Kingsbridge Community Garden recently played host to members of the Kingsbridge and South Hams Art Club, who visited the garden to sketch and paint ‘en plain air’.

Following their enthusiastic response in early September, it was decided to hold an exhibition of their work at an informal ‘Coffee and Cake’ morning in Dodbrooke Parish Hall.

Over 20 completed art works were on show, on November 13, in a range of media, together with sketch books, greetings cards and ‘works in progress’.

Alongside was a display of autumnal flowers and vegetables from the Community Garden itself.

Rosemary Speed, with her late husband John, both long-time supporters of KCG, had conceived the idea of the initial visit, as a way of encouraging more people to enjoy the facilities at the Garden.

She had sponsored the event, and was there to judge the entries, and distribute prizes to five talented artists, praising the wide range of artistic skills on show.

Artwork advertising the exhibition in Dodbrooke Parish Hall
Artwork advertising the exhibition in Dodbrooke Parish Hall (Kingsbridge Community Garden)

Donations for the seasonal refreshments, which included home-made Pumpkin and Ginger Tea bread, were in aid of St Thomas’s Church outreach mission support for the USPG’s Christmas Appeal 2024, and raised £115.

This sum will help to support the Church of Bangladesh to deliver ‘Safe Beginnings’ to mothers and babies in rural areas of that country.

A further £50.00 was donated to the Community Garden itself, which is involved in the restoration of the pond area, an important wild-life feature within that area of the ‘Green space’ behind Fore Street, and popular with the children from the adjacent Ark Nursery.

The Trustees of the garden would appreciate any offers of practical help to continue to maintain the peaceful and attractive environment, a part of Kingsbridge’ s gardening tradition for almost 30 years. Volunteers meet on Tuesday and Friday mornings and there are always jobs to be done.