We launched Woolston Station Garden Club in May 2025 to revive the station gardens. Long-term volunteer Bridget was the only remaining gardener still available when Charlene Arrondeau, Hampshire Community Rail Officer, contacted me in my Wilder Southampton role with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. My work schedule was full, so I decided to take this on as a volunteer. It’s my local station, virtually opposite two of my Pollinating Peartree patches, and I’d already met Bridget through my role with Friends of Peartree Green.
What happened next? And how are the gardens helping wildlife and people? Read on to find out!
To kick-start the garden, we rallied a group of local people and enlisted the help of the Good Gym. Ziggy and Alan from Bitterne Station gardeners also came along. There was already a range of pollinator plants, some of them wildflowers, including cornflowers, ox-eye daisies, poppies and purple toadflax. We worked around them, pulling up tall grass stems by hand and carefully cutting back some of the bramble. Some of us started sorting out the compost areas, while Eamonn took charge of connecting the water butts. We achieved a lot in one hour – and had a lot of laughs in the process.
How are we helping wildlife with this garden? Well, by working around plants, we’ve been able to avoid too much disturbance to the creatures living there. This included a robin making a nest in ivy on the old signal box building, so we didn’t go into that area at all. Leaving plants in place meant bees could continue feeding. Gradually moving garden waste from the dilapidated pallet bin to the new one gave woodlice and other invertebrates time to move. We’ve also built a stick pile close by to provide a habitat for these little creatures, which in turn provides a place for birds to look for food. And we’ve added drinking/bathing areas for birds, mammals and insects.
There are two garden areas at the station. The first one was made by Bridget for her late husband Hugh, who worked in the ticket office. I remember him from when I used to catch the train to work, and I’d noticed the garden on the left as you walk to the platforms. Bridget has now been able to start maintaining this again.
worked in the ticket office.
Due to the prolonged dry weather, we haven’t added many plants yet – just a few from our own gardens and some sunflowers donated by my neighbour. We bought a few herbs with funding provided by Hampshire Community Rail Partnership, and I’ve added seep tubes to the lavender and sunflower bed. These are 2-litre plastic bottles with the bottom cut off. Put them in upside down and fill with water, and you have a system that keeps the plants watered for longer, with the water going to the roots. This makes better use of it than surface watering, when it evaporates more quickly. Naturally, the bottles are ones I’ve found when litter picking!
There’s plenty more to be done at the garden, so if you’re local, why not join us? It’s a chance to meet new people, learn new skills and be part of a community – that’s why we’ve called it Woolston Station Garden Club. You don’t need any experience or tools. To find out when we meet, check our Facebook page, look out for posters, or contact me through this blog. Thanks for reading!
Dandelion Nature 