Country diary: The joy of growing something from nothing | Anita Roy

Wellington, Somerset: Our local Transition Town group is turning a scrubby field into a forest garden - and the word is spreadingCommunity planting day is here - and it's not looking promising. I'm part of a local environmental group called Transition Town Wellington, and one of our most exciting projects is the creation of a new forest garden on the edge of our town. After much planning, fundraising and organising, we're here at Fox's field: four wheelbarrows, one trolley, six people, a load of stakes, five spades and about 40 bare-root trees and plants to get in the ground.The only trouble is, the rain is hammering down. Leafless ash trees stand stark against a woeful sky, the whole world is steeped in sog. On the far hill, clouds have eaten the tip of Wellington's monument down to the knuckle, and all the streams are raging with chocolate-coloured water. No one's going to come out in this. Continue reading...