Last month, our team took on the daunting (but long overdue) task of giving the polytunnel in our garden its annual spring clean. It was no small undertaking and called for a fair bit of creativity to devise the right cleaning solutions. Yet what could have felt like a purely practical job unfolded into something far more memorable: a special day poised in that fleeting seasonal threshold, at the turning point where winter softened and spring quietly emerged.
Leona shares how the day unfolded:
The day started in the garden looking over the low hanging clouds in the valley below, with Jaya sharing a beautiful poem, which was on theme with the winter to spring transition:
“I gave the earth everything
that pulled me through the lonely winter —
oak trees, barns, poems.
I picked up my shovel
and turned hard, gray dirt,
the blade splitting winter
from spring.”
Read the full poem here: https://hellopoetry.com/poems/85396/sacrifices
The team then activated with some energising breathwork from Beth before getting stuck into our first big task of the day – removing the old, collapsed fence behind the polytunnel and cutting plants back to clear that area for the big clean and for the new fence to be built.
We soaked an old towel with washing up liquid, wrapped & tied that around a hose, then tied that into a big tarp with straps on both sides. We pushed the tarp up on top of the polytunnel with brooms then had one person holding either side. With the tap on, the two people shimmied along following the instruction of someone else inside. Others were cleaning with brushes and rags.
It was a huge collaborative team effort that yielded transformational results (the photo of the 6 of us shows the clean panels in front of us and the uncleaned behind for comparison!) We could even see the river and moon through the plastic once it was cleaned!
It was really special that it was three generations of Apricot Centre trainees working together with our new garden volunteer, Colin. We experienced all the weathers – rain, sunshine, hail, a rainbow and welcomed them all!
The plants growing in the polytunnel and seeds who will be growing in there soon will thrive with the light and our reciprocal relationship with them will continue as we experience the joy of their growth and eat their nutritious gifts in return.
By Leona Brennan, Garden Facilitator.
