Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden

We are Karen and Julia, two passionate gardeners who have spent six years restoring an orchard garden from which are now being evicted without reason.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

Despite 12,600 signatures in a month, the landlord is still not budging on our unfair garden eviction.
Help save our beautiful orchard by signing and sharing our petition.
#NoMowMay #GardenersWorld #Allotment #BlossomWatch

https://t.co/WrozQD0Nru

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

10. Thank you again, each and every friend and supporter who helped us keep going. We will always remember your kindness, and hold onto the dream that one day we can create a magical orchard of heritage trees on land of our own.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

9.I cannot bear to go back to our old garden and see what ‘improvements’ have been made by whatever new tenant has been installed, but local orchard groups have assured me they will be keeping all the ancient Waterfurlong trees under very close scrutiny.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

8. I am just completing a book about the lost apples of Stamford and am half way through another on the history of gardening in England’s smallest county of Rutland, which lies on my doorstep.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

7. Things didn’t improve when I broke my back in October and then developed serious Covid complications this spring, but I am now slowly on the mend and have put my months of enforced confinement to good use writing.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

6. This alone cost a fortune in time and money, and visiting the plot involves us in a 30 mile round trip, but we have at least been able to salvage something from the situation and are immensely grateful for that and for the support of the lovely P’boro allotmenteers.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

5. Luckily P'boro CC allowed us to reclaim some narrow strips of land surrounding my son’s allotment plot, and over months we dug out tons of rubble, transplanted 300 plants, shrubs, young fruit trees and bushes, and transferred our potting shed, raised beds and frames.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

4. So many people have contacted me with their own heart-breaking stories, many of which have led to serious mental breakdown, and I will continue to campaign for decent rights for those who rent private allotments or gardens.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

3. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions about the likely motives behind our eviction. I would write more, but have received anonymous threats of defamation action should I do so and I do not have the resources to match the deep pockets of the agent or the land owner.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

3. My SAR received the same contempt. This is the word salad I received. The IC found against them and I eventually got a 78 page response, almost entirely redacted. One of the few visible comments was about the "amazing" garden we had created, complete with gleeful 🙂

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

2. The views of the 13,000 people who signed our petition were of no interest to the agent or the land owner, who refused to explain their decision. No warnings, no complaints, no arrears, no appeal, no compensation for years of restoration. The law allowed them to do this.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

Long 🧵 1. Thank you to everyone far and wide who fought alongside us to save our beautiful orchard garden.

I am sorry to tell you our efforts failed and on 31 March we were evicted, although the agent continued trying to bill us for rent, which really says it all.

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

LOST THE PLOT: ALISTAIR'S STORY

Here's another story sent to us. Alistair* and his fellow school governors lost the West Country orchard they had restored for their village's children.

https://t.co/jEUjMXwjEq

#savethewaterfurlong2 #saveourorchard #gardeningtwitter #orchard

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

Oh to be a small dog amongst the cowparsley #NoMowMay #wildflowerhour #InTheGarden

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

Noggin is enjoying #BiodiversityDay 🌱

#BiodiversityDay2021 #NoMowMay #GardeningTwitter #dachshund

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@MartynBrunt What a lovely boy!

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@kennyhiggs Looking lovely!

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@columbinehall One of the most beautiful combinations

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@LaineyHoyle They’re always so pretty 💜

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@PippaGreenwood @haxnicks A nice cosy spot 😂

[Save Our Heritage Orchard Garden @our_orchard]

@lovely_plot Beautiful photo 🦋