www.storeygardens.org
THE FRIENDS NEWSLETTER
Issue No 26
April 2015
April in The Gardens
The warm weather in the middle of April brought out a
great cascade of flowers in the gardens, with plum and
pear blossom overhead and fritillaries, primroses and
even one cowslip in the grass. Although Fiona had
tried to protect the fritillaries with markers of white
stones, the children thought it was far more fun to
move the stones around and make up their own play
with them. As a consequence, the poor fritillaries have got a bit battered, whether by
the children cavorting around, or by the mowing team who came in for the first time this
month, with instructions to mow right across the whole Garden. Fortunately Fiona was
there to negotiate
with them – but mowing instructions from
on high seem to
be an issue for
many green
space
enthusiasts
throughout the
district. The long border is beginning to show plenty of colour and bees, butterflies and
other insects are busying themselves from flower to flower.
On one school visit Fiona noticed
a small boy (about 8) studying
something intently under a clump
of forget-me-not. It was a
woodlouse. He said to Fiona,
"They are in the same family as lobsters." She asked him
how he knew and he said "It's in one of my information
books; I've got lots of them." So now we all know.
The soft fruit bushes are also in flower, so could be a bumper year for jams and jellies if
the birds don’t get them first.
What’s on in the Hollygon
The Hollygon has undergone a radical transformation this month from a plot with a lot of
spare earth to a blazing tulip garden. First one or two tulips flowered and then suddenly
there was a burst of flame across the garden as they
all came into
flower at once.
More daffodils
flowered to
provide a vivid
contrast and
Fiona has
planted some
small violas and forget-me-nots around the border. It looks gorgeous. This time last
year a strong wind flattened the tulips in their prime – so
far they are resisting whatever the weather throws at
them. But – the villain of the piece, the bindweed is
beginning to rear its head again. There have been
several sightings and Fiona has blasted them with 400
volts whenever she sees a shoot. The trouble is, you
might not see a small shoot the first time and when you
look round it’s a foot high and waving triumphantly.
The heap of rubble just by the pathway up to the building has been reduced to its
component parts and revealed as some old plaster/cement, some earth and some
gravel. This area can now be planted in due course.
Green Spaces Application
We have sent off an application to be designated as a Local Green Space and await the
outcome. If we are granted this designation it may be of use in any future funding bids.
The application required a statement about the importance of the site for wildlife and
Fiona produced the most wonderful list – here it is:
Mammals: resident– hedgehogs, grey squirrels; and probably resident – fieldmice, voles
and shrews.
Birds: almost certainly resident – robins, wrens, blackbirds, magpies, blue tits;
frequently seen – great tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, songthrushes, goldfinches,
chaffinches, (and flying overhead – ravens); less frequently seen – greenfinches,
dunnocks, house sparrows, starlings
Insects: Ladybirds (in abundance) 10 spot, 7 spot and 2 spot, including the variant with
red spots on a black ground, woodlice, earwigs, ground beetles, shield bugs, bumble
bees, honey bees, tawny mining bees and many other insects as yet unidentified
Butterflies: seen in the gardens: large white, small white, holly blue, comma, peacock,
small tortoiseshell, brimstone, small copper, red admiral, painted lady, orange tip
This is a great variety to be seen in the middle of a city. Many thanks to all those who
helped to put the application together.
Membership and Subscriptions
It’s not too late to renew or take out membership of FoSG – £5 per individual and £10
for family membership. You can contact Michael Greenhalgh, FoSG Treasurer
(michaelgreenhalgh@talktalk.net) to make a one-off payment for the year or to take out
a standing order. We may be reviewing the way membership is set up over the next
few months or so – we suggest you join now.
Sunday Work Sessions
There have been Sundays during the winter months when none or few people have
turned up for the work sessions. The group feels that if the weather is bad on a Sunday
afternoon a work session should be postponed until the following week, rather than
cancelled altogether, as that would leave a gap of two months between sessions.
Please check on the website on the day if you’re thinking of coming and the weather
looks doubtful – www.storeygardens.org
Other Events
Saturday 16 May: Dawn Chorus – David Redmore will be leading a Dawn Chorus in the
Storey Gardens on the morning of Saturday 16 May – meet at the Meeting House lane
steps at 5.30 am and bring binoculars if you have them. We will be identifying (or
attempting to do so) those birds which inhabit the Gardens, or live nearby. At the end of
that session, those participating are invited back to Catherine Fatkin's for tea and a little
sustenance, we will return to the gardens and plant some wild flower annuals to make a
good show during the summer. All welcome.
Friday 5 June: Ashton Evenings – Art & Music in the Ashton Memorial, presented by
Friends of Williamson Park. Music by The Paul Palmer Trio and exhibition by Chas
Jacobs – 7.30-9.30, tickets £10.00 (see accompanying flier for more information)
Wednesday 17 June – Fairfield Association AGM, Friends’ Meeting House; 7.30pm – all
welcome
Next Meetings
Tuesday 26 May – FoSG monthly meeting, 6.00pm in the NICE Café
Work sessions –
Sunday 3 May 2-4 in the Gardens
The next Newsletter will be out the weekend of 29 May and copy should be sent to Sue
on sue.widden@outlook.com by Friday 22 May