Saturday 8th August 2026 - Jarn Mound Wild Garden, Boars Hill

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 Blog by Eleanor, Photos by Julio.

This was not a work session, but the Green Gym annual picnic. Nineteen Green Gymmers, plus a few guests met at the green space by Jarn Mound Wild Garden.

We started with an optional walk, which most of us joined. We walked across Matthew Arnold Field,

This area is owned and managed by Oxford Preservation Trust


then down into the dell, 


then back up and along the footpath to Elizabeth Daryush garden, where we have often worked in the past. The pond had almost dried out after weeks of no rain and record high temperatures.


We walked along The Ridgeway then turned left on to the footpath towards Chilswell Farm. This took us to the "Signal Elm" mentioned in Matthew Arnold's poem "Thyrsis", It is actually an oak tree, so clearly Matthew Arnold was better at poetry than tree identification.


The Green Gym Group



Walking back


We arrived back at Jarn Wild garden and set to work laying out the food, contributed by the group and expertly coordinated by Carolyn. We were so eager to get stuck in that we omitted to take any photos of it, but settled down to a pleasant afternoon of eating, drinking and chatting.






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