Bitterne Park Growing Places will once again celebrate home growing through our ‘Top of the Crops’ stand at Trifest on Saturday 23 July from 12pm to 4pm.
Trifest is a community festival held at the Cobden Bridge end of Riverside Park in Bitterne Park.
Ways to get involved in ‘Top of the Crops’
We’re putting on a range of activities for adults and children. Find out the different ways you can get involved.
Photography competition
Submit your photos in the category ‘Look what I grew’ to trifestphotocomp@gmail.com by Tuesday 12 July. Competitors will be shortlisted by a local professional photographer. The winner will be selected on the day by visitors to the stand.
Competition rules:
- Take a photo of any plant (or plants) that you have nurtured:
- It can be of a flower, fruit, vegetable, shrub, houseplant or even a weed.
- You might have grown it from seed, taken a cutting, been given it or bought it. It doesn’t matter as long as you have looked after it.
- It may be something that you are proud of, or something that has gone hilariously wrong. Either way, it brings a smile to your face.
- The photo can have been taken at any time as long as it was taken by you.
- Multiple entries are acceptable.
- Please do not enter any photo that has previously won a prize.
Growing tips and advice
There will be an area for local growers to share their creative tips and advice about home growing. Do you grow vertically? Have you experimented with upcycling in the garden? Are you a pro in growing rare crops? We’re looking for unusual tips that people might not have heard of before that can be demonstrated. Join the Facebook group to share your tips or send them to bitterneparkseeds@gmail.com.
Gardening agony aunt and uncle
Two volunteer experienced gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions about growing veg and flowers. Bring your veg questions from 12 – 4pm and your flower questions from 1 – 3pm.
Plant and book giveaway
Save any spare plants and bring them down on the day for the plant giveaway. Please label the plants so we know what they are. If you have books about gardening or cooking that you no longer need, please bring them along for the book giveaway. You can also drop donations off at 77 Hillside Avenue. No magazines though please, as they’re hard to shift. Plants and books will be completely free on the day for anyone to take (you don’t need to have donated anything to take something home).
Fruit and veg surplus box
If you have any surplus from your garden, please bring it along for the surplus box. Anyone can take from the surplus box on the day, you don’t have to give to receive.
Art activities
Local artist Sarah Filmer will be holding a drop-in painting workshop for children and adults, inviting you to come along and paint a large-scale flower or plant. These will then form an outdoor exhibition on Cobden Bridge for the All Aboard Festival later in the year on 3 September. All materials provided, just bring yourself, your friends and your appreciation for the beauty all around us!
For more information about Bitterne Park Growing Places, join the Facebook group or head to our main page.
