We received another large delivery of shrubs and plants on the 10thMay, fortunately after a day of heavy rain which made it much easier for the volunteers to dig them into the south border. This has made a great difference to the appearance of the western end of this bed and several gaps have now been successfully filled in.
On the north side of the park, pupils from Wendell Park School have planted seeds at the eastern part of the narrow border which runs between the dog exercise area and Cobbold Road and these are doing well, particularly the sunflowers. The Gardening Friends have also planted a small herb garden at the western end of this border which transformed this formerly overgrown area into a very interesting corner.
The ideal growing conditions of the last few weeks has also benefitted the weeds which have sprung to life and are aggressively colonising the borders. We are doing our best to keep them under control and are hoping that as many volunteers as possible will come to help with weeding, feeding and watering on Saturday 1st June from 10am and on every 1st Saturday of the month over the summer and autumn.
Great excitement in the park today when a swarm of honeybees paid us a visit. Fortunately our local Bee Keepers Association representative was on hand within twenty minutes to find them a new home!
It is so lovely to receive positive feedback from local residents who are now seeing the results of all the hard work put in by the Gardening Friends last autumn.; and with the temperatures looking to stay warm this week, things are only going to get better!
Next Saturday 2nd March will be the first monthly gardening morning of 2019 (first Saturday of the month from March till November) we hope to see as many people as possible armed with gloves, boots and whatever garden tools they can get their hands on. Come and spend a couple of hours in the fresh air and help us get the borders tidied up and ready for summer!
Camelia, North Border, Spring 2019Camelias, North Border, Spring 2019Crocuses, Spring 2019Irises in the North BorderCrocuses, Spring 2019Crocuses and Daffs, Spring 2019
The snowdrops planted last year have been flowering in the southern border since Christmas and have now been joined by celandines and crocuses whilst a lot more bulbs are pushing through the soil’s surface and will form a colourful swathe beside the path. Bulbs planted by the local scout group will soon be brightening up the northern border and the Gardening Friends have put a low willow edging here, the willow comes from trees cut back by the Council on Wormwood Scrubs.
Snowdrops in the Southern Border
During the last few weeks a considerable amount of ivy has been removed from the border between the dog area and Cobbold Road which will help the roses flower more easily during the summer, there is still some digging to do here and children from Wendell Park School and also cubs and scouts from the 28th Hammersmith Group will then be able to help with the planting. Ivy is also been removed from the Cobbold Road gate pillars.
More bushes, shrubs and plants have been ordered which will fill out the south and north borders, they should arrive Friday 1st March and we will be planting them on that day and the also the morning of Saturday 2nd March, volunteers are most welcome to come and help.
On 13th October we were joined in the park by a team of Scouts from 28th Hammersmith Scout Group led Group Scout Leader Neil Docherty, who jumped to the task of clearing leaves and planting spring bulbs. We look forward to seeing them both again (the Scouts and the bulbs!) in the Spring and we are hopeful that this will lead to a long-term collaboration.
Our Annual General Meeting was held at the Duchess of Cambridge on 1stOctober 2018 and was attended by members together with Councillors Rory Vaughan and Rowan Ree.
The chairman, Simon Grange, gave a resume of the busy year’s activities, reported on income and expenditure and also future plans for the south and north borders in Wendell Park.
Thanks were given to Stefan Czedlazinski (LBHF Parks Officer) and Steve Cassidy (Wendell Park gardener, idverde) and all members of the committee who have worked so hard during the year, and particularly to the volunteers who have supported the group.
A copy of the minutes is available for download here. The accounts for the year to 30th September 2018 are available for download on the Admin page
Regular users of Wendell Park will have seen a group of dedicated volunteers watering the newly planted south border during the long summer heatwave, some days bringing heavy plastic containers of water on shopping trolleys and doing it by hand and other days running a hose from nearby houses until the council installed a tap in the park and we could run a hose from there. Apart from one tree, everything appears to have survived the summer heat, including the two new birches planted in the dog exercise area.
Several volunteers (adults and children) joined the first Saturday of the month maintenance days when weeds (which seem to flourish regardless of the temperature) were removed, persistent new snowberry shoots popping up through the soil dug out and some necessary pruning was done.
As the summer progressed, the sunflowers and nasturtiums grown and nurtured by children from Wendell Park School brightened up the bed between the dog exercise area and Cobbold Road.
We have now started removing the ivy which completely covers the north border and once it is dug over shrubs will be planted on this bed which enjoys the sunshine particularly in winter months.
We have ordered over a thousand new bulbs and will be planting them on between 10 am and noon on Saturday 6th and 13th October in both the north and south bed, we hope families will come as it is a great opportunity for children to get involved.
“There’s naught as nice as th’ smell o’ good clean earth, except th’ smell o’ fresh growin’ things when th’ rain falls on ‘em.” So says Dickon in TheSecret Garden.
Tulips with wallflowers
I have read this delightful, classic book by Frances Hodgson Burnett to my son and its talk of snowdrops, crocuses and daffadowndilly’s has quite inspired me (again) to plant more bulbs this autumn.
And it is with this child-like fascination with growing things and especially bulbs that I talk here through some pretty combinations of plants and bulbs and then demonstrate how to plant them.
Autumn is the best time to plant bulbs like tulips, daffodils and alliums. This bloated seed, or storage organ, is the promise of hope in the spring. Popular tulip varieties include the deep purple ‘Queen of the Night’, ‘Ronaldo’ or curly edged ‘Black Parrot’. Their dark colouring adds some drama to a garden. They also look pretty growing through violas, blue forget-me-nots or wallflowers.
I also like a splash of colour with my tulips and the orange ‘Ballerina’ tulips can add exciting colour contrast to a border or container. My new bulb to try for this autumn is a romantically pink perennial bulb called ‘Pink Impression’.
Here are colour and plant combinations:
Striking Hot Orange
Orange tulips ‘Ballerina’ or ‘Apricot Emperor’ flower in April and May and can be over-planted with burgundy-coloured, Heuchera, an ever-green perennial, for all year round interest.
Romantic Pink
Pink tulips such as ‘Pink Impression’ (flowers late April/early May) combine well with with hellebores. The Hellebores, sometimes called Christmas roses as this is when they flower, are winter flowering and as they go over in the spring, this delightful pink tulip with grow through them, green foliage of the hellebore all year round.
Dramatic Black and Deep Purple
Deep purple ‘Black Parrot’, ‘Havran’, and ‘Queen of the Night’ flower in May and ‘Ronado’ in early April, can be over-planted with Wallflowers for evergreen foliage and summer flowering, Viola for instant flowers or a green foil of evergreen Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Robbiae.
Daffadowndillies
This favourite bulb comes in many varieties. I particularly like Narcissus Geranium which has a lovely fragrance and is an heirloom variety.
A Word on Alliums
These look lovely in a border especially in late spring and early summer and they will come back year after year. ‘Purple Sensation’ is a favourite variety of mine. They look fantastic with ferns and foxgloves, combining that lovely visual mixture of domes and spires, but prefer the sunnier part of the border.
With all bulbs they look best planted en masseso you can keep adding to your collection year on year or experimenting with new colours, shapes and forms.
My Guide to Planting Bulbs
Here is some guidance on planting tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths in containers and how to create your own little secret garden:Choose an attractive pot and put crocks in the bottom.Crocks are broken up bits of terracotta pot and they help with drainage. But you could also use stones or gravel.
Use bulb compost, ideally mixed with sand, and half fill the container. The RHS recommends planting them three times their depth and one bulb width apart.
Place your bulbs in the container with the pointy bit facing upwards and the flatter end with some roots, sitting on your compost.Add more compost to cover them.
On top of this, plant something pretty and flowering such as Viola, Wallflowers, Heuchera, Hellebores or Euphorbia as listed earlier.
Water the container and leave it by your front or back door or balcony and it is sure to bring delight over the coming months and especially in the spring when you will have long forgotten about the tulips but they will emerge, smiling up at you.
