In October 2011 volunteers from Transition Westcombe and the Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce planted wildfower seeds in-between the lime trees along the north wall of the park.
It was an experiment and we didn't know if it would work. But as you can see from the photos, it clearly did. And what a wonderful sight they are.
You may have noticed areas around trees and against fences where the grass has been allowed to grow. This isn't Parks being lazy, it's deliberate. We've asked them to do this in order to attract pollinating insects - bees and butterflies.
Not only do they look beautiful, they also eat predatory insects like aphids, thereby reducing the need for pesticides to protect our new fruit trees.
The idea is to make the 'hoggin' path around the park as much like a country lane as possible.
The Council has agreed to the plan but can't give us any money towards the new gate and fencing (estimated cost £8,000 - £10,000). With that in mind we propose to change the boundary of The Bridge centre (formerly The One O'Clock Club) to allow the path to continue along the south and west walls, thus allowing dog-walkers and others to complete whole laps of the park.
East Greenwich Community Festivals, the group organising the 1948 Olympics-themed event in August, have offered to contribute, as part of a legacy project. But if you know of any other funding sources, do let us know.
In the meantime, enjoy the flowers.
I haven't been to the Pleasaunce for some months but will definitely come along tomorrow and really look forward to seeing all the wildflowers - or even some of them! Well done to everyone!
Posted by: Helena Ballard | 01 June 2012 at 02:22 PM