May the force of Earth Day be with you!
Today was Earth Day and everything in the world felt lovely and Earthy! It’s was also one of those magical spring days when Earth decided not to rain over NW (for some reason those folk in Dorset and the Pennines have been getting all her sun), so the participants in our Flower Friends ‘Good to Grow’ seed sow along at Harlesden Town Garden were bathed in sunshine and surrounded by wild flowers and the tulips and narcissi that still grace its beds.
We demonstrated how to sow sweet peas and fountain grass and discussed the various methods of organic slug and snail control – basically, pulling them off gently and re-housing them far, far away in another galaxy :))
On my way out, I was amused to see that some children, undoubtedly moved by the spirit of Gaia, had decided to give our little garden orache seedlings some encouragement by decorating their bed with dandelions. If nothing else it will provide some extra compost, if somewhat confusing for the bees!
What a whirlwind two weeks it’s been! Flowers made their way to us, in different varieties and colours reflecting the marvel of the season. This week we were donated some beauties by one of our lovely volunteers, Victoria, in Kensal Rise. I arrived at V’s house to be presented with a huge bunch of blooms, including plumes of fluffy white spiraea, shy blue forget me nots and bluebells, creamy green angelica and a yellow marsh marigold from her pond. Thank you Victoria!
Such was the beauty of this week’s floral offering that one of our recipients rang to say how happy it had made him feel to receive them. Another elderly recipient was presented with a Flower Friends arrangement on her 94th birthday, with red tulips donated by west London grower Ecoblooms. Now, that’s what we’re all about – bringing floral love and joy to the vulnerable in our communities!
So if you have garden flowers and foliage from shrubs that you would like to donate, just call us on 07784 865139 or email Siobhan at hello@flowerfriends.org.uk and we’ll show you the way. And if you feel inspired to grow flowers especially for us, we would love to hear from you. We can give you advice, encouragement and sign post you to lots of useful resources to get you started.
Meanwhile, I am now worrying about how I’m going to collect enough loo rolls to pot on those sweet peas and whether it will be safe enough to direct sow some more seeds next week – but more of that in the next instalment. Happy Earth Day!
