The youth group leader came out a few weeks ago and the news was better than I expected; not only have they offered to clear the compost/rubbish heap, but they're also going to clear out all the brambles, take out the overgrown rosebush, the ash sapling choking some other roses out, pave the lower portion of my garden, clear up my current raised bed and port in some more soil for me to use, and generally do a huge tidy and prune back.  I'm completely thrilled!  They apologised that they wouldn't get to it till the end of March but, honestly, I don't care!  I'm so thrilled. 

The Fairy Gardenmother is plugging away as best she can, and she has also been inspired to open a sister business for the brain injured/ those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/autism, ADHD, etc.  Her new business is called Independent Gardening (IG) and I'm so amazed at this woman's drive.  I've been trying not only to find further funding for my own garden, but helping her build up funds for others who are in the same boat as myself, and I hope there's some progress being made on all fronts.

I still have the leveling and the fencing funding to tackle, but I'm in the process of sending off paperwork for more grants to maybe cover this.  I'm hopeful that we'll manage to get quite a lot done this year, and even if we don't manage to get it all done, I'm already thrilled at how much is coming together.

Donated seeds from dear friends have been coming in, as well as a cherry tree!  Sprog is so excited, and we've planted early herbs and some heirloom tagates which are already starting to send forth little seedlings.  He's being amazing, planting carefully and watering and tending them with an attention to detail and care which makes me very proud indeed.

My next-door neighbour who has been following progress with interest has equally caught the gardening bug, though she really hasn't done much of it before.  I'm trying to help her get a food garden started, and yesterday we raised a neighbour's "bound for the skip" pile (with permission) and came back with a bewildering amount of planting pots - we had originally thought they'd just be plastic, but oh no, these were terra-cotta, some were glazed beautifully, and a fair few were huge!  We've got some scrubbing to do tomorrow but we'll have them in fine fettle for growing all sorts of things in!

The weather is taking a turn back to winter, but I'm feeling really positive about the coming year - every little helps, and the little bits and pieces people have been sending my way is turning into a fantastic gardening WHOLE.  Onward and upward, we'll hope!