The second Monday of the month for Richmond GoodGym is the night when the all the might and manpower and enthusiasm of the weekly Group Run is focused on our sponsored garden plots in Buccleuch Gardens by the River Thames. Monday September 11th was a particularly monumental challenge but with a lot of hard graft we proved equal to this Herculean task and finished a massive amount of planting and watering and still had a bit of energy left for the monthly social afterwards.

It was a particularly challenging task as we were attempting to plant an incredible gift of over 50 plants donated by the nearby Petersham Nurseries. Beth and Anita had collected the donated plants from Petersham Nurseries earlier in the day, and were surprised, delighted and awed by the Nurseries’ generosity.

This influx of high-quality, well-established plants left the Group Run runners with a Herculean planting task, exacerbated by an additional 5 trays worth of Verbena Bonariensis and blue catanache grown from seed waiting to go in .

Early arrivals Beth, Anita and Rosie did some preparatory weeding around the Buccleuch Garden benches and The Three Pigeons Plot and sorted a planting schemes and a rough division of labour. Meanwhile Liz led the main Group Run from The Tap Tavern in Richmond and arriving at Buccleuch Gardens everyone was allocated into one of three teams led by Beth, Anita and Rosie (GG Richmond’s Buccleuch Gardens Task Force Team). In this way and with just two spades we somehow managed to complete an extraordinary amount of new planting around The Arcade, The Benches and The Three Pigeons Plot.

And, with three non-stop water carriers working throughout, we were able to water in the new plants and bring much needed water to some of our plants struggling in the September heat wave.

We can’t thank Petersham Nurseries enough for such an amazing donation of plants. Hidden away near St Peters Church, Church Lane, Petersham, TW10 7AB you’ll find not only a high quality plant nursery but also a unique café, shop and an acclaimed restaurant . It is the most magical spot. Please do go visit and say ‘Thank You’.

https://petershamnurseries.com