On August 7th, following on from creating the new display in the planter on Platform 1, James and 12 volunteers planted up 6 new window boxes to go along the front of the station.  The task was completed in a record time of just half an hour.Coolings were super generous and donated everything needed for the window boxes free of charge.  The aim was to incorporate drought proof plants and pollinator friendly plants.The following were planted in peat free compost: 6 x Salvia Victoria Blue (“Thriller”)3 x pack of six red geranium (“Filler”)12 x bacopia gold (“Spiller”)The team are now arranging a rota for watering and deadheading to keep the boxes looking good.  The next step is to think about Autumn plants.

We have now assembled a team of 19 volunteers, and we are now ready for the challenge of keeping the station looking nice. The first job for our horticultural team, led by James Holdak, was to create a display in our new metal planter on Platform 1, using plants donated by the wonderful people at Coolings Garden Centre. The following were planted: 4 x Helianthus Sunbelievable brown eyed girl (sunflowers) 6 x Orange marigolds 6 x Yellow marigolds 4 x Convolvulus Trailing blue 2 x Petunia Night sky (purple trumpet shaped flowers) The planter was looking splendid in the bright sunshine on August 11th when a rail tour heading for Canterbury passed through the station