Bohemia Village Voice  Bohemia Village Voice

For bohemians everywhere

The Unsecret Garden Walled Garden group launches 25,000 appeal. Open day

You may be one of the lucky ones who already knows the Walled Garden in Summerfields Wood. Many people in our area have heard of it but don’t know where it is or what it looks like.  To make this “secret garden” more widely known, the Bohemia Walled Garden Association would like to welcome people at the site on Saturday the 18th July. The treasurer, Bob Hart, and the secretary, Susan Thomson, look forward to seeing anyone interested in the garden, to show you around, explain the challenges ahead and enthuse you with the possibilities of this site.  One way you can get to the garden is by following the path between the Police Station and the Law Courts. The BWGA has been trying hard to get this neglected site restored and back into active horticultural use. Many inquiries and applications have been sent out to funding bodies, but with little success.  We have not been able to find anyone willing to offer help toward the restoration expenses, which is the first and most critical stage of the project. We have been told that in the future, when the essential building work has been done, we should apply again for funding for the horticultural activities.  But if we cannot make the site safe and secure, we cannot begin to invite people inside.  All future horticultural plans, which could involve so many people from our local community, are “on hold” until the structural problems are solved.
So we turn to you, readers of the Bohemia Village Voice, to support us in our efforts.  We have started a “donations campaign”, with heartening results.  We have already received £120 from encouraging friends. We now appeal to the wider community to raise the money to repair the walls. The bill for the initial work is estimated to be around £25,000. This is a huge amount of money … but if we can show that, as a community, we are pulling together towards this goal, we should attract donations from well-wishers beyond the Bohemia area. Please help us to help our community.  We appeal to you for a donation to help us make a start!  
o Donations should be made to the “Bohemia Walled Garden Association” and sent to the Bohemia Village Voice, 79 Bohemia Road, St. Leonards, TN37 6RJ.
 Thank you, Sue Thomson, secretary BWGA.
email: BWGA@dynamicaudio.co.uk

”]Overgrown boundary of the Walled Garden; note hole in wall. Inset: large part of wall missing [photos: Bob Hart]

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