“March brings breezes, loud and shrill, 
To stir the dancing daffodil.” Sara Coleridge, The Garden Year 

March is Most Likely the Gardener's Busiest Month!

This month has consisted of sowing, sowing, and more sowing! We've sown different varieties of tomatoes, aubergines, runner beans, chilies, watermelons, salad leaves, herbs, and roots (to name a few!). Most have started life in propagators in the orange container (more on that later) or in the polytunnel, as most seedlings prefer a warm environment to germinate. Hardier seeds like spinach have been directly sown outside.

Move Over, Marvin Gaye!

Ani and Laurence expertly pruned the grapevine in the polytunnel. This is the time to cut back the vine to encourage new growth. Don't be afraid to cut back more than you think. The rule of thumb is to choose a few of the strongest canes to leave and prune the rest. Typically, people choose 10 to 12 good canes and shorten them to four or five buds each.

The Hügelkultur Method

We tried the Hügelkultur method with our raised beds alongside the glass panels of the colonnade. In Hügelkultur, you layer different organic materials together, which will slowly release nutrients into the soil for years to come. To try it yourself, simply add a base layer of cardboard, wood such as logs and smaller dried twigs, and hay or grass cuttings, followed by green organic material. Then layer a lot of compost and topsoil, and you're ready to plant. Please note that the soil level will fall as the layers decompose. In this case, simply add another layer of soil to the top.

Bye-Bye, Orange!

This month has seen us update one of the staples in the GRAFT garden: the orange container. Over the years, the vibrant orange container has, well, become a bit tired and showed its age. So we decided to give it a facelift and employed the expertise of brothers Hassan and Kareem, who designed and painted the container. It's turned some heads and really given the garden a new lease on life! The design reflects the important elements of the garden and connects to nature.

A Cockleshell Pathway

We took delivery of some Penclawdd cockles to build a cockleshell pathway, making the garden more accessible, especially on rainy days. This will be an ongoing project, so watch this space!

Natural Dyes Workshop

On Thursday, March 14th, GRAFT volunteers visited the National Wool Museum in Drefach to learn about natural dyes and how to incorporate them into the GRAFT garden.

Susan taught everyone about the natural dyeing process using different plants. Then, everyone had a go at dyeing wool themselves in various colors. They even gave GRAFT seeds to get started, which we plan to plant this month!

Chai and Chat Takeover 

We are fortunate to be able to work with and host many community events and groups here at the Waterfront Museum! We're even more fortunate to offer them a taste of different aspects of the museum. On Wednesday, March 27th, the Chai and Chat group, which meets weekly at the museum, visited GRAFT and helped plant some seeds, transplant tomato seedlings, move strawberry plants, and harvest salad from our polytunnel. We're excited to welcome them back to the garden in the future!

Farewell, Zoë!

March also sees us sadly say farewell to one of the project founders, Zoë, who will be leaving the museum for new adventures! She leaves a great legacy in GRAFT and will be missed by all the volunteers, partners, and staff who use the garden.

I will be updating readers every month or two months with the general work we have done in the garden. We will pass on information we have learnt, things we have done well (and not so well) and any tips for budding gardeners (or experienced gardeners) out there to take to your own green space. I will also include a seasonal recipe from The Shared Plate using ingredients from GRAFT. 

Mae Amgueddfa Cymru wedi dechrau partneriaeth gyda Tŷ Hafan fel rhan o’n Rhaglen Teuluoedd a Blynyddoedd Cynnar. Yn y bartneriaeth hon, rydyn ni hefyd yn gweithio gyda grŵp SuperSibs Tŷ Hafan, a grëwyd ar gyfer brodyr a chwiorydd plant â salwch sy’n cyfyngu ar eu bywyd a theuluoedd sydd wedi cael profedigaeth. Yn ein sesiynau, rydyn ni’n ysgogi’r plant gyda chrefftau, chwarae a gemau sy’n seiliedig ar agweddau o gasgliad ein hamgueddfa, megis ‘Diwrnod Darganfod Deinosoriaid’, ‘Dan y Môr’ a ‘Bwystfilod Bach’.

Mae rhai sesiynau yn cael eu cynnal yn yr Hosbis ei hun, sydd ger y traeth, a’r tir hardd o’i hamgylch yn rhoi lle i’r teuluoedd ymlacio, chwarae a chrwydro. Mae sesiynau eraill yn cael eu cynnal ar-lein o’r amgueddfa, gan ddarparu fersiwn ddigidol a hygyrch y gellir ei gwneud gartref o’r gweithgareddau sydd wedi’u cynllunio. Mae ein sesiynau yn aml yn canolbwyntio ar weithgareddau cymdeithasol mewn grŵp sy’n cynnig cyfle i blant chwarae a threulio amser gyda’i gilydd, tra’n gwneud defnydd o gasgliad trin a thrafod hyfryd yr amgueddfa. Mae’r gweithgareddau anffurfiol yn annog iddyn nhw sgwrsio, ymddiried a rhannu, sy’n gallu bod yn fuddiol ac yn bwysig i blant a allai fod â phrofiadau bywyd tebyg. 

Gan weithio gyda’r staff gwych yn Tŷ Hafan, rydyn ni’n gallu cyfrannu at yr amgylchedd positif, diddorol a chyfeillgar hwn drwy rannu ein hadnoddau a datblygu perthynas deilwng o ymddiriedaeth gyda theuluoedd hyfryd Tŷ Hafan!

Thank you to all of the schools who have uploaded their weather and flower data before finishing for the holidays. Some of you are still collecting data this week and will be uploading it to the website on Thursday. Thank you for all of your hard work. 

Schools have shared some lovely comments about the project this week. Some of these are included to the right. 

After the holidays we will announce winners of the BulbCast video competition. In May we will send prizes out to all schools who have shared data. Before the end of the school year we will share a report that explores the weather and flower data and compares it to previous years. 

Thanks again Bulb Buddies,

Professor Plant

“Waeth pa mor hir y gaeaf, mae’r gwanwyn yn sicr o ddilyn”. 

I lawer, Mawrth yw'r mis i ddechrau hau, plannu a chyffroi am flwyddyn yn llawn cynhaeaf. Ond dyw gwirfoddolwyr GRAFT heb aros a disgwyl am fis Mawrth – maen nhw wedi palu ’mlaen drwy dywydd oer y gaeaf yn tacluso a pharatoi’r ardd ar gyfer y flwyddyn i ddod. 

Ar ôl ychydig wythnosau o ymlacio, roedden ni nol ar 12 ac 19 Ionawr. Gyda’r tywydd garw a’r toriadau pŵer yn yr Amgueddfa dyma ni’n cadw at waith cynnal a chadw, gan glirio rhai o’n gwelyau uchel a pharatoi gwelyau i’w plannu yn ddiweddarach yn y flwyddyn. Tasg fwy cyffrous oedd trefnu’r holl hadau yn ôl y mis [Cyngor Craff] wnaeth ein helpu i gynllunio pa hadau oedd angen eu prynu gan ein cyflenwyr (Real Seeds, a’r Incredible Seed Hub) a threfnu amserlen dyfu y flwyddyn i ddod. 

Dyma ni hefyd yn clirio a thocio’r Fedwen a phlannu rhywfaint o ddraenen ddu a draenen wen. Bydd hyn yn gwneud y clawdd yn fwy deniadol i rywogaethau bywyd gwyllt (a gallwn ni hefyd gasglu mwyar blasus). 

Compost campus! Mae compost mor bwysig i'r ardd am lawer o resymau. Mae'n lleihau gwastraff a thirlenwi ac arbed dŵr, ac yn cyfoethogi'r pridd ac ychwanegu cymaint o ficro-organebau. Mae'n wych i'r amgylchedd – drwy gompostio gartref rydych chi’n lleihau eich ôl troed carbon drwy beidio â phrynu gwrtaith ffatri. [Cyngor Craff] Pethau da i’w taflu i’r pentwr compost yw: sborion ffrwythau a llysiau, gwaddod coffi, cregyn wyau (ond maen nhw’n cymryd amser i bydru), toriadau glaswellt a phlanhigion. PEIDIWCH ychwanegu: bara, cynhyrchion llaeth, reis ac unrhyw beth sydd ddim yn fioddiraddadwy, fel plastigion, papur sgleiniog, sticeri a rhai brandiau bagiau te. 

Arweiniodd Annie y gwirfoddolwyr GRAFT a thrigolion Gofal Dydd West Cross i wagio a hidlo’r pentwr compost, a thynnu mwydod allan i'w hychwanegu eto. 

Bob mis neu ddau bydda i’n rhannu’r newyddion diweddaraf am ein gwaith yn yr ardd. Byddwn ni’n rhannu unrhyw beth rydyn ni’n ei ddysgu, beth sydd wedi gweithio’n dda (a ddim cystal) ac unrhyw awgrymiadau i arddwyr (hen a newydd) eu defnyddio yn eich mannau gwyrdd eich hun. Bydda i hefyd yn cynnwys rysáit tymhorol o The Shared Plate gan ddefnyddio cynhwysion GRAFT.