OTRA Autumn Tidy Up

The Old Town Residents Association, OTRA, has met in Old Town over the last 6 years to garden some sites, and also to pick up litter and look at how we could improve the area. We were formerly known as Pipers Area Residents Association, and had a website which is now useful for looking at the progression of our gardens. If you click on the link, it's amazing to see the before photos, and then you can see photos taken over the years on the website which is really an archive.
Now we have a Facebook group for the residents association, and also the gardens have their own Facebook page.
This year we entered the gardens for RHS Britain in Bloom, It's Your Neighbourhood Award and achieved a level 3 Advancing which we were very excited about, and keen to improve. We had a record turn out for the tidy up, in the first photo, you can see us all together. The Marriott Hotel provided at least 9 people to help tidying up around Marlborough Lane, and they were joined by residents from the lane, and about 10 of us worked together on the gardens, weeding, cutting back and planting more perennials

Here are the gardeners before they began work

and then here they are again all working. I preferred this method of working where we all worked together on a bed, and then moved on. Previously we'd had people working in pairs and sometimes alone, this seemed much more convivial.

Some friends not taking part came along and took a photo of us altogether which I really liked

 and here's one of the tidying gang around the Marriott Hotel, they did a magnificent job, and I'm hoping that if we have an earlier start next time, we might be able to take the Marriott up on their offer of coffee.

 There was also another photo taken by the Croft School sign in Marlborough Lane

The planting group then moved on to the Co-operative bed where we did some tidying and planting before moving onto the bed in Station Approach where Jane did a wonderful job of sorting out the vegetable bed which is now ready for some broad beans and garlic

Some of the group moved onto the bed at the corner of Newport St and Devizes Road and did a wonderful weeding job there. We decided the museum beds could be left and went onto the bed where we probably should have started, beside Mr Cod on Victoria Hill.

We did lots of cutting back of the large shrubs and planted some perennials there. The Mr Cod bed remains a challenge, it's a relatively large piece of ground which is often walked on, and has lots of litter thrown onto it.

From a distance it looks quite good, but needs regular checking to keep it litter free.