The spades were at the ready. The venues were set. Teams of helpers at our two tree planting venues were on their way. All we were missing... were the trees!
Our online nursery had let us down, or maybe it was the courier. I’ll mention no names, but I wouldn’t again trust a company named after a dangerous explosive to transport fragile goods. I made my way over to the local garden centre and waited for it to open. Luckily, they had apple trees in stock so my heart started beating at a much more normal rate. I spoke to the lovely manager of the garden centre, who kindly agreed to giving us the trees for free! She then proceeded to load our 5ft trees on to a cart, but did not stop at the two we needed. She kept on going until we eventually walked out with FIVE free trees!
Now we just had to get them to our venues. Two blokes walking up a High Street, each hugging a 5ft tree would normally turn a few heads. But this is Camden. Getting to the bus stop wasn’t too much of a problem, but waiting for the bus was a little nerve wracking. If the bus driver wouldn’t let us on, there’s no way we could have walked the whole way to Swiss Cottage without collapsing under the weight of what by now felt like giant redwoods. We were in luck. The driver had a chuckle as we turned the downstairs of his bus in to a mini orchard. Parting the branches for fellow passengers to get out the door, we held on tight, and the trees enjoyed what I expect to have been their first journey on a London bus.
We made it to Swiss Cottage in one piece, and the nice driver waved us off. The residential block - Taplow - towered above us, as we went in to meet its Tenants’ Association Gardening Club, who gave us a warm welcome and a much needed cuppa. Now it was time to plant some trees...
Our online nursery had let us down, or maybe it was the courier. I’ll mention no names, but I wouldn’t again trust a company named after a dangerous explosive to transport fragile goods. I made my way over to the local garden centre and waited for it to open. Luckily, they had apple trees in stock so my heart started beating at a much more normal rate. I spoke to the lovely manager of the garden centre, who kindly agreed to giving us the trees for free! She then proceeded to load our 5ft trees on to a cart, but did not stop at the two we needed. She kept on going until we eventually walked out with FIVE free trees!
Now we just had to get them to our venues. Two blokes walking up a High Street, each hugging a 5ft tree would normally turn a few heads. But this is Camden. Getting to the bus stop wasn’t too much of a problem, but waiting for the bus was a little nerve wracking. If the bus driver wouldn’t let us on, there’s no way we could have walked the whole way to Swiss Cottage without collapsing under the weight of what by now felt like giant redwoods. We were in luck. The driver had a chuckle as we turned the downstairs of his bus in to a mini orchard. Parting the branches for fellow passengers to get out the door, we held on tight, and the trees enjoyed what I expect to have been their first journey on a London bus.
We made it to Swiss Cottage in one piece, and the nice driver waved us off. The residential block - Taplow - towered above us, as we went in to meet its Tenants’ Association Gardening Club, who gave us a warm welcome and a much needed cuppa. Now it was time to plant some trees...
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