Transition Leominster

08/04/2026

08/04/2026

We're so excited to launch this years' 2026 programme!
Celebrating all things treasure, gold, folklore and LEOMINSTER! We have 2 fully packed weeks of activities coming up on June, with something for everyone. We also have a few little extras to add, including our creative Arts workshops, our Art competition and all of the fantastic things we have lined up for our big finale - THE FREE FAMILY FUN DAY!

We're working on launching tickets and posters for each event, so keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks to find out further details on each event and how to book your tickets.

Tickets for the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra are already live so grab those on www.ticketsource.co.uk/leominster-festival

Don't forget to like and follow the Leominster Festival page to stay un to date with all things festival - and join our mailing list to get news direct to your inbox.

What are you most looking forward to?!

06/04/2026

An olla is an unglazed terracotta pot buried in the vegetable bed with its neck above the soil surface. Water seeps through the porous walls directly into the root zone — no evaporation, no runoff, no watering can. The terracotta regulates itself: water moves faster through the walls when surrounding soil is dry, and slows when the soil is already moist.

A 5-litre pot irrigates a circle of roughly 50 cm around it. Three pots spaced about a metre apart can keep a full raised bed watered for four to five days in summer without any further intervention.

Setting one up takes ten minutes:

Find an unglazed terracotta pot, 20 to 25 cm in diameter — glazed pots do not work as the glaze blocks the pores. Block the drainage hole with a wine bottle cork and food-safe silicone sealant. Bury the pot to its neck, approximately 20 cm from the stems of tomatoes, courgettes, or salad crops. Fill with water and cover the opening with a flat stone or terracotta saucer to reduce evaporation from the top.

Within a few weeks, roots grow directly toward the pot and cluster around it. In dry spells, when the soil surface is bone dry, the olla continues diffusing water silently into the active root zone.

For kitchen gardens where watering frequency is the main obstacle to growing more, this is one of the most practical low-cost interventions available. The materials cost under £5 and the system runs unattended. 🌿💧🍅

07/03/2026

A month-by-month pruning calendar so you never cut at the wrong time again. 🌳

Pruning is the garden task that demands the most precision — every plant has its exact moment, and cutting out of season can cost a full year of flowering or harvest.

January: prune pome fruit trees (apple, pear, plum) while they are in deep dormancy. Remove dead wood and crossing branches. Respect the main framework — this is structural pruning, not thinning.

February: prune roses, cutting to three to five outward-facing buds per stem. Prune grapevines before sap begins to rise. Trim formal evergreen hedges (boxwood, yew) to maintain shape before new growth begins.

March: cut back summer-flowering shrubs (butterfly bush, hibiscus, lavatera) before they break dormancy. Cut ornamental grasses down to 10 to 15 cm from the ground before new growth emerges.

April: do NOT prune spring-flowering shrubs (lilac, forsythia, mock orange) until after they finish flowering. Remove dead or damaged wood only. Cutting now means no flowers this year — they are blooming on last year's wood.

May: prune forsythia, mock orange, and lilac immediately after flowering. Pinch chrysanthemums to encourage branching and fuller fall flowering.

June: prune spring-flowering shrubs (weigela, deutzia, spirea) once they finish blooming. First formal hedge trim of the year — cut in overcast conditions to avoid sunscorch on newly cut foliage.

July: summer pruning of fruit trees — remove vigorous vertical water shoots and thin developing apples and pears for better fruit size. Cut lavender back by one third after first flowering.

August: prune peach and nectarine trees after harvest to renew productive wood. Second formal hedge trim. Deadhead roses to encourage the fall flush.

September: cut back fruited raspberry canes to the ground. Remove the dried stems of perennials finishing their summer cycle.

October: avoid hard pruning — cutting now stimulates soft new growth that will be damaged by the first frost. Limit work to removing branches broken by storms and general cleanup.

November: prune deciduous trees once all leaves have fallen. Reduce climbing roses to their main framework and tie in new long canes before winter winds damage them.

December: prune woody perennials in full dormancy. Clean, sharpen, and disinfect all pruning tools. Apply pruning sealant to large cuts on fruit trees.

Every clean cut at the right moment multiplies into flowers, fruit, and healthy new growth the following season.

🌳 Regional note: this calendar reflects USDA zones 6 to 8. Gardeners in zones 4 to 5 should shift spring tasks two to four weeks later. Zones 9 to 10 shift two to four weeks earlier.

14/02/2026

Our seed swap went well, lots of people, music and lots of seeds!

02/01/2026

Plan your veg garden with SimplySeed's guide to sowing seeds in January! Discover vegetables, herbs, and flowers for January sowing on sunny windowsills. Start onions, lettuce, aubergines, chillies, and peppers. Shop now for all your seed needs!

26/11/2025

Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient.

26/11/2025

Our local farmer speaking about the Rivers conference

17/09/2025

Friday 12th September Transition Leominster hosted a bat and moth event.

16/09/2025

Very busy night on our Bat and Noth evening with Transition Leominster Leominster scouts joined us as well making around 43 participants! Sorry for terrible pic but it's the only one I took!