If you go down to the meadow today...

You're in for a nice surprise. It's looking incredible!

The thick grass is a haven for butterflies, birds and insects - and perfect for a picnic.

Look closely and you'll see native bluebells all over the meadow - so all our had work planting bulbs is paying off!

The wild herbs planted by the gardening club last summer are thriving - and the fruit trees love their new home.

Look closely, and you'll find wild garlic growing in the long grass.

Currants! These will be delicious in a couple of months.

Unlike lawns, in a meadow, the more dandelions the better - bees love them, and they look amazing en masse.

Come take a stroll down our flower-lined paths, then take a seat on our hand-carved bench and enjoy a bit of wild London!

A great start to the gardening club

The weekend weather was perfect for gardening - and meant our gardening club got off to a fantastic start. The long-awaited sunshine meant picnics were perhaps a bit more tempting than planting. But our new gardening club leader Helen had everything under control - and thanks to her expert supervision, the meadow has a whole new area of wildflower plants!

A small (but dedicated) team getting started on the very first gardening club session!

Tiny 'plug plants', waiting to make the meadow their home.

Helen's green-fingers in action.

Adding some mulch (courtesy of Hackney Council) to protect our young plants.

Free snacks in the sunshine!

Here's what we planted - you should be able to see some of them in bloom in a few months.

Clockwise from top right: Sorrell (Rumex Acetosa), Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota),  Red Valerian (Centranthus Ruber), Hoary Plantain (Plantago Media), Clustered Bellflower (Campanula Glomerata), CENTRE Thrift (Armeria Maritima), Vipers Bugloss (Echium Vulgare), Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium), Wild Clary (Salvia Verbenaca). 

Let's make a mushroom farm!

The poster says it all! But just as a recap, if you'd like to learn how to turn wanted logs into a tasty treat, come to the meadow on Sunday 31 July from 1pm -4pm and help make our very own mushroom farm. We'll be filling logs with shiitake and oyster mushroom spores, so next spring, we can come back and harvest a fungi feast.

Our adventure in fungus is being supported by the nice folks at muf.