At the beginning of this month (August 2023) Ford Park celebrated the opening of their new shop – The Bee Hive.
But this isn’t the first time the little shed in the walled garden has been a shop.
Before the pandemic there was a shop in the garden called the Pea Pod that sold all manner of garden related products and gifts, including seed pots for children to plant and watch grow.
When the Pea Pod closed, it became a tool shed – until a couple of months ago when the Ford Park team, volunteers and trustees decided to give the shed a makeover and introduce new products for sale alongside the very popular plant sales.
A new group was formed – Friends of Ford Park, and trustee Marilyn Hale stepped in to run fortnightly craft sessions for members.
Friends of Ford Park meet every other Monday at 2pm in the garden room where they make craft items to be sold in the shop in aid of the Ford Park Charity.
The group have been busy making jewellery, encaustic art, glass art, silk painting and so much more – and volunteers have made tote bags, peg and bottle bags, scarfs, cushions and other local crafts.
There are even tennis balls and doggie treats for the well-behaved four-legged visitors, and over the coming weeks you’ll see lots of garden related gifts being sold at the Bee Hive too.
On the official opening day, the weather was glorious, and the garden was filled with visitors, volunteers, Friends of Ford Park and staff, who celebrated with cake and alcohol-free fizz as Chair of the Ford Park Community Group, Shirley-Anne Wilson cut the ribbon.
The profits from the shop will help contribute towards the costs of running and maintain the park, which is on average, £120,000 per year.
So, if you love Ford Park, pay the shop a visit. The shop is run by volunteers so check their Facebook page to see when it’s open.
