St Ninian's & St Clement's

St Ninian's & St Clement's, Catholic Churches Together

Category: Garden

A diary of progress of the Mary Garden

Eco / Garden

Did you know …..

that the Church gardens aren’t just about the flowers and veg! We have lots of bird feeders and bug hotels around the area to encourage and protect wildlife and we made a “pond” from an old sink. We make our own compost and, from the leaves we sweep up in Autumn, we make leaf mould to spread on the raised beds. We have water butts to collect all this rain that seems to fall daily and there are several varieties of fruit trees in the orchard which are now really beginning to blossom. As well as growing flowers for the altar and the tables in CCs, we grow herbs and vegetables which are often added to hearty soups to be served up on Thursdays. The garden gang are heavily involved in all sorts of garden maintenance; cleaning, painting, digging, chopping, sweeping and building. So, if you can spare an hour or two over the summer to come and help with some essential jobs such as watering and weeding then it would be much appreciated! Oh, and one more thing…. Did you know … there’s always tea and cake 🙂

Eco / Garden

Local Connections

Following an appeal from Ballumbie Hedgehog Rescue (and following on from CC Juniors hedgehog theme in February!) a couple of us went to visit The Men’s Shed In Invergowrie to try to build links within the local community. Long story short – the Men’s Shed have helped us in the production of a hedgehog house which in turn has helped Ballumbie who are delighted with our efforts to try to provide a safe shelter for a hedgehog! All we have to do now is wait and hope …. 🦔 

The Men’s Shed is a fantastic environment for men (only) who enjoy working with wood and metal and is a place to chat, work, relax and get support from others.  It’s a huge area with lots going on. It really was inspiring to see the projects happening and luckily Jim (Ashwood) was able to work with a friend who is a member there and wow! look at their finished product! 🤩  Thanks so much for a great job Jim!

We are very grateful to The Men’s Shed for donating these beautiful wooden items made by their members. We hope to sell them within the Parish as a fundraiser. They look amazing! Thank you Men’s Shed!

Eco / Garden / Recycling / St Ninian’s

CC Juniors Gardening Club

Thursday past, despite the very poor weather conditions, 8 youngsters turned up after school for the first of monthly meetings of CC’s Juniors. (Gardening Club). Louise, Bernadette and Maureen had a busy but fun time with the children- sowing seeds, planting bulbs, making bird feeders from peanut butter + toilet roll!

They also enjoyed a healthy snack of fruit kebabs.

Our CC Junior Gardening Club is in full swing! 🌱 by Margret MacPhail

cafe / Eco / Garden / St Ninian’s

Garden Update

The Garden Gang have been working away every Thursday in rain, hail and sunshine, ensuring the Mary Garden is kept in good shape, the garden produce is fed and harvested and flowers picked for CC’s and the altar. They also have a rota for watering the gardens to ensure our lovely flowers and plants don’t dehydrate :). Thank you Garden Gang!

tomatoes, strawberries, beans, spinach
flowers for the altar
healthy looking peppers

cafe / cookery / Eco / Garden / St Ninian’s

From Garden to Jar

Last week we had a bumper crop of strawberries, thanks to the dedication of our fabulous Garden Gang and of course, Mother Nature who provided the sun and rain (a lot).  Brian was our official taster and with the help of his trusty ‘sidekick’ Jim, picked 3kg of strawberries which have now been made into jam.  This will be served very soon as an accompaniment to scones as part of the Afternoon Tea menu.  

Brian tasting the strawberries
Just picked
Washed and halved
Sugar added and now boiling
jarred and sealed
finished jam!

Eco / Garden / St Ninian’s

May Flower Procession

Today the children celebrated our Mother Mary with a lovely contribution during Mass. They distributed flowers to the ladies in the congregation and laid a ring of flowers at the foot of the statue in the Mary Garden. The children did a wonderful job and we are very proud of them. We would like to say thank you to Sister Christy Paul and community for providing the beautiful outfits, to Father Andrew for his part in making it run so smoothly and to Colette because, without her wonderful singing voice, these things would never be quite so special.

Children's liturgy

Laying flowers in the Mary Garden

Remember Maria…..

Eco / Garden

Earth Day

UK nature is beautiful and precious – but it’s in crisis. That’s why from 28th April – 1st May it’s important that people come together to sow, grow, and create thriving habitats for the nature on our doorstep.

Whether it’s a garden, a balcony, or an unloved community space, any outdoor area can become a flourishing wildlife haven.  

The truth is, every one of us, no matter who we are, or where we live, can and must play a part in restoring nature” Sir David Attenborough

So, Louise, from our Parish Garden Gang has put together packs of compost with a few nasturtium seeds which are so easy to grow even on a windowsill if you’ve no garden. These are being offered to parishioners this weekend at the Vigil and Sunday morning Mass.

Judi has once again made up Sunflower Growing Kits for the children. We look forward to hearing about all the lovely flowers that are so good for wildlife!

For more information about Earth Day go here