Gardening for birds

At our last gardening club (on Saturday 19), our local gardening expert Helen Wilson was teaching everyone about the species that birds love - and how to plant them. It was a great success, so thanks to everyone who came along! Sadly, the camera battery died, so we don't have any pics of the day, but here's a run down of what we planted so you can keep an eye out for it next time you're there...

English Ivy (Hedera Glacier) - birds love nesting in it, and because it flowers in autumn, it's a great food source for honey bees and Red Admiral butterflies too.

Native Honeysuckle (Lonicera Periclymenum) - honeysuckle attracts lots of insects that birds like to eat. It's especially good for Bluetits as well, because they can nest in the dense bits.

Winter-Flowering Honeysuckle (Lonicera Fragantissima) - perfect for birds to make their nests in, and good for attracting insects (in case the birds need an autumn snack).

Our next gardening club session on Saturday 26 May will be for the butterflies! And we'll be planting native bluebells too to help save them from extinction. So join us on the meadow on Saturday from 12pm-2pm - free drinks and snacks will be provided. 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...

A big thank you to London Legacy Development Corporation!

If you've got eagle eyes, you might have noticed that the Big Lottery logo on the right has been replaced by one from the London Legacy Development Corporation. That's because when our Big Lottery grant ended, the LLDC kindly stepped in and agreed to fund the meadow for 2012.

Which is great news!

We'll be using the funding to set up a free gardening club for everyone in the area, with a couple of artist workshops thrown in for good measure (they were really fun last year). Full details will be coming soon, so keep an eye out!