The Highbury Builders' Collective have come up with a method of growing vegetables in a restricted space, the Micro Food Farm. The MFF brings together "worm tea" (from a vertically stacked wormery containing hybrid "tiger" worms and domestic food waste), a compost medium and rainwater to produce a constant supply of organic veggies. A number have been installed in Islington's schools, and there is one in the hands of an Islington Gardener who has been enjoying a flow of salad vegetables for months. The MFF is seen here below with Liam Devany, its designer, and there is an article by Liam explaining the workings of the MFF in the Library section of the website.
Does anyone want a run of the Alpine Garden Society Bulletin from vol. 55, 1987 through vol. 71, 2003? This is a complete run with no missing numbers. If interested, please email DAllen(at)infopt.demon.co.uk
BBC2 are re-running their excellent programme Who Killed the Honey Bee which comprehensively covers the various threats facing the British honey bee this coming Friday which all Islington gardeners (and other gardeners) should watch. We are all dependent on the fertilisation work all bees carry out every year on food crops and we need to be fully aware of the decline in bee populations in recent years. Hopefully the programme will unearth some of the causes of these declines. Meanwhile, please put bee-friendly plants in your gardens (single-flowered plants, natives, etc.). Good websites are: www.britishbee.org.uk and www.rowsehoney.co.uk/articles/honey-and-you/save-the-honey-bee
01/05: Islington in Bloom 2009
Enter this year's Islington in Bloom campaign to make our borough even greener, cleaner and brighter in 2009. From sowing wildflower seeds around a tree to tending a large front garden or small window box - there is a way for everyone to get involved. Every entry will receive a £5 gift voucher together with a certificate and feedback from judges. The best entries will win garden centre vouchers worth up to £100. For full details and an entry form go to: http://www.islington.gov.uk/Environment/outdoor/parks/in_bloom/inbloomentry.asp
The Archway-centred River of Flowers is a project launching on Saturday 25 April with a Wildflower Planting Day when five tree pits outside the Archway Herbal Clinic on Archway Road, N19 (just north of the Archway gyratory system), are to be sown with wildflower seeds kindly provided by Islington Council. Time: 10.00-11.00 am (Volunteers welcome, please bring equipment – rake or weeding fork - and please wear gloves.) The River of Flowers has also been offered land on which to plant a Wildflower Meadow at the Whittington Hospital on Highgate Hill, and the ground is to be cleared shortly so that seeding and planting can take place this spring. Spring and Summer meadows are envisaged, and also a Forest Garden area.
The objective of the River of Flowers project is to identify and support existing areas of native wildflowers in the Highgate/Crouch End/Holloway area (and outwards!) which are important for essential pollinators such as bees, to plant more wildflowers especially in "pollination gaps", to interest people in the beauty of wildflowers and to inform us all about the health and medicinal properties of our native plants. A website is to be set up and the areas of local wildflowers mapped. If you are interested in getting involved in this exciting local project please contact Kathryn Lwin Brooks at the Archway Herbal Clinic on 020 8411 4411 or email: reception@archwayherbal.co.uk
All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
The objective of the River of Flowers project is to identify and support existing areas of native wildflowers in the Highgate/Crouch End/Holloway area (and outwards!) which are important for essential pollinators such as bees, to plant more wildflowers especially in "pollination gaps", to interest people in the beauty of wildflowers and to inform us all about the health and medicinal properties of our native plants. A website is to be set up and the areas of local wildflowers mapped. If you are interested in getting involved in this exciting local project please contact Kathryn Lwin Brooks at the Archway Herbal Clinic on 020 8411 4411 or email: reception@archwayherbal.co.uk
All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
Grow Your Own Food scheme in Islington launched: people who want to start to grow their own vegestables are provided with a container, composts, seeds, and are hooked up to a volunteer street rep, who will provide support and know-how. All for a modest £5 (subsidised) joining fee. To join, please contact the Islington Organic Growers' Network.
Those wishing to get to grips with growing their own can now study Mark Donaldson's plans for his Islington backyard for 2009, available in two papers in the website library. IG members have been invited to visit his garden on Sunday 3rd May, followed by a visit to a functioning Micro Food Farm!
The IOG Network was formed last year by a group of local residents who are passionate about organic gardening and food growing, and take the view that everyone should have the oportunity to grow their own food and live in a clean and green environment. Members enjoy meeting on a regular basis to share their horticultural knowledge and encourage each other. As well as the Grow Your Own Food scheme, the IOGN organises Beginner Growers Workshops, (see Events page), and an annual horticultural show. Monthly meetings take place between 5.30pm and 6.45pm at the Green Living Centre, 222 Upper Street, (and then participants retire to a local pub) and this season's dates are: 22 April, 19 May, 18 June, 1 July, 20 August, 16 September. Membership is free, to join please either email: info@islingtonorganicgrowers.org.uk, or telephone 0207 527 6726 (Kerry Kirwan), and then just come along to one of the meetings.
Those wishing to get to grips with growing their own can now study Mark Donaldson's plans for his Islington backyard for 2009, available in two papers in the website library. IG members have been invited to visit his garden on Sunday 3rd May, followed by a visit to a functioning Micro Food Farm!
The IOG Network was formed last year by a group of local residents who are passionate about organic gardening and food growing, and take the view that everyone should have the oportunity to grow their own food and live in a clean and green environment. Members enjoy meeting on a regular basis to share their horticultural knowledge and encourage each other. As well as the Grow Your Own Food scheme, the IOGN organises Beginner Growers Workshops, (see Events page), and an annual horticultural show. Monthly meetings take place between 5.30pm and 6.45pm at the Green Living Centre, 222 Upper Street, (and then participants retire to a local pub) and this season's dates are: 22 April, 19 May, 18 June, 1 July, 20 August, 16 September. Membership is free, to join please either email: info@islingtonorganicgrowers.org.uk, or telephone 0207 527 6726 (Kerry Kirwan), and then just come along to one of the meetings.
IG are delighted to learn that the Olden Garden and Management Committee were given a Civic Award from the Mayor of Islington at a ceremony held in the Town Hall on March 12, 2009, for their contribution to the local community. Volunteers have been working for decades in nearly two acres of open space known as the Olden Garden off Whistler Street, Highbury, and have turned it into a community garden and woodland. Much fundraising has been organised by the Management Committee in the last year or so. The most recent resulting improvement (amongst many) to the Garden is the rebuilt Garden House which will be available for small local functions, but the Olden Gardeners have moved on to plan wildflowers for the meadow, and have dug a vegetable patch from an area of brambles. Children from a nearby school also have their own vegetable garden within the site and benefit from the outdoor activity.
New volunteers are always welcome, to help with all aspects of maintaining the garden, and to enjoy being outdoors and socialising. If you are a local resident and you are interested in getting involved with the Olden Garden please contact Jill Mckeown (membership secretary), 49 Whistler Street, N5 1NJ. Tel: 7226 0222. Membership fees: £5 waged, £2.50 unwaged.
New volunteers are always welcome, to help with all aspects of maintaining the garden, and to enjoy being outdoors and socialising. If you are a local resident and you are interested in getting involved with the Olden Garden please contact Jill Mckeown (membership secretary), 49 Whistler Street, N5 1NJ. Tel: 7226 0222. Membership fees: £5 waged, £2.50 unwaged.
Love Your Garden? Franklin Ginn of the Geography Department, King's College, London, is leading a research project to understand how Londoners feel about and use their gardens, and how this has changed over time.
Franklin is looking for people willing to have an informal meeting lasting about an hour talking about their garden, and possibly including a tour of the garden. If you are interested, please call Franklin on 07903 249 974, or email: franklin.ginn@kcl.ac.uk, or write to the address above, including the postcode WC2R 2LS.
Franklin is looking for people willing to have an informal meeting lasting about an hour talking about their garden, and possibly including a tour of the garden. If you are interested, please call Franklin on 07903 249 974, or email: franklin.ginn@kcl.ac.uk, or write to the address above, including the postcode WC2R 2LS.
Islington's Laycock Street Park is part of a new London-wide research project looking to restore the Capital's failing house sparrow population. Numbers of this common garden bird have fallen 68% in London over the past 15 years. Other Islington sites involved in the project include Paradise Park and Whittington Park.
RSPB research suggests that a lack of food may be responsible so a major new three-year project has been launched to test the theory. It will involved growing different types of grass in discrete areas of parks, like Laycock Street. The idea is that the grass will provide food for birds and other wildlife in the form of seeds and insects. Islington Borough Council is one of seven partners involved in helping the RSPB unravel the mystery of our vanishing house sparrows.
To find out more about the Heritage Lottery funded project, or what you can do the help save house sparrows, contact the RSPB London team on 020 7808 1260 or email them at london@rspb.org.uk There is also an article in our Library page.
(Dr John Mallord, research scientist, at Laycock St, with a sparrow, photo credit Leo Hornack, and sparrow having its leg measured at Laycock St, photo credit RSPB)
You can also help monitor the changing UK bird population by taking part in the 30th annual Big Garden Birdwatch over the weekend of 24/25 January. Participants record the highest number of each species of bird seen in their garden at any one time over the course of one hour and send the results, good or bad, to the RSPB for analysis. A free recording sheet and full details are available from www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch.
RSPB research suggests that a lack of food may be responsible so a major new three-year project has been launched to test the theory. It will involved growing different types of grass in discrete areas of parks, like Laycock Street. The idea is that the grass will provide food for birds and other wildlife in the form of seeds and insects. Islington Borough Council is one of seven partners involved in helping the RSPB unravel the mystery of our vanishing house sparrows.
To find out more about the Heritage Lottery funded project, or what you can do the help save house sparrows, contact the RSPB London team on 020 7808 1260 or email them at london@rspb.org.uk There is also an article in our Library page.
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(Dr John Mallord, research scientist, at Laycock St, with a sparrow, photo credit Leo Hornack, and sparrow having its leg measured at Laycock St, photo credit RSPB)
You can also help monitor the changing UK bird population by taking part in the 30th annual Big Garden Birdwatch over the weekend of 24/25 January. Participants record the highest number of each species of bird seen in their garden at any one time over the course of one hour and send the results, good or bad, to the RSPB for analysis. A free recording sheet and full details are available from www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch.
Islington Gardeners' Forgotten Corners team are thrilled to have received a Special Award from the Conservation Foundation's Green Corners competition, and individual Green Corners Awards for each of our Forgotten Corners. Our FCs can be seen from the pavement by visiting Corsica Street , N5, St Paul's Road, N1, (the Alwyne Castle Strip between the Alwyne Castle pub and the bus stop), Pyrland Road Border, N5, the Rosemary Green, outside the Rosemary Branch Pub, Baring Street, N1, the Campdale Road Hedge, N7, Boxworth Grove, N1, and the Whitehall Park Garden, Pauntley Street, N19. Other Islington winners were the Ockendon Road Tree Gardens, N1, and King Henry's Walk Gardens, N1.
The Conservation Foundation had a total of 50 prizewinners from all corners of London, all contributing to making the capital a brighter, greener and healthier place to live. Naturalist David Bellamy signed the certificates wearing his honey bee t-shirt, to emphasise the contribution the Green Corners make to London's biodiversity.
The Conservation Foundation had a total of 50 prizewinners from all corners of London, all contributing to making the capital a brighter, greener and healthier place to live. Naturalist David Bellamy signed the certificates wearing his honey bee t-shirt, to emphasise the contribution the Green Corners make to London's biodiversity.
The British Red Cross London are looking for gardeners willing to open their garden in 2009 as part of their fund-raising programme. Gardens do not have to be huge and they only need to be open for half a day next summer. If you would like to help with this, please contact Lisa Hesling, Senior Fundraiser on 020 7382 4651 or email lhesling@redcross.org.uk
One of IG's young members Mark Donaldson is getting a grip on food sustainability in his own backyard:
From Concrete to Kitchen: Growing Vegetables in a Backyard in Islington
Mark Donaldson has now written a piece on his operations in his backgarden, with many photographs, and this is now in the Library. As well as getting lots of vegetables, he operates as sustainably as possible, not least by using discarded wood, estate agents' signs, and other unwanted material for his shelving, raised beds, and so on. He has plans for the future involving hens, bees, fish ..... Mark is a member of the Organic Gardening Forum which is a gathering of Islington residents who are trying to promote home food growing. The Forum meets monthly at the Green Living Centre (222 Upper Street, Islington),and welcomes anyone seeking advice on organic gardening, anyone wishing to organise a food-growing event, and other existing community groups wishing to grow food. For more information please contact Greenliving@islington.gov.uk or telephone 020 7327 6726.
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From Concrete to Kitchen: Growing Vegetables in a Backyard in Islington
Mark Donaldson has now written a piece on his operations in his backgarden, with many photographs, and this is now in the Library. As well as getting lots of vegetables, he operates as sustainably as possible, not least by using discarded wood, estate agents' signs, and other unwanted material for his shelving, raised beds, and so on. He has plans for the future involving hens, bees, fish ..... Mark is a member of the Organic Gardening Forum which is a gathering of Islington residents who are trying to promote home food growing. The Forum meets monthly at the Green Living Centre (222 Upper Street, Islington),and welcomes anyone seeking advice on organic gardening, anyone wishing to organise a food-growing event, and other existing community groups wishing to grow food. For more information please contact Greenliving@islington.gov.uk or telephone 020 7327 6726.
We are delighted to announce that the London Borough of Islington has been awarded gold in this year's London in Bloom Competion, and was placed best in category beating well-heeled Kensington and Chelsea. This award reflects huge efforts from everybody involved, and Islington Gardeners are delighted to applaud the achievement. The judges assessed floral displays, (we have all admired the flowers in the middle of the Holloway Road for the past few summers) parks, private gardens and business premises, and also considered how clean Islington's streets are. There were record numbers of entries into the Islington in Bloom Competition and Greenspace were able to show the judges an abundance of school, community, and private front gardens, and business displays.
In addition, Islington's latest community garden, King Henry's Walk Garden, got first prize in the London in Bloom's Community Garden Award, and the Angel Town Centre got the third prize in the L-in-B Town and City Centre Category. Brilliant.
In addition, Islington's latest community garden, King Henry's Walk Garden, got first prize in the London in Bloom's Community Garden Award, and the Angel Town Centre got the third prize in the L-in-B Town and City Centre Category. Brilliant.
2009 courses will start in February 2009 and will take place in Hornsey Rise Gardens N19. Permaculture is a holistic way of living on the earth, as sustainably as possible, and gardening and food growing is to be carried out by working with nature rather than against her. Thought-provoking.... Please see events page for dates of courses, contact details, etc.
07/08: Plastic Pots Re-Use
Our Spring Newsletter (now in the Library Section of the website) contained a article discussing the ongoing waste problem created by many thousands of plastic plant pots. We are delighted that one of our intrepid IG members has uncovered the fact that Capital Gardens, which run the Highgate Garden Centre, N6, and the Ally Pally Garden Centre, N10, will take back unwanted pots from customers, sterilise them, and reuse them in all six of their London centres and their landscape gardening operation, as well as passing them to local suppliers. This is a practical and beneficial way of reducing landfill waste and full marks should go to Capital Gardens Group for setting it up. We hope that they do more business as people realise they will take unwanted pots, and of course, that other retailers of plants get themselves organised in a similar manner. IG members desperate to reduce their plant pot mountain sustainably should also remember that Capital Gardens will give them a 10% discount on production of a valid membership card on weekdays.
07/08: Growing Food For London
We are pleased to have been sent a summary of the presentations made at the Conference on Growing Food For London (urban food growing) held at City Hall on 30 June 08, and this is now in our Library Section. For further details of this topical event, including press coverage, please go to the Sustain website: http://www.SustainWeb.org.uk/page.php?id=454
(yes, out of Islington and indeed in West London) has a very interesting website: http://www.kitchengarden.org.uk They are growing and selling food, involving the local community and welcome visitors.
Highbury Builders' Collective are once again running their Saturday morning courses to give people the opportunity to see the tools, actually look inside a hive, and handle a frame of bees, without necessarily having to make any long term commitment to become beekeepers. Full details on the Events page, the first course will be on Saturday 2 August.
07/08: Gardening Tips by Email
Pesticide Action Network UK is an independent non-profit organisation which will send you a monthly email containing gardening tips to help gardeners to grow fruit and vegetables using as few pesticides as possible. To register, please send your email address to: roslynmckendry@pan-uk.org or go to www.pan-uk.org/gardening.htm
Gardens in Islington make up 20% of the Borough's area, and are therefore a major haven for our biodiversity. Islington's Ecology Centre has launched a survey of garden wildlife in order to find out what Islington's gardens are like, what wildlife we have visiting our gardens, assess how best to help species which may be struggling, and what Islington residents are already doing to help wildlife in their gardens.
The deadline is Friday 8 August, and you can complete your survey online by going to www.islington.gov.uk/Environment/outdoor/gardenwildlife.asp
The deadline is Friday 8 August, and you can complete your survey online by going to www.islington.gov.uk/Environment/outdoor/gardenwildlife.asp
07/08: King Henry's Walk
After nearly three years of planning and hard work, King Henry's Walk Garden is now open. This spring there will be a sustained programme of planting, and a series of workshops led by Caroline Foley, author of 'Practical Allotment Gardening' and a special springtime workshop with BBC's Gardeners' World presenter Joe Swift, who is a patron of the garden.
58 plots approximately 6 square metres in size have been allocated to interested members of the public in the Mildmay Ward of Islington to grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.
The garden is a greenspace success for Islington: in 2005 Islington Council Greenspace consulted the local community about what they wanted from a disused site tucked behind King Henry's Walk Adventure Playground. A community garden was decided upon and a dedicated committee of volunteers including IG members has since raised over £170,000 to design and create the garden, including raised beds, communal area, accessible communal building (with sedum roof), greenhouse, a rainwater collection system, and also to manage its own small woodland which is graded as a 'site of borough importance'.
The garden is open to the public between 12 pm and 4 pm on Saturday afternoons, and from 10 am to 3pm on Wednesdays. Residents of the Mildmay Ward are invited to become keyholders and plotholders. See www.khwgarden.org.uk for full details. The building may be hired. The creation of this garden is a major achievement for all concerned.
58 plots approximately 6 square metres in size have been allocated to interested members of the public in the Mildmay Ward of Islington to grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.
The garden is a greenspace success for Islington: in 2005 Islington Council Greenspace consulted the local community about what they wanted from a disused site tucked behind King Henry's Walk Adventure Playground. A community garden was decided upon and a dedicated committee of volunteers including IG members has since raised over £170,000 to design and create the garden, including raised beds, communal area, accessible communal building (with sedum roof), greenhouse, a rainwater collection system, and also to manage its own small woodland which is graded as a 'site of borough importance'.
The garden is open to the public between 12 pm and 4 pm on Saturday afternoons, and from 10 am to 3pm on Wednesdays. Residents of the Mildmay Ward are invited to become keyholders and plotholders. See www.khwgarden.org.uk for full details. The building may be hired. The creation of this garden is a major achievement for all concerned.
07/08: Food Up Front
A chance to save money by growing your own veggies: FOOD UP FRONT is coming to Islington.
Food up Front was established in April 2007 to enable people in London to use their front gardens and balconies to grow and share healthy food. Members of Food up Front, who pay a small fee, receive a starter pack with seeds, a container, and compost. They also receive support from the Food up Front network.
The scheme took off in South London last year and received considerable media coverage, as well as winning awards. It now coming to North London, and in particular, Islington. We will have more information as the Islington scheme gets set up, and in the meantime, please have a look at the website: www.foodupfront.org.
This is what they do in Seattle: relatives of an IG member have kindly sent us these pictures of street-side vegetable growing in the Ballard district. The sticks are to keep the cats out, and apparently they work.
More about food-growing: Global Action Plan is helping the Hanover in Hackney Association to grow food and green their external spaces. For more details please see the website www.globalactionplan.org.uk/communityhousing
Food up Front was established in April 2007 to enable people in London to use their front gardens and balconies to grow and share healthy food. Members of Food up Front, who pay a small fee, receive a starter pack with seeds, a container, and compost. They also receive support from the Food up Front network.
The scheme took off in South London last year and received considerable media coverage, as well as winning awards. It now coming to North London, and in particular, Islington. We will have more information as the Islington scheme gets set up, and in the meantime, please have a look at the website: www.foodupfront.org.
This is what they do in Seattle: relatives of an IG member have kindly sent us these pictures of street-side vegetable growing in the Ballard district. The sticks are to keep the cats out, and apparently they work.
More about food-growing: Global Action Plan is helping the Hanover in Hackney Association to grow food and green their external spaces. For more details please see the website www.globalactionplan.org.uk/communityhousing
In a study currently running in Greater London the RSPB have found that providing mealworms through the breeding season (May to July) doubles the number of young sparrows emerging from nests. To help chicks, gardeners should be tolerant of aphids and annual weeds. Unfortunately, this success with chicks has not yet translated into more breeding sparows in the following spring, and the RSPB is now feeding seeds all year at its target colonies to see if this helps. For the full details of the research, spelled out at the recent RSPB Members' Day by Dr Will Peach, please see the article in the Library.
07/08: Islington In Bloom Results
These can now be seen in the Islington in Bloom section of the website (far righthand side). We congratulate all the prizewinners who contribute so much to the quality of life within the Borough. We are also very pleased to report that Islington Greenspace not only retained its silver gilt award in this year's London In Bloom Competition, but did so at a higher level than in 2006.
At the recent awards ceremony of the London Gardens Society we were delighted to receive the Wakefield Trophy for 2007. This is won by the Affiliated Society gaining the most points from their winning gardens entered into the LGS awards. We entered a number of outstanding gardens belonging to and created by IG members, one of which won its class. This garden, in College Cross, Islington, is open under the NGS Yellow Book scheme, so look out for it in 2008. Our congratulations go to these superb gardeners.
07/08: Volunteers Needed To Create A Sensory Garden At Sunnyside Community Garden, Hazelville Road N19
This project is being funded from a grant from Islington Strategic Partnership, and people experiencing a disability are particularly being asked to help create a beautiful space which can be enjoyed by everyone. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer gardener, no previous experience required, please contact Sarah Massey, the newly appointed Disability Access Co-ordinator for Sunnyside Gardens on 020 7272 3522 or email her at Sarah@Sunnysidegarden.org.uk You can also consult the website at www.sunnysidegarden.org.uk
Sunnyside Community Garden was created by local residents from derelict land in 1977. It is a welcoming place for people of all backgrounds and abilities to come and enjoy the garden and get involved. Sunnyside seeks to promote sustainability, organic principles are used, and wildlife catered for in a range of habitats. There is a Saturday Organic Market from 10 am to 3 pm, childrens' holiday activities, bicycle maintenance workshops, a composting scheme, a garden contract service, and other community events take place periodically.
Sunnyside Community Garden was created by local residents from derelict land in 1977. It is a welcoming place for people of all backgrounds and abilities to come and enjoy the garden and get involved. Sunnyside seeks to promote sustainability, organic principles are used, and wildlife catered for in a range of habitats. There is a Saturday Organic Market from 10 am to 3 pm, childrens' holiday activities, bicycle maintenance workshops, a composting scheme, a garden contract service, and other community events take place periodically.
07/08: Garden Grabbing Update
Caroline Spelman's Bill on Land Use which will remove the definition of gardens as brownfield land will be considered in Parliament on 19 October 2007, the June reading having been postponed. Those wishing to urge the Minister of Housing and Planning, Yvette Cooper, to support Ms Spelman's bill, should write to Mrs Cooper at the Department of Communities and Local Government, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU, or to your local MP, before this date. There is a sample letter available on www.saveourgardens.org.uk, and this site, which is managed by Garden Organic, also has extensive examples of developers buying up houses with gardens, overpowering the local council's objections, and building over the entire site.
It was so far down the Parliamentary agenda that there was no time left in which to discuss it, and the October opportunities were the its last chance. What a system. Mrs Spelman is hoping that another MP who wins a slot in the private members' bill ballot in the next parliamentary year will take up the issue as it had much support.
07/08: Television Opportunity
We were delighted to discover Islington Gardener Rose Irving being interviewed by TV presenter Carol Klein for a forthcoming programme, snapped as they were filming in Rose's verdant and exotic garden in N4.
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We were thrilled to come across a pair of large lime hawk-moths in an ivy hedge recently, shown below. Apparently "often seen in towns where limes are planted" but despite living in North London for over ten years, this was our first encounter with such splendid creatures (article in July 07 newsletter, in library).
In the same hedge we also found a nest of spiderlings which exploded when we disturbed them slightly:
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In the same hedge we also found a nest of spiderlings which exploded when we disturbed them slightly:
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One of our members recently found a dead woodpecker below her front basement window. We assume that it could see through the room to the back window and the garden beyond. Very sad, although indicating that these lovely woodpeckers are hanging on (and possibly flourishing) in this part of Islington with lots of old trees. The RSPB has been noting this type of bird casuality, which is also connected with garden mirrors which are favoured by some gardeners and garden make-overs because of the illusion of space they give. Unfortunately the birds think that the mirrors are open flying spaces and jet straight into them, and break their necks.
c.J. Wildfoods Ltd (0800 731 2820) or www.birdfood.co.uk can supply two things to prevent these tragedies: Sentinels, which are silhouettes of hawks and falcons to stick to the windows (A94401 Black - Fly through, A94402 Red - Reflection), and Window Webs (A94400). Spiders' webs are a natural deterrent to birds.
C.J. Wildfoods' catalogue notes: "Window strikes are more of a problem with young and inexperienced birds at the end of the breeding season. If you see a bird on the ground that you suspect has been involved in a window strike, handle it very carefully as it may be just stunned and not dead. It should be placed very gently in something like a shoe box lined with kitchen roll and left somewhere warm, dark, and quiet for at least 20 minutes. Take the box outside BEFORE opening it as birds that appeared beyond hope will often shoot out past your shoulders before the lid is fully open."
c.J. Wildfoods Ltd (0800 731 2820) or www.birdfood.co.uk can supply two things to prevent these tragedies: Sentinels, which are silhouettes of hawks and falcons to stick to the windows (A94401 Black - Fly through, A94402 Red - Reflection), and Window Webs (A94400). Spiders' webs are a natural deterrent to birds.
C.J. Wildfoods' catalogue notes: "Window strikes are more of a problem with young and inexperienced birds at the end of the breeding season. If you see a bird on the ground that you suspect has been involved in a window strike, handle it very carefully as it may be just stunned and not dead. It should be placed very gently in something like a shoe box lined with kitchen roll and left somewhere warm, dark, and quiet for at least 20 minutes. Take the box outside BEFORE opening it as birds that appeared beyond hope will often shoot out past your shoulders before the lid is fully open."
A private member's bill to remove gardens from the category of "brownfield sites" is to have its third Reading in June. This is the Land Use (Gardens Protection) Bill. It seeks to end the current planning law which classes gardens as "brownfield sites" and which allows developers who buy houses with large gardens to then cram in as many homes as possible in the site despite objections from residents, and the local authority. A petition in support of this Bill has been organised by Garden Organic (the working name of the Henry Doubleday Research organisation) and can be signed on their website: http://gardenorganic.org.uk/saveourgardens. The website also has a sample letter so that people can easily write to their MP to encourage them to attend the Reading, and vote in favour of the Bill.
07/08: Favourite Gardening Websites
Do have a look in the Library at an article by one of our internet-minded members who has put together a selection of gardening websites from the UK and around the world which she has greatly enjoyed looking at and learning from.
07/08: Wildlife Gardening
Islington Ecology centre, in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust, has just launched a guidance pack for encouraging wildlife into your garden. Covering all aspects of habitat creation (all possible within the tablecloth-sized Islington garden, and some even on your balcony), and filled with useful lists of what plants to use, how to make a sparrow terrace, pond data, places within the Borough and wider London to visit .... Pop along to the Islington Ecology Centre, 191 Drayton Park, Highbury N5, and collect a pack. Take the opportunity to walk round Gillespie Park and enjoy the billowing meadows and dog roses (they also have wildlife-friendly garden plants around the building) and forget about the hassle and bustle of London.
07/08: Alien Harlequin Ladybirds
These ladybirds can now be seen around Islington. It seems that although harlequins, which originate in Asia and having been imported into the US, are now rampaging over the US, biocontrol companies continued to import them into parts of Europe, from where they have spread by themselves to the UK. For a guide to identification, with illustrations, please go to the following website: www.harlequin-survey.org/recognition_and_distinction.htm We also published a useful note in the IG newsletter Oct-Dec 2005 (in the Library). The harlequin website includes the welcome news that a meeting of European scientists took place in March to discuss the problem and make a start towards dealing with it.
This most interesting wildlife garden has its own website at http://www.foxleas.com with photographs from when the owners first acquired it, and as it is today. There are also fact sheets giving guidance as to what to do and what to plant to achieve a superb wildlife-friendly garden. The garden is open under the National Gardens Scheme on 26 and 27 May, and visits can also be arranged at other times. If any IG member would like to go as part of an IG group to this garden, please email Susan(at)lees.org.uk.
Please look at the Events page for the spring events being organised by Greenspace, the Islington Ecology Centre and a number of local community groups which have just been added to our listings. Lots of outdoor events to give everyone the opportunity to get to grips with the soil and nature. We have only skimmed the surface of what is on offer,picking out those items of most interest to gardeners, so to order the full brochure giving details of Greenspace's community and sustainability events please telephone Greenspace on 020 7527 4953.
Please look at the Events page for the spring events being organised by Greenspace, the Islington Ecology Centre and a number of local community groups which have just been added to our listings. Lots of outdoor events to give everyone the opportunity to get to grips with the soil and nature. We have only skimmed the surface of what is on offer,picking out those items of most interest to gardeners, so to order the full brochure giving details of Greenspace's community and sustainability events please telephone Greenspace on 020 7527 4953.
Local gardens opening under the Scheme are now listed in the Events page. The London Yellow Book with full details and illustrations can now be obtained from local garden centres, bookshops, or you can consult the NGS website at http://www.ngs.org.uk.
The RHS has produced a booklet entitled: Garden Matters - Front Gardens - Are we parking on our gardens? Do driveways cause flooding? This can be viewed by going to the RHS website at www.RHS.org.uk.
The booklet contains statistics on the numbers of front gardens which are paved around the country, the environmental impact which this is having, and suggests ways of getting the car off the road without going for the full garage forecourt look. Do Islington Gardeners have views on the subject? Please let us have your thoughts here in the Discussion Forum: press 'Post Reply' to add your comment to this discussion.
The booklet contains statistics on the numbers of front gardens which are paved around the country, the environmental impact which this is having, and suggests ways of getting the car off the road without going for the full garage forecourt look. Do Islington Gardeners have views on the subject? Please let us have your thoughts here in the Discussion Forum: press 'Post Reply' to add your comment to this discussion.
07/08: LWT - Gardening For Wildlife
The London Wildlife Trust has published on its website some full notes on Gardening for Wildlife, with lists of plants which attract which butterflies., etc.
07/08: Latest Library Articles
There are two new pieces in the Library - on DIY wildflower meadows by Richard Meyers of the Islington Ecology Centre, and an analysis of an extensive array of mulching materials by an IG member. Both timely items as we move towards spring planting and summer droughts.
Islington Council has asked Land Use Consultants and Groundwork to prepare a green space strategy for the Borough, setting out an "overall vision and objectives" and identifying where parks (principally) money should be spent, and on what. As an important element of this they are seeking the views of Islington residents about the Borough's parks and open spaces. In addition to canvassing people in parks and at home Land Use Consultants have made a consultation form available online at: http://www.groundwork-surveys.org.uk/greenspaces. Please take the time to register your views; the survey will be available until about mid March, whereupon the results will be analysed and a draft report produced.
07/08: Big Garden Birdwatch
As the song thrush has sadly become a very rare sight in Islington these days, it was with great joy that I saw a PAIR of thrushes working over the grass in Elthorne Park, N19, earlier this week, while mulling over my sightings for the RSPB's Birdwatch. Could it be that Greenspace's efforts to use less weedkiller etc are delivering results? For the online recording form, please go to www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch .
07/08: January 2007 Newsletter
The newsletter has now been posted in the Library Section, and contains an article on growing clematis from seed, with photographs of our author's beautiful new plants in flower. Do have a look.
07/08: Ecology Centre Wind Turbine
Islington Gardeners were pleased to be invited to the launch on November 20th of Islington Council's plans for pioneering wind turbines, one to be installed at the Ecology Centre (subject to planning permission) as part of its campaign to cut carbon emissions across the Borough. The Ecology Centre wind turbine will make the Centre entirely self-sufficient for its electricity needs, and it is hoped to install it in February next year. The Ecology Centre has recently had a refit and now contains light-channelling sun pipes, a windcatcher, and solar hot water panels.
The Leader of Islington Council, James Kempton, also signed the Nottingham Declaration, which commits the Council to publicly monitoring climate change-causing carbon emissions within the Borough and reporting on its efforts to reduce emissions. Some 160 local authorities have now signed up to the Nottingham Declaration. As a further step in the right direction Islington has recently adopted new planning rules which require all major developments to incorporate renewable energy on site, reducing their carbon emissions by 20 per cent.
The Leader of Islington Council, James Kempton, also signed the Nottingham Declaration, which commits the Council to publicly monitoring climate change-causing carbon emissions within the Borough and reporting on its efforts to reduce emissions. Some 160 local authorities have now signed up to the Nottingham Declaration. As a further step in the right direction Islington has recently adopted new planning rules which require all major developments to incorporate renewable energy on site, reducing their carbon emissions by 20 per cent.
We have had permission from the Guardian newspaper to place in the Library Section of the website a very interesting and relevant article about the building over of backgardens, a practice which is favoured by property developers, no doubt because it is cheaper than cleaning up old industrial sites. What is lost as new flats are shoehorned into backlands is the outlook of existing residents, the biodiversity of the old gardens, the ability of the space to absorb rainwater, and peace and quiet. If you have Islington examples (the article focuses on Tunbridge Wells and the North of England) of such garden grabbing, please let us know in the discussion forum.
07/08: Geranium Expert Needed!
An IG member bought this hardy geranium at our Spring Plant sale this year and cannot identify the cultivar. Its habit is rather lax and sprawling and the stems are reddish. The flower size is about 1.5 inches, and although it is very like Buxton's Blue the foliage is not as deeply cut as those of the Buxton's Blue our member already has. It has flowered continuously since purchase and like many hardy geraniums has had quite a flush of blooms this autumn. If anyone knows please email Susan(at)lees.org.uk
Mystery Solved! We think it is G.rosthornii Rozanne.
Mystery Solved! We think it is G.rosthornii Rozanne.
The list of prizewinners for this year's competition can be viewed in the Islington in Bloom page (next to Forgotten Corners on the header line at the top of this page), do have a look. We congratulate all prizewinners and entrants for the contribution which they make to the quality of life in the Borough. The Council won a Silver Gilt Award in the prestigious London in Bloom Competion, and the RHS Biodiversity Discretionary Award which is very encouraging.
...was the showpiece in the N1 Shopping Centre on Saturday 2 September as part of Islington Council's Imagine Islington event which this year focussed on climate change. In the Biodiversity zone was an eyecatching garden of the future, the brainchild of Islington Gardener Beryl Hislop of the North One Garden Centre and designer Julie Zeldin. The style was Mediterranean, a reflection of hotter weather to come (hopefully not, we must all install low energy lightbulbs etc etc), and the planting featured canna lilies, olives, spectacular bougainvillas, plumbagos, a sculptural agave, as well as buddleias and tobacco plants to attract insects, and chilli peppers which may become easy to grow here. To help biodiversity the toolshed had a "green roof", actually a sedum roof, where all manner of birds and insects can live and feed and which will offset an equivalent patch of concrete by absorbing CO2 and slowing rainwater runoff, and this can be obtained in handy rolls from www.qlawns.co.uk. There were bird and insect boxes, feeders, hibernaculums, a log pile habitat, a water butt, and specially drought resistant grass. Elegant stone mulches were used to aid water retention.aid water retention.
Further details (and the plants) can be obtained from the North One Garden Centre, 25 Englefield Road, tel 020 7923 3553 or via email n1gc@btconnect.com .
Beryl Hislop has also alerted us to the vulnerable state of GREAT DIXTER garden. Before his death in January of this year gardening guru Christopher Lloyd set up a Charitable Trust, but this only owns 40% of the house and garden. In order to ensure future public access to this inspirational site, the Trust needs to raise a staggering £3 million within the next two years, or the house and gardens will be lost to public access and the nation. By becoming a Friend of Great Dixter people can help save Christo's creation and further details can be found on www.greatdixter.co.uk or via email: friends@greatdixter.co.uk
Further details (and the plants) can be obtained from the North One Garden Centre, 25 Englefield Road, tel 020 7923 3553 or via email n1gc@btconnect.com .
Beryl Hislop has also alerted us to the vulnerable state of GREAT DIXTER garden. Before his death in January of this year gardening guru Christopher Lloyd set up a Charitable Trust, but this only owns 40% of the house and garden. In order to ensure future public access to this inspirational site, the Trust needs to raise a staggering £3 million within the next two years, or the house and gardens will be lost to public access and the nation. By becoming a Friend of Great Dixter people can help save Christo's creation and further details can be found on www.greatdixter.co.uk or via email: friends@greatdixter.co.uk
07/08: Bird Week 2006
Jay, copyright Pat Tuson ARPS
 on branch.jpg)
Following on from Bird Week, we thought that it would interest people to have a look at the survey map of birds in Islington which Islington Gardeners carried out in the spring of 2004, and this can be downloaded from the Library page. (For those who do not know, pressing the magnifying glasses at the bottom of the page will make the map bigger or smaller.) This is does not pretend to be be either comprehensive or systematic, but is record of the general types of bird which some 50 IG members saw locally over the previous year.
Starling, contemplating a yew berry, copyright Pat Tuson ARPS
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Sparrow decline: The latest research. The following is an extract from the Spring 2006 issue of the RSPB's Conservation Planner magazine: "Kate Vincent, of De Montfort University, has completed her PhD investigating the causes of house sparrow decline in urban areas. By monitoring chick diet and condition she found that many chicks starved while still in the nest and a lack of small insects, including beetles, craneflies, aphids and spiders was a problem in suburban areas lacking deciduous trees, shrubs and long grass.
Kate says: "House sparrows need key habitats in which to find insect food for their young during the summer breeding months and they particularly target deciduous shrubs, grass lawns and tilled soil. The trend for low maintenance and smaller gardens with more concrete, gravel, paving and evergreen shrubs, as well as the increased development of brownfield sites in city areas, could limit the availability of invertebrates".
Will Peach, Senior Research Biologist at the RSPB, says: "This study has clearly demonstrated that a lack of insects in suburbia during the summer prevents house sparrows from rearing their young. Although we are not sure about the exact causes of the population decline, any measures that boost insect numbers such as growing deciduous shrubs and trees, leaving patches of unmown long grass and minimising usage of insecticides should help".
The RSPB web site www.rspb.org.uk has a wealth of information to help gardeners encourage biodiversity and hopefully sparrows.
