Breathing Spaces Community Flower Farm

Breathing Spaces Community Flower Farm is located at the Maybridge Keystone Centre in Worthing. Breathing Spaces is now a Transition Town Worthing project and this is a volunteer-led community garden that provides the opportunity to connect with nature via tending a small urban flower farm There is space for growing wild flowers for the benefit of people and pollinators and this is being expanded in a strip along the back of the playing field.

Breathing Spaces started up a dedicated patch of around 4m2 and have already established wildflowers in other growing areas around fruit trees and in long grass areas. Using donated wildflower plants and collected seed, they are creating a vibrant wildflower habitat. The long grass is cut down at the end of the season and cleared away in the traditional hay cut method. Examples of species include Campion ‘ragged robin’, Red Valerian, Dock, Sorrel, Cowslips, Yarrow, Tansy, Knapweed, Cornflower and Wild carrot.

The site is open during Maybridge Keystone Centre opening hours, the hours can vary so it’s best to check first before visiting. The flower farm is not wheelchair accessible at present, (although the Woodland Garden which they also tend is). The site is accessed by walking across part of the playing field. The best time to see the wildflowers is around Early Summer.

Volunteers are welcome on Thursdays between March and December, 10@30-12:30.

For more information visit Breathing Spaces.

Breathing Spaces @ The Barnyard, Dankton Lane, Sompting

Breathing Spaces host monthly community volunteer sessions at Dankton Barnyard, Dankton Lane in Sompting. Here they have access to a small pre-established wildflower meadow rich in Knapweed, Wild Carrot, Golden rod, Yarrow, Scabious, St John’s Wort, Teasel, Corn Marigold, Toadflax, Hedge Parsley, Hogweed, Eupatorium and many more! The flowers are left to reseed and are not cut back so they are left for the benefit of wildlife.

At Dankton Lane, Breathing Spaces have permission from the landowners Sompting Estate to pick some wildflowers to add to their community supported bouquet scheme, but only a small proportion. As part of the management of the site they have been clearing invasive weeds such as brambles, thistles, nettles and hogweed, to make way for easier access and to allow reseeding with collected seed from the site. They have also improved the pond with the help of Sompting Estate and South Downs National Park Association and established a log hive for wild bees.

Visits to the barnyard are during the monthly Sunday morning volunteer sessions or by appointment only, as the gate is locked. It is also possible to view the site over the gate, which is on a footpath accessible from Herbert road Sompting or Lyons Farm, Worthing. There is no vehicle access. Please contact Breathing Spaces for more details  Breathing Spaces Project