There are a number of fruit trees on the Green. This year, for the first time, we have been getting a decent crop of pears – the pear tree is adjacent to the Labyrinth. While the blackberries haven’t done so well this year from the point of view of human consumption, hopefully they have been appreciated by the birds and other creatures for whom these are food sources. Elderberries are ripe and do keep an eye on the plums in…
We are sharing these lovely photographs taken on the Green earlier this month by Sharon Vardi. On the left is a close-up of the glorious sea of buttercups on the grassy area by the pond. Last year we held back on cutting the grass during May (“no mow May”) and we have found that there has been a great improvement in the grass quality – I don’t remember there being such a beautiful swathe of yellow last year. On the…
We (the Friends of Albion Millennium Green) were thrilled to receive this photograph of the Green viewed from above, from the home of one of our neighbours. (They wished to remain un-named.) What a treat to get this alternate view on this space that we love. And how gratifying to see the evidence of the work we carried out on the last Workday (8 March) when we were spreading fresh woodchip onto the paths. The path, seen from this angle,…
Even though the pond is due for refurbishment later this year, it is full of new life. Lots of frog spawn and an abundance of frogs! Come and take a look! (The more you look at these photographs, the more frogs you’ll see!) Lots of other colourful signs of spring, also.
Spring is definitely my favourite season! Change in the form of new growth can be so rapid. Currently we have lots of bluebells – we have a mix of English and Spanish on the Green – the lilac is out, and we also spotted a couple of isolated cowslips. I was particularly pleased to see that the site that had been damaged last year is now flourishing. It had been set on fire by person or persons unknown. But the…
The snowdrops we planted last year made a showing a few weeks back. This was lovely to see. Daffodils are currently in bloom and there are many other early signs of spring. Sadly though much of the Green is muddy and in places water logged. Over the last year, areas that were grassy – notably our designated area of meadowland and our central seating area – have become progressively depleted of grass and are now in poor condition. The Friends…
A new addition to the Green – a smart insect hotel gifted to us by Dr Quetta Kaye and safely installed! Let’s see who moves in.
Lots of frog and frogspawn sightings in our pond – do come and take a look! These are common frogs. One way you can tell that these are frogs rather than toads is by their spawn which appears in cloudy clumps. You can find out more about telling frogs and toads apart by reading this Woodland Trust article.
On the second Saturday of each month we hold Workdays on the Green to which all are welcome. Join us at the Albion Villas Road entrance at 10.30 am, making sure you are wearing strong shoes or boots and have a good pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands. Do also bring any small hand tools you may have. This month (as well as the usual litter-picking) we focused on clearing areas of bramble. While bramble flowers are a…
We’ve had a 7-circuit classical labyrinth on the Green since May 2013. Local artist Maria Strutz designed it for an arts festival that was held on the Green (LEAF 2013). Maria created it using stones and twigs and it wasn’t expected to last beyond the festival. But moss and grass gradually gathered and helped stabilise the fragile structure. And Maria has given it a lot of ongoing care. In more recent years, though, with several spells of hot, dry weather,…