The gardening village

There must be some keen gardeners living in Saltaire, despite the fact that most of the village houses have minute gardens. The community gardens initiative: 'Veg on the Edge' that was begun in 2014 (see HERE) seems to be going from strength to strength. As well as the original raised beds installed in the Caroline Street car park (above), they now have plots beside the railway station platform, in the Wash House garden, outside the college's Exhibition Building and at the bottom of Baker Street. Veg, fruit and herbs are grown by volunteers and the idea is that anyone can help themselves to a few bits, once the produce looks ready to harvest. I've never taken any... it seems all wrong to take advantage of someone else's hard work and, having no 'green fingers', I'm not going to get involved in the cultivation. But they seem keen to get people to use the stuff, as they had an article in the local magazine urging folks to make the most of it. 

There are allotments beside Salts Mill and in a large area at the back of the church, rented out to local people, and they seem well used and productive. There is also a thriving horticultural department at Shipley College. They have greenhouses in the college grounds and a large area of gardens on Caroline Street (below). At this time of year, with the beds dug over and still bare, it all looks neat and has an air of anticipation. (They seem to rip things up quite frequently. I suppose each cohort of students has to start from scratch.) Soon there'll be an explosion of growth as the weather warms up.