Gardening club - week six

Our final gardening club for the year was extra special - because it wasn't about gardening at all! Instead, artist Penny Sadubin came along to teach everyone how to make crafts and jewellery using natural materials growing in and around the meadow.  It was a great session - and the perfect end to a fantastic year full of free activities!

Using a handy coat-hanger, Penny pushed out the soft middle-part of a stem of Elder to make beads.

The finished article, complete with conker and a fresh sprig of leaves.

Even the trees got a bit of jewellery! We left these ones here as a lasting (but biodegradeable) reminder of all the great stuff we've done on the meadow this year.

Our FREE gardening club is back!

We left the meadow to do its thing over summer. But with autumn on the way, Mabley Meadow's free gardening club is back - and better than ever!

So if you want to learn some new skills, try your hand at gardening or just hang out and eat the free snacks provided, come and join in.

What: Mabley Meadow's FREE gardening club
When: Wednesdays, 4pm-6pm
Where: Mabley Meadow, E9 - just by the A12 flyover, between the main Mabley Green park and Eastway.
Anything else?: FREE drinks and snacks will be provided.
 
The sessions will be lead by local gardening expert Helen Wilson, and Homerton artist Penny Sadubin. Here's what'll we'll be getting up to:

Wednesday 12 September, 4pm-6pm
Planting wild herbs and learning about gardening for wildlife.

Wednesday 19 September, 4pm-6pm
Sowing wildflower seeds and learning gardening basics.

Wednesday 26 September, 4pm-6pm
Planting fruit bushes, so we can all enjoy fresh fruit next autumn. Yum!
 Wednesday 3 October, 4pm-6pm
Planting native bluebells to help save this rare species from extinction (and create Hackney's first bluebell wood!)

Wednesday 10 October, 4pm-6pm 
Planting fruit trees to make our very own community orchard.

Wednesday 17 October, 4pm-6pm 
Making jewellery and handicrafts from natural materials growing in Hackney with local artist Penny Sadubin.

The gardening club has been made possible by the London Legacy Development Corporation. So a big thanks to them!

Any questions? Just leave a comment below, or send an email to mableymeadow@gmail.com

See you on the meadow!

Willow weaving on the meadow

We had an extra-special gardening club on Saturday with artists Penny Sadubin and Elsa Godfrey teaching us how to weave with willow. As it turns out, we had some natural-born weavers who created some incredible willow sculptures for the meadow. The creations are still there if you want to take a look!

The gardening club will be taking a break over the summer, but will be back and better than ever in autumn, so stay tuned...

If you need some willow woven, ask these two. They'd never woven before but their creation was AMAZING!

A willow butterfly with wildflower decorations.

A wavey willow screen in progress.

The finishing touches.

Willow weavers are go!

Penny Sadubin (our resident willow expert) adds some extra support to a willow fence.

Our pals from Friends of Homerton Station dropped by for lunch!

Free willow weaving workshop with Penny Sadubin - Saturday 9 June

After the Jubilee break, the gardening club is back for an extra-special session: willow weaving with amazing local artists Penny Sadubin and Elsa Godfrey.

Penny and Elsa are expert at working with natural materials, so come to the meadow on Saturday 9 June from 12pm-2pm when they'll be teaching us how to make a design on paper, then weave it in freshly-cut willow. After that, we'll all make a large willow sculpture to leave in the meadow so everyone can enjoy it.

The workshop will be loads of fun for kids, and great for anyone keen to learn a new skill and get creative - so everyone's welcome. All materials will be provided and there'll be free drinks and snacks too. See you then!

Our new gardening club is go!

This year, Mabley Meadow will have its very own gardening club, led by local green-fingered legend Helen Wilson.

Helen will be running a series of free gardening sessions on the meadow for all ages and abilities, and we'll be having extra-special, creative events run by wildlife-friendly artist Penny Sabudin too. Here's what's coming up on the gardening club calendar:

Saturday 12 May

12pm – 2pm

Learn how to plant wildflowers and make the meadow haven for bees and butterflies over summer.

Saturday 19 May

12pm – 2pm

Birds love nesting in ivy, so come plant some (and some other climbing plants too) and give our flying friends a new home.

Saturday 26 May

12pm – 2pm

Help save the rare native bluebell and plant Hackney’s first bluebell wood! Plus learn about the plants that birds, bees and butterflies love.

 

Saturday 9 June

12pm – 2pm

Join artist Penny Sadubin and weave a giant willow structure on the meadow. All ages welcome, and all materials will be provided.
 

Free drinks and snacks will be provided!

Meet Helen, our new gardening club leader

Thanks to our grant from the London Legacy Development Corporation, the meadow will soon have it's very own gardening club. The club will be free for everyone, and there'll be free drinks and biscuits provided on the day too.  But the best part is, it'll be led by the fantastically knowledgeable Helen Wilson - check out her website here.

When it comes to plants, Helen's like a walking encyclopedia. And she knows all about wild species that are good to eat, and how to grow them. So as well as running the gardening club, she'll be around once a week if you want to stop by and get her green-fingered advice.

Helen will lead three sessions in spring - one each week, starting on Saturday May 12, and another five in autumn. And there'll be two special, wildlife-friendly workshops with amazing local artist Penny Sabudin too. So stay tuned...

Bluebell planting and willow weaving workshop - Sunday 25 September

This weekend's going to be fantastic - with not one but two great events happening on the meadow. So come on down on Sunday 25 September from 12pm-4pm and get stuck in!

Bluebell Planting

Artist Penny Sabudin will be helping bring the endangered British Bluebell back from the brink by leading a planting session in the meadow. So next spring we'll have the makings of our very own bluebell wood! Come along, learn how to plant these rare beauties and help save them from extinction.

Willow weaving workshop

Penny will be joined by fellow artist Elsa Godfrey, who's weaving a giant ball made from willow stems. (You might know Elsa's work already - she made the huge woven ball in Clissold Park). Everyone's welcome to add a stem to Elsa's newest project, and learning about willow weaving along the way. It's a great activity for kids, and a thanks to the flyover, we'll be able to weave rain or shine.

See you there!

A bluebell wood in the making

After not one but two rounds of bluebell planting in the meadow this spring, Hackney's very own bluebell wood is beginning to take shape.

Sadly, the already-sprouting bulbs we planted in March haven't done too well. Most likely because of the incredibly dry weather in April. They just couldn't cope!

There were a few survivors though, so they'll spread out next year. And the bulbs we planted in autumn fared really well. Here's are some pics of this year's crop:

Penny's bluebell planting also made it into the Hackney Gazette. If you want to revel in the meadow's 15 minutes of Gazette fame, take a look at a of the article below.

Easter bluebell planting

If you're about on Good Friday, the superbly generous artist Penny Sadubin will be adding some more bluebells to the meadow. So if you'd like to lend a hand with the planting, head on down.

Penny's been growing the bluebells in her studio for a piece of work for an upcoming exhibition Landscapes of Change at BHVU Gallery in Stoke Newington. But now that she's finished her artwork, she's kindly donating them to the meadow for us all to enjoy.

If you'd like to join Penny plant out her bluebells (and join her for a lovely, sunny picnic), head to the meadow at 1pm on Friday 22 April.

Penny's also a bit of an expert when it comes to bluebells. So if you have any questions about these delicate native flowers, Friday will be the perfect time to ask!

Have an amazing Easter - and there'll be another picnic date on the way soon.