Yesterday we stopped to take a look at a local community garden as this time of the year the wildflower meadow is at its best.
A few years ago a group was set up with a team of volunteers dedicated to improving the local area and in 2017 as part of the Greening Great Britain initiative with the Royal Horticultural Society the group approached John Chambers Wildflower experts to help them transform a forgotten 'grey spot' in Sheffield into a mini haven for wildlife.
The area had been a disused local authority highway storeage depot. The team used enough John Chambers Pro Cornfield Annuals and Pro Coastal 100% Wildflower Seed to cover an area of 500 square ms. The Pro Range included enough commonly found species to suit a wide variety of growing conditions.The idea was to provide a beautiful wildflower habitat which would encourage biodiversity in such a landscape. Volunteers from the neighbourhood action team and local schools helped prepare the site for sowing. They also created a bug hotel and a seating area for study. The wildlife annuals established quickly and the perennials got established and by 2018 the first flowering produced an abundance of blooms which led to the team winning the Britain in Bloom Platinum Award for the garden.
Volunteers continue to maintain the wildflower area and feed the birds. In the past painted pebbles for the local children to discover were placed in the environmental learning area. This is an ongoing project in which the local children can participate, learn and take an interest in their environment. I can imagine that general care and maintenance of the garden cannot be easy at this time, but from the look of the garden the wildflower area is flourishing and the rest of it looks tidy, but not overly so. Life goes on for the natural world and wildlife will continue to benefit from such a creative green space. Let's hope that it's not just the lovingly-made 'model gardeners' and the volunteer gardeners that continue to be in this green space, but children, families and the local schools will be able to return in due course. Although this won't be for a while it's something to look forward to. A lot of work has been done in the past and the garden deserves to be enjoyed once more by the local community.
Thank you for your visit. I'm behind with my blogging, but look forward to catching up with you soon. Have a good day!