Spring Has Well and Truly Sprung

If you should go down to the flowerbed today, you are in for a big surprise...there be seasonal stirrings in that there muddy patch.

The flowerbed is looking beautiful in its first flush of spring bulbs: snowbells, crocuses and early narcissi. There are also promising signs of the rest those 450 bulbs planted all that time ago in November last year despite the numbing rain.

At this weekend’s Spring Meet, perennials and biennials such as lupins, foxgloves, delphiniums, Japanese anemone, hellebore, pinks, poppies and summer flowering bulbs were planted. A big thank you to Nellie’s mum for weeding and nurturing the flowerbed, many passersby have noticed her work and have said how beautiful the flowerbed is looking.

Bring on the Vernal Equinox... given season creep, what will be flowering in the flowerbed on March the 21st?

P.S. We are still trying to resolve the fly-tipping problem that is occurring in the vicinity of the flowerbed.

Please dial 101 to report any fly-tipped rubbish you see, and be sure to get a reference number. The more people who report each and every incidence of fly-tipping, the more evidence there is that residents are concerned about this issue and expect the council to crack down on the fly-tippers operating in our area.
Tony Banach, Area Manager for Higham Hill Ward, Better Neighbourhoods Initiative is aware of the situation.

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Earthworms Released Into The Flowerbed

Have you noticed the difference?

This morning the flowerbed area was thoroughly swept and cleared of litter. The earth surrounding the roots of the Plane trees near the flowerbed was weeded and planted with Forget-Me-Nots, summer Iris and Gladioli bulbs and sown with white Alyssum 'Snow Cloth' and pink, lavender, carmine and white Candytuft 'Fairy Mixed'.

Poppies and other annual flower seeds were sprinkled over the flowerbed and a bucket of garden earthworms was released into the flowerbed as their activity will improve the condition of the soil.

A big thank you to the residents who donated money to buy seeds.

We decided to purchase annual flower seeds so that there would be a colourful display of flowers this summer. If anybody is sowing perennials for their gardens please could you nurture a few extra plants for the flowerbed to ensure an abundance of flowers next year.

There is a packet of Stocks to be sown and if anyone would like to volunteer to germinate some in pots indoors please email

• pauline.flowerbed@gmail.com


• frances.flowerbed@gmail.com

and we will provide you with pots, compost and seed.

Releasing the wriggly garden worms.


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Spring Bulb Planting Meet

On the morning of Sunday the 4th of November a group of the more "mature(d)" residents of the close gathered at the flowerbed. After some effort (and secret relief to know that the youths, still asleep after their Fireworks Night activities, were not around to witness this) they managed to scramble up onto to the flowerbed to plant the 300 narcissi and 50 blue crocii donated by the LBWF 'Cleaner, Safer, Greener' Programme and distributed by Groundwork East London.

More plants, yellow, blue and white irises, blue hycinths and more crocii were planted to augment the bulbs donated by the council. A resident of Fairfield Rd risked life and limb to balance precariously on a ladder to remove the bicycle tyre that had been caught for months on the top of the lampost behind the flowerbed.

Many thanks to those residents who donated plants and bulbs, to those who helped plant them, to those who provided refreshments and to those who gave cash donations (we thought we'd give the few earthworms resident in the flowerbed a treat, we'll be purchasing a couple of bags of well rotted manure to mulch the flowerbed in the not too distant future).

CLICK HERE for more details about LBWF's 'Cleaner, Safer, Greener' Programme (link opens in a new window).

CLICK HERE to visit the Groundwork East London website (link opens in a new window).

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Planting The Flowerbed

On Saturday the 20th October a group of residents planted the newly dug over flowerbed. The girls proved to the boys that they were equally capable of digging, even though it did mean that they got dirt under their nails.

THANK YOU to all those who donated plants, helped dig them in, baked cakes and provided refreshments.

We hope to see you all again when we meet to plant the bulbs donated to us by the council.

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