We welcomed lots of local families and Friends of the garden on Saturday to celebrate Chinese New Year. Thank you to everyone who came to join us.

We decorated the garden, coloured-in tiger hanging decorations with wooly tassels, tasted some special Taiwanese black tea, a few people tasted some rather limited-edition-for-the-crowds tiny Malaysian pineapple tarts (recipe online), sang vegetable songs, read New Year stories, learned traditional brush calligraphy for decoration making, learned about planet-friendly cooking and food preparation (Tzu-Chi UK), and shared some very delicious ‘prosperity toss’ Yee Sang Singapore/Malaysian salad. And there were probably some more things I have forgotten…

And lots of children - and a few adults - danced with the ‘artisan’ dragon (he/she needs a name?) around the garden, chasing a pearl on a broomstick. Accompanied by tambourines and drums. Phew!

As you can see we had dry, sunny but chilly weather - and kite flying weather - but the only kites I saw have been hiding in the park’s trees for quite some time. So the decorations and signs attempted flight instead - a lot. Bulldog clips to the rescue!

We love this illustration created just for the garden by local artist Susan Abbs. A4 poster.