Sponsored gardening!

Hiya! I've never posted on this forum before, but I've had an idea and a gardening forum seems the obvious place to ask people's opinions.

We have a very large garden by normal standards, about 1 acre. The trouble is it's getting out of control! Living out in the country we are bombarded by weeds, and the plants we have are getting tired. Basically the whole thing is in need of a makeover.

My mum and I were having a good moan about it the other day as we attempted to tackle it, (we both have ME so we struggle to keep things in order, and lack of funds means we can't afford a gardener to see to it). My question now is whether there are any willing volunteers out there who'd like to do a 'sponsored gardening' for a few hours, (in the spring) in aid of their chosen charity. It'd be just like doing a sponsored walk or swim or something - you'd ask friends and family to sponsor you are see how much you can raise - and the garden would get some much needed TLC.

I think it'd be a fun and sociable day. We could have a BBQ in the garden, and maybe hire a bouncy castle to keep any kids occupied? Of course, this is really a hypothetical question - obviously most of you would be much too far away to come here. In theory though, do you think it would work?

Thanks for reading this. I hope I made sense!

 

I think its an excellent idea. The trouble is getting people who really know what they're doing and won't make it worse. As you are down in Cornwall though, and have such a large garden, here's another idea. How about organising a bit of a do, get a handful of new age folks to come down, get a barbie on the go, get them to bring their guitars, and let them camp overnight in return for doing your garden. Cornwall is, as I'm sure you know, very popular with visitors from all over the country, and understandably so, its a lovely area.

 

If you've got enough room that someone could grow some produce - some for you, some for them, plus they have to maintain your garden, then might be worth trying:

http://landshare.channel4.com/

 

Hi Vicky,I think Kristens idea is best and safest.

 

i'd love to come down for a holiday and do your garden

 

When we took on this wilderness that passed for a garden and, after having had the men with their JCBs in, we invited just about everyone we knew, (family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues) to a 'Garden Party'. We asked them all to bring a spade or fork and, while I did 'something clever' with a barbecue, we asked everyone to clear the weeds from 1 square metre - which doesn't sound very much but with 20 people it made a huge difference, meant no-one had to work for longer than about 30 minutes and they got well fed into the bargain. Having got the ground cleared, it became much easier to keep the new weeds under control.

 

Also, you might want to get in touch with the local schools, I wouldn't be surprised to find a bunch of future professional gardeners wanting to get their nails dirty for a nominal fee and/or a written reference.
It might be a good idea to approach a school with a well thought written project (or a list of seasonal projects) "preparing a new flower bed" "Weeding in early spring" Pruning in spring" etc. In the end, you could be giving something to the youngsters and gain something as well.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys - it's given us a lot of ideas. There's plenty of time to think about it yet, but hopefully we'll come up with something.

 

Hi again everyone!

Well, spring seems to be here now, and not suprisingly, the garden is still a bit of a state! I've been thinking about it and was wondering if you think anyone would want a 'gardening holiday'? Doubtful, I suppose, as most people go on holiday to get away from the every day stuff! We do have a nice empty field though, which could be used for camping? Does anyone know anything about having a campsite? Sorry, I don't know anything about it, and the net isn't helping much!


1. How much does it cost to camp in Cornwall, lets say for 5 days in May, in your own tent?

2. As above, but in your own caravan/campervan?

3. Is it legal to charge people to use your field as a campsite, literally for 5 days in the year? If so, is there a limit to how many people you can have stay?

4. What's the deal with insurence?


I don't suppose this is the right place to ask really, just wondered if anyone knew? Also, do you think anyone would actually WANT to do any voluntary gardening (some outdoor DIY too?) when there is so much else to do down here? Do you think (like my original idea) they could get friends to sponser them to do, say, an hour a day work in the garden? I would need to charge for the camping in order to cover the cost of the gardening bits and bobs, so I couldn't really expect them to do work for nothing.

It's all sounding a bit far fetched I know, but money is in v. short supply at the moment, and it would be nice to get the garden sorted out a bit.

EDIT: Sorry, I didn't really answer your individual suggestions, did I? Kirsten, Unfortunately the garden is a funny sort of shape, without any real 'room' for anyone to grow their own here. My dad's veggie patch is taking up the only suitable area. Fidgetsmum, I don't know anyone who's in to gardening at all - all our friends moan about doing their own! Selleri, that would be a good idea except I don't know what I'm doing at all when it comes to gardening, so I certainly couldn't guide a load of kids! I don't know, maybe it's something we'll just have to put up with. There are worse things than a weedy garden!