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.

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!

Gardening club session: Saturday 19 May, 12pm-2pm

Our next gardening club session is happening on Saturday 19 May from 12pm-2pm. The last session was all about growing plants that bees and butterflies would love. But the one on Saturday will be for the birds.

Local gardening expert Helen Wilson will be teaching us all about growing climbing plants that birds love to nest in. And she'll be on hand to answer any other gardening questions you might have too.

The gardening club is completely free. And there'll be free drinks and snacks too - so come on down!

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...

Mabley's Willow Weavers

On 25 September, artist Elsa Godfrey brought her amazing willow ball to the meadow and invited everyone and anyone to get involved and weave a new piece of willow into it. The ball started off life as a piece commissioned for Landscape of Change, a recent exhibition at BHVU Gallery, Stoke Newington - and it'll be growing even bigger over the next few months. To follow it's progress, take a look here.

Thanks for the soap carving workshop Gary!

The weather may have been thundery and wet, but Gary March's soap carving workshop was brilliant. And as we were safe and dry below the flyover, it gave everyone plenty of time to settle in and get creative. Gary will be our very own artist in residence in August too when he sets up his studio below the flyover to carve benches for the meadow. So stop by and say hi, and if you ask nicely, he might even let you have a go!

As well as thanking Gary, a big thank you goes out to muf for organising and funding this fantastic event.


Then after the rain and thunder, the sun came out - so it was the perfect day for our flowers too!

Free all-ages carving workshop - 12pm, Saturday June 18

In August, the amazing Gary March will be sculpting a set of three unique benches for us. But before he gets started, he'll be teaching the carving basics in a free workshop on the meadow (or below the flyover if it's raining).

As we'll all be beginners, we'll be carving in soap rather than wood. And Gary's had loads of experience teaching sculpture newbies, so we'll all be in good (and very patient) hands.

Organised by muf art+architecture, the workshop will run from midday - for more details, take a look at their flyer below.