I can remember when the Holifield Farm project was 5, its founder, Robert West saying " In child terms we are still in our early days".
Well now our very own project is having to get ready for big school as it is soon to be 11years since Peter and I agreed to buy the abandoned nursery in August 1999.
The garden is changing and expanding, as to the cafe which now offers more space and more food, grown up food in the evenings too!
The tenants have gone from 2 , blacksmith Marcus & Green Woodworker Rory, to 12 diverse talented people making things from boats to broaches.

Recently I took Mark and Gary on a trip back in time, into the overgrown nursery stock by the car park where it was just possible to be lost and immersed in the atmosphere that once covered the entire 4.6 acres. We tied red ribbons on the shrubs to be saved, the rest will be felled and chipped to make way for overflow parking.

Yesterday I woo'd and wow'd the gathered gardeners with 'baby' photos of Potager, guessing where was where and wondering at how small plants had been.

The photo shows Mark holding a rescued Weigela, some what pot bound from 1980.