May flowers

They say April showers bring May flowers. But torrential rain in May brings these little beauties! The meadow's just gearing up for summer so keep checking back because these spring flowers will be in bloom soon.

A future field of blooms!

Dandelions aren't every gardener's cup of tea, but the bees love them - and so to us wildflower gardeners.

Cow Parsley, thriving among the long grass.

A native bluebell! There aren't loads of these growing (sadly), but if you look carefully, you'll see a few among the grass.

Bulbs and wildflowers getting ready to bloom.

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). 

Down the garden path...

Even if Londoners haven't been enjoying all the rain we've been having recently, the meadow's been loving it! With the grass getting long and super-green, the parks team from Hackney Council swung by with a mower to cut some paths through it. We think they look AMAZING, but what do you think? Do you like them? And are there any other paths you'd like mown on the meadow? Just leave a comment or email mableymeadow@gmail.com

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!

Spring explosion!

Last autumn, we got stuck in planting hundreds (yes, HUNDREDS) of daffodil bulbs. It was hard work, but it was completely worth it because they're flowering - and they look spectacular!

So the next time you're passing the meadow, take a seat on one of our new benches and let these bright yellow blooms put a smile on your face.