What a difference a few weeks makes…
The group was off for a couple of weeks and the garden noticed. It was as if it had gone back in time and vegetation had taken over! The grass had grown with a vengeance; the wildflower meadow mix we sowed last year was out in full bloom with lots of poppies, daisies, the odd cornflower and the field marigold is doing really well. So well in fact, there were many, many visitors…We saw two different bumblebees, white tailed and buff tailed, at the same time in the garden, especially among the poppies but also fleeting around the clover in the grass. One volunteer was very impressed when the ‘saddlebags’ of pollen were clearly visible.
The grass hasn’t been cut for months and a friendly local had noticed this and brought his own lawnmower and cut it for us. We finally found this out when he came along to help and say hello a few weeks later – the kindness of (almost) strangers 🙂
We applied for a small grant from CSV again and were successful in gaining £250 towards some new tools to help maintain the labyrinth by way of long handled edging shears, as well as a few new toys that will revolutionise weeding – the Easi-Digger! They could very well replace spades/forks in the future when it comes to weeding. They’re fantastic and are great for those who might not have great balance.
Once we use the shears to trim the edges of the labyrinth, we will put some of the funding towards enough whin dust to finish off the top layer and finally complete our creation that must have almost started a year ago.
Sadly some of the vegetables and fruit the volunteers have worked hard to look after and nurture over the months has been cruelly ripped out. Half out potato plants have succumbed to some petty vandalism, as did the rhubarb, beetroot, onions, garlic and leeks.
With some of the grant money we will get some more plants for the garden, to create small themed areas, which will hopefully be planted at an event on the 24th of August in the bigger park when the BBC will be present…or perhaps the BBBzzzzz…
