running underneath it also block debris.
While I'm not sure raising the slab to give the water more room would sort the problem, I am confident that the water would back up a lot less if those obstacles were removed.
See for yourselves -- I'm attaching a few photos and a small video clip (medium resolution so here's hoping your inboxes won't fill up too badly). Click here for a video clip.

By about 10:50, the rain had abated, and the water has receded to the extent that the lane is passable again. But this is no reason to be complacent: more rain has been forecast and the weather charts show large, deep green swathes of heavy rain coming up from the south.

A rainbow above the garden

Hello all
A rainbow arched over the garden a few days ago. The warm wet spring weather and Graham's hard work have transformed the garden into a lush paradise. The first potato and pea leaves are already showing. Your Blogger was pleased to note that the bottom of the garden did not flood during the very heavy rains last Thursday and Friday. Evidently, clearing the burn of a lot of rubbish has had a beneficial effect.
Our next Garden Committee Meeting will be held on 2nd June. Please contact 07810 714 421 for details.

... during

Welcome back!
Thank you for your continued interest in the Lynnside Garden Project.
Here's a wee reminder of what the top end of the garden looked like before the workers moved in to clear out the weeds and rubbish:

© Photo: Gillian McInnes, Sept. 2008

The same place after the initial clearing:

© Photo: Gillian McInnes, Sept. 2008

Clearing work actually began shortly after 9AM on September 11, 2008:

Progress -- about two hours later:

Another hour later, just before lunch:

The men from the Employability team working hard to clear weeds and rubbish:

© Photo: Gillian McInnes, Sept. 2008

Lynnside Garden before ...

Thank you for your interest in the Lynnside Garden Project.
This is what the top end of the new community garden looked like before the gardeners moved in:

© Photo: Gillian McInnes, Sept. 2008© Photo: Gillian McInnes, Sept. 2008

And the bottom end was a haven for weeds, too:

July 2008

Sept. 2008

Come back soon. The next post will show work in progress.

Lynnside Project -- Now under way

Glencruitten Gazette, Issue One, September 2008:

"A community garden project is now under way.
"ACHA has kindly provided land at the top of Miller Road and Community Regeneration has started off our funding with a grant of £9,100.
"Hopefully, the project will provide something for everyone to enjoy, from a peaceful place to sit and watch the world go by to an area filled with plants and colour.
"It is a great opportunity to have a community area that belongs to the residents. It is hoped to have the area cleared and tidied soon, ready for the hard work to begin."

"At present the garden committee are working on all the technical aspects, such as funding, design, insurance, leases, ... The good news is we have a name. The Lynnside Project, a rough design, and fantastic people from ACHA, Gillian McInness, and Argyll & Bute Council Community Regeneration and Learning, Maureen Evans, who have provided us with the ground work for setting up something that will bring pleasure to the whole community."

"What we need now is a logo for our project. It would be really nice to have the ideas come from within the community. You don't have to be good at drawing. If you have any ideas or suggestions to develop the idea of a community garden for all generations, we would love to hear from you."
"Send your suggestions in [by leaving your comment on this blog -- the blog editor will make sure they reach Kay McDonald].
"You could even come along to the next Tenants & Residents Association Meeting."

(from: Glencruitten Gazette, Issue One September 2008; slightly edited and reproduced here with kind permission from the editor of the Glencruitten Gazette)