Poppy Gardening Service

The Royal British Legion has introduced a new service for ex-Service people and their dependants in Derbyshire. Gardening Service is to provide routine garden maintenance, including lawn mowing, hedge trimming, pruning, weeding and other small items of gardening work.


The Royal British Legion's Garden Maintenance Scheme is being run in a partnership with RedWelly. RedWelly is a not-for-profit division of Spirita, it concentrates on outside areas for needy people and groups. They employ only experienced gardeners, who are all Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked, they wear RedWelly uniforms and carry appropriate identification.


Once a Royal British Legion Client's application for the Gardening Service< has been approved, a RedWelly Gardener will book or schedule visits directly with the Client - all other communication will be managed by The Royal British Legion. Clients will receive one visit every four weeks during the growing season to maintain their garden to an acceptable level of care, subject to weather conditions permitting.  Less frequent visits will be arranged during the Winter, again, depending on the weather and garden maintenance requirements. At the end of each visit, the Client signs an authorised form to certify and rate their visit.


The RedWelly gardeners may, at their discretion, carry out a small amount of planting. But the client must provide any plants to be planted. Minor repairs to garden gates and fences may also be undertaken. Hard landscaping or wall repairs are not included in the Gardening Service Scheme.


It must be pointed out that the Client is responsible for the removal of any animal waste from their garden, prior to any work being carried out.


Where a Clients garden is so overgrown that it requires an initial radical pruning then they are welcome to apply for a Garden Makeover. These Garden Makeovers are carried out by Volunteers under RedWelly supervision, subject to availability of suitable Sponsors, therefore, provision of this service cannot be guaranteed. When a Garden Makeover is completed it leaves the garden in a manageable condition to be maintained by the standard four-weekly maintenance visits.


Tree or hedge pruning or trimming above head height and the use of any chemical weed killers or pesticides can only be carried out under special circumstances, due to Health & Safety and Environmental reasons.


RedWelly Gardeners can also provide One-Day Horticultural Workshops for Royal British Legion Clients and Royal British Legion Branches for those who wish to take a more active interest in their gardens, as a hobby or as therapy. These workshops are subject to availability and popularity.


Clients who wish to apply to use the Poppy Gardening Service or if they want more details of the service then they get in touch with the contact (given below). Those applying (in Derbyshire only) should give details of the garden works required. 

Contact :

Address :




Telephone :
Facsimile :
Email :

 Katherine Maunder
County Welfare Officer (Derbyshire) Derbyshire County Offices
Saxon House
Heritage Gate
Derby
DE1 1NL
01332 296299
01332 331841
kmaunder@britishlegion.org.uk



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