On Easter Saturday Mr J hosted a GoodGym gardening session for the first time. While many mission beneficiaries are keen gardeners and can advise GoodGymers on how to best deal with their plants, Mr J represented a whole new level - he used to work at Kew's arboretum! With such an expert around, Sevan and Kash turned into gardening apprentices and were all ears to hear about all the horticultural tips.

Mr J loved spending time in nature, and was making the most of his two gardens, despite his reduced mobility, thanks to a network of strategically positioned walking frames and chairs around his place. Unfortunately, even the best strategy could not make up for difficulty moving around, so Mr J's garden was easily getting overgrown.

"This is not a jungle, this is a garden in restoration." - Mr J.

According to Mr J, having too well-managed garden wasn't his style.

"I'm not a stripy-lawn type of person"  - Mr J.

Mr J knew exactly what was hiding under a thick layer of ivy. He recited all the fruit trees he planted, including quince and two different varieties of apple trees, which were specifically paired to maximise the benefits of pollinators. Ivy was the priority to tackle, ideally by chopping it close to the ground, so that the rest would die out.

"There are nettles out there. You should have brought socks!"

Sevan had only short socks on, while Kash (although less likley of the pair to be prepared) brought PPE: the brambleproof gloves and signature high colourful socks. It was decided that Kash would fight the ivy, while Sevan would work with Mr J on equally important job: decluttering garden equipment and packing it into containers. To make that effective, some rules had to be established:

"If it doesn't fit, it's got to go."

After Sevan finished, he was going to help Kash with the ivy, but Mr J came up with another priority: cutting back an overgrown rose bush. The main objective: make space for Mr J to pass through. The secondary objective: rescue a trolley trapped under the thorny branches. Both tasks were surprisingly easy to achieve, despite Sevan getting constantly scratched by the rose. Next time he will bring his socks and thick gloves for sure!

The rescued trolley was used as stand for Mr J's seed trays. Since the GoodGymers had 15 minutes extra to spare before running to the next task, they fixed the ramp to the back garden and cut back the rhubarb flowers. Mr J explained that it helped direct the plant's energy resources to feed the tasty, leafy stems instead.

After the task, the very grateful Mr J had a little gift for the GoodGymers: a small sunflower seedling for each. Sevan had to be extra careful to run with the pot in his hand. No sunflowers were hurt on the way back home.