Are we growing weeds at the Taproom?

Lofty visions for the ‘jungle project’

A wildlife garden starts with a bunch of plants and so that is why we are loving our weeds in black pallet cubes at the Tap Room.

A wall had to go up in the yard, simply to keep folk safe. The pallet cube construction that now exists is a design solution. Each pallet cube can be lifted and shifted using a fork lift. The pallet cubes have been popped in a line to make a semi permanent barrier to keep the most valuable thing… the drinking, eating customer safe from harm. A busy working yard has lots of dangers lurking especially for the slightly inebriated or the young or the four legged. Busy beer workers bustle about , stacks of kegs keel and vehicles, huge and small whizz backwards and forwards. The primary function of the wall is safety but it may as well look good too, right ?

Verdant goes wild !

It was decided that the cubes would be filled with stones and soil for weight and plants to make them look good or at least to make the cubes look less bad. It was a beautiful opportunity to make the Verdant yard even more verdant and even more wild.

A weed is just a plant growing where the gardener doesn’t want it to be. The plants at the Tap room have all been very deliberately settled as comfortably as possible in their own pallet cube communities, so maybe, but absolutely no unchosen weeds at the Taproom.

The Taproom at Verdant is an inclusive place and every plant is native to somewhere when you think about it so the plants chosen for the planting scheme were chosen for their ability to attract insects rather than where they came from originally, ie whether they are native to England. Verdant welcomes everyone here, regardless. If the plant is not a nuisance and pollinators love it then it has been considered for the planting scheme. Purchasing came from local nurseries and some plants were raised by local people and sold for a few pounds at the side of the road. All plants found a home here in Cornwall at some point and made it their home.

Do you like jungle?

Planting here this summer has been inspired by ‘The Garden Jungle or Gardening to Save the Planet ‘ by Dave Goulson. In short Dave’s idea of a garden is a space where wildlife can thrive. (Thanks John)

To counter feelings of hopelessness about the big stuff ie the awful things we humans do to the planet like felling great rainforests, Dave invites the reader to take control of a little patch of the Earth and do the right thing in that place. He says “Saving the planet starts with looking after your own patch”and that seems to fit just so perfectly with the Verdant vision.

Verdant looks to take responsibility as an employer for things like how it treats it’s staff and how sustainability is considered when decisions are made about energy use and transport.

The people who work there take responsibility as employees to offer the best version of themselves in the work place and finally as a loyal customer myself I know it to be the truth that we the customers take responsibility for making the tap room somewhere where the vibe is always on point and people are welcomed whoever they are so long as they behave respectfully.

It just seems to fit with this respect and love and just plain trying to do things right that Verdant would facilitate a wildlife garden to help some bugs and beasties thrive in the Penryn community.

Lofty visions for the ‘jungle project’

Verdant has always been confident about having a creative vision and this planting is about working towards a healthy and pesticide free space (albeit in the middle of an industrial estate ) A space where humans and wildlife can hang. A space to have a moment of reconnection with the natural world.

Plants grow themselves and then Bees and Butterflies and Hoverflies will find them when they flower. Herbivores will appear: Slugs, Snails, Weevils, Leaf Beetles and Caterpillars and their predators will also arrive. The beer drinking public are invited if they would like to look on this wonderful world and be amazed.

Enjoy!

By Sarah Jackson

Part time Junglist and Garden Creator
sarah@robeam.com