👻 Garden Sharing doesn't have to be scary 👻

How to get Patch-Matched and grow your own pumpkins next year...🎃

For Garden Owners who think gardening is a frightful task, Lend and Tend is on hand to help you take the hell out of horticulture by finding you a helper. If you're in a garden-less hell-hole, you could sign up and share a garden on our site. 

This Halloween, we want to answer your questions to take the fear out of getting to know your neighbours, helping you grow food and flowers together.  Join us on Twitter tomorrow where we'll be on hand to answer your questions. 

For every wilful Witch out who isn't afraid of things that go bump in the night, some of you do have real aversions to going outside. Some of the reasons you've shared with us are: Anthophobia - the fear of flowers, Dendrophobia - a fear of trees and gnomophobia - you've guessed it is the fear of Gnomes. My very real reason as to why I would make a terrible Witch is, I have Ranidaphobia - I get completely freaked out by a fear of frogs. 

Gardening, however, whether it's just longingly looking at lawns or getting really stuck in the mud, has immeasurable benefits for our well being, so...

Garden sharing doesn’t have to be scary! 

Sinister looking squashes and other ugly fruit could be your prize if you were to give garden-sharing a try. 

So many garden owners and willing would be gardeners have taken the scary step to sign up to garden-share with Lend and Tend, but we still need more people to join! Please don't be afraid! Don't leave our Lenders and Tenders with a ghostly wait to be Patch-Matched. Join today! If you have joined please do share our poster on social media, it's printable to put up on notice boards in your community too! 

5 things to think about!!!!!

1. How does it work? 

If you have a garden and can’t manage it, sign up to Lend and Tend to let us know that you want to lend it to someone who wants to share it with you. 

If you don’t have a garden and wished you had a garden grow in, don’t let those neighborhood scarecrows scare you off, just sign up to Tend to a garden to let us know you want to share one. 

Once you're Patch-Matched, you could give garden sharing a trial of one month to see if it's for you? So... What is so scary about garden sharing?

2. Access

Lender problem: I don't have a side gate to give a garden Tender access to the garden.

Lenders: You should both agree to fair and acceptable hours of contacting each other. 

Let your garden Tender know when they can visit the garden and enforce rules like: Take SHOES OFF when going through the house. You don’t want any scary looking stains on the carpet do you? 

Tenders: Bring a big 'bag for life' with you to put outdoor shoes in then put on wellies when you get through to the garden.

Pretend you're in X-Files and use these forensic looking bootie covers to respectfully pass through your garden Lenders home. 

So it's a matter of setting Ground Rules to allow your garden Tender to gain access. 

3. Personal Safety 

Lender and Tender Fear: Who will I garden-share with?

Lenders and Tenders get Patch-Matched based on location and your personal specifications when you fill in your sign up forms. However, it’s not an exact science and important for both Lenders & Tenders to get to know who you’re going to garden share with.

We suggest an initial email to introduce yourself, before having a conversation on the phone. If you are happy to go further, then and only then agree to meet at a mutually safe and convenient place to discuss further. We highly recommend bringing a friend to the meet-up so neither Lend or Tender are alone at this meeting. When meeting at the garden for the first time, again bring a buddy with you and make sure you aren’t alone. 

4. Meeting Expectations 

Lender and Tender terror? Gardening is scary:

Tenders: It’s always recommended to discuss your gardening plans with your garden Lender at regular intervals. You may have high ambitions to build the hanging gardens of Babylon in the garden of a small semi-detached in Brixton, but you have to make sure it’s what the garden Lender wants too. 

Plan ahead! 

We recommend writing down a short list of 3 goals to start with before you really get stuck in and we also have a template agreement so you can both keep on track.

5. Hazards and risks 

The main thing is, make sure the garden is safe. 

This could be a job Lender and Tender could do together if possible, but it is imperative you wear protective clothing where necessary. Think thick protective gloves. Knee pads. Heavy duty clothing you don’t mind getting trashed like old jeans and old jumpers you don’t mind ruining. 

Make sure the garden is clear of animal poos (domestic animals and foxes can leave very scary and dangerous droppings) 

Are you gardening a party goers patio? Clear rubbish, be vigilant of particularly dangerous pieces of glass or metal tins that may have been ripped up into dangerous pieces and spread by lawnmowers.  

Remember, remember at this time of the year, stray fireworks can land in gardens so make sure you’re fully aware of garden exits and water points. Have a bucket of water to hand to soak things like firecrackers in case they haven’t detonated and please: approach with extreme caution.  

Finally! 

For any other questions, check our FAQs

The main thing is to be conscientious and COMMUNICATE. Gardening can be really fun and if you ever need to ask us any questions, we're on hand to help. 

Need inspiration for wonderfully bewitching pumpkin carvings? Check out this link for the source of this posts images.