A YEAR-round dose of colour will be on display outside a community centre thanks to the hard work of an environmental group.

Trees for Dorset planted 50 trees and shrubs with the help of local residents, to mark National Tree Week.

The plan was to give all year round interest and colour for the area outside the community room on Cologne Road, Bovington.

Rachel Palmer, of Trees for Dorset, said: “Trustees and residents, with expertise and supplies provided by Trees for Dorset, all worked together. Lt Col Burman dug manfully for victory. The newly formed Wool on the Wild Side Club for nine to 11 year-olds had chosen to plant a silver birch and, helped by local residents, surrounded it with daffodil bulbs.

“The Community Room here is driven by a group of selfless people, among them Mo Stokes, who acts as Caretaker, Pam House and Tony Deadman who sits outside No 21 every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon selling home grown and organic vegetables and fruit come rain, shine or frost and puts the takings into the Community Room funds.”

In winter, visitors will be able to see the wine-red stems of the white berried dogwood, and in spring the star white flowers of the blackthorn will be on display.

In summer there will be the guelder rose panicles of white flowers, followed by the cream flowers of rowan and the white, perfumed flowers of mespilus, whose leaves turn deep red in autumn.
Also in autumn, the pink-leaved, pink-berried spindle will make a show, as will the bright yellow leaves of the hornbeam.   

Rachel added: “Community is a very much over-used word, often with no evidence of this whatsoever, but here there really is a working community. 

Increasing the size of a community does not necessarily improve it - indeed often the reverse is true. 

Adding more amenities is not a certainty, although our community appreciates its small facility, running a sewing afternoon once a week and another day an arts and crafts session. 

Come and join in on one of these events. All new residents are welcome and made to feel at home in the Community Room or as they take their dogs for a walk in the local LNR woodland.”

Wool on the Wild Side takes place at weekends and uses the community room and local woodland.

Children are welcome to join to have the chance of spotting woodmice, hedgehogs. deer. bats, moths, fungi and wildflowers. 

For more information call Rachel on 01929 462423.