Banstead Wood

Excitement in the gardens today

1/6/2022

What excitement there was in the gardens today! Did you wonder what was going on?

Lizzie from Elizabeth House (who has Pumba the cat!) and Karen D, also from Elizabeth house, spotted a strange site. Clusters of bees gathering on the ground near the nearby trees.

David S in Rendel commented that there was a big queen bee buzzing around recently, and Lizzy said another resident had spotted a big swarm a few days ago. It seems the bees were after a new home!

They called a bee expert from Epsom Beekeepers, and they were out very very quickly. They managed to suit up, get up into the tree where they found a big nest, and collected as many of the bees as they could. As you can see from the pictures, they needed a lot of protection and had a very special carrying crate.

Once they had got back to the base, they sent Lizzie a picture of the bees in their new home! They had to leave behind a couple of tiny nests, and these bees will hopefully relocate (or else they just die off without the Queen.) They got as many bees as they could whilst they were here.

Excitement over for now, and well done the gang on our WhatsApp group for collaborating so well today! Thank you to everyone concerned. And to Steve R for his funny picture of his suggestion for helping with the bees, a man dressed up in a Winnie the Pooh suit!

Find out more about Epsom Beekeepers Association on their Facebook page or on their website, they do courses on beekeeping and also sell honey!

Gorgeous May blooms all up our driveway!

1/6/2022

Gorgeous May blooms all up our driveway! Love rhododendrons and azaleas. Beautiful, colourful time of year.

Did you know…

The Surrey mirror did a big piece about our development several years ago (it’s framed in a couple of the hallways including the middle one facing the big Elizabeth visitors car park, and online on our website!)

When the Manor house occupants brought over rhododendrons in the 1800s, who could have predicted that the drive would’ve ended up like this! So glad they did, aren’t you?

(First posted on our Banstead Wood Development public Facebook page – to follow it go here.

Coming together after the storm

2/3/2022

Well what a mess storm Eunice left! A massive fallen tree in the water garden, branches blown over, and twigs everywhere. The gardeners cleared away this branch that had fallen into the pond.

They also did a sterling job removing all of the debris from down the drive. What was left after Natalie the lone wolf attacked it with her broom, that is! Then Jo and Karen spent two hours cleaning the garden and the car park soon after the storm, and the following weekend Debbie and the other Karen, helped to finish up with a clear up and a litter pick.

Several other volunteers came forward via the WhatsApp group and the Facebook group and we will hopefully have a nice little team to help out going forwards. But it’s not too late to volunteer, every little helps!

For those who asked, we have a contract with the pond company who come once a month to clear all of the ponds and service the pumps.

Thank goodness they had already begun their program of removing some of the dead bowels due to disease, or it may have been much worse. This was the biggest casualty, and still lies at the back of the water garden area.

And these fell in front of Elizabeth house, 6 to 12.

Thank goodness there was only a little damage to the wall.

Jim and the gardeners usually come once a week. They have been particularly helpful during the storms to cut/remove the fallen trees. But, waste not, want not, we asked them to chip the wood and they have laid it at the back of the tennis courts. One of the residents, Sarah, commented how lovely it was now that it is not so muddy walking around the outside of the tennis courts, she said it was like walking on a carpet!

There are some upcoming jobs including cleaning down all of the garden furniture which is in the water garden/barbecue area at the moment, as well as the wooden benches around our grounds. We would particularly like to hear from you. If you could email us that would be great!

residents@bansteadwood.com

Or make yourself known to one of the directors!

And never feel odd about stopping to pick up a piece of letter or a large branch, every little helps!

Thank you so much everybody!

Jo and the team of gardening volunteers.

Barbecue in the water garden

29/8/2021

13th Annual Banstead Wood BBQ
Sunday 29th August 2021 @ 13:00 hours in the water garden.
If cancelled due to weather conditions, it will instead take place on Monday 30th August. See individual house noticeboard or click here for further details.

13th Annual Banstead Wood BBQ
August 2020 - Cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions

12th Annual Banstead Wood BBQ
Saturday 17th August 2019 @ 13:00 in the water garden.
Lets celebrate summer - family & friends welcome. Tickets available from Monday 12th August. See individual house noticeboard for further details.

11th Annual Banstead Wood BBQ
Sunday 26th August 2018 @ 1pm: Looking forward to seeing you all in the Water Garden - Please bring your family and friends. Full details will follow.
BWMC Info: Elaine 07973 461358

10th Annual Banstead Wood BBQ
21 November 2017: You will have noticed the BBQ and the surrounding area was cleaned with new paving put down. This has made a big improvement with many more people using it. We are looking to replace the existing grills in time for next summer.

Christmas carol singing in the quadrangle

9/12/2018

On the evening of Sunday 9th December 2018 we had our first 'Carols in the Quad'.

This continued a tradition probably started with the Garton family who lived in Shaw House (previously known as Banstead Wood House) over 100 years ago and certainly continued when the Princess Elizabeth Hospital was in existence. Banstead Wood community Church provided about 40 singers lead by Pastor Dan Green and about 50 residence and friends sang and watched. Although it was cold the rain held off and the carols, mince pies, mulled wine etc; was provided by Elaine Orr and her team in the lobby of Shaw House. Thanks to all concerned and we hope to repeat the experience next Christmas. The event raised £86 which we have sent to Age Concern Banstead. Thank you.

Excitement in the gardens today

Gorgeous May blooms all up our driveway!

Coming together after the storm

Barbecue in the water garden

Christmas carol singing in the quadrangle

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