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www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk
t: 01454 300 400
November 2018
News
Varied few months for the ‘in Bloom’ team By Sara Messenger of Bradley Stoke in Bloom (BSiB)
W
e’ve had a very mixed few months. When the heatwave finally broke, we hoped to get some planting done only to be thwarted by a constant deluge that would have defeated even Noah! Our Beehive Roundabout only thrives because of the neighbours who water it for us. Our Rabbit Roundabout’s giant carrots and Palmers Corner are mainly cared for by group member Andy, who also has to cut the grass here as SGC refuse to add it to their programme, even though they cut the grass on the other three corners. We did, however, finally manage to get on with some planting and the doctors’ surgery garden and the community herb planters are once again blooming, as are the ‘welcome’ planters.
Although we lost a few plants at the Aztec Triangle, most of it has now grown just a little too well and we’ve had to trim a lot of it back. It seems a gardener’s work is just never done! As it’s so close to the road, we planted for looks rather than wildlife, but we were amazed with just how many butterflies were flitting around this patch and we also found several rather striking pale tussock caterpillars, which we returned to munch their way through whatever they pleased. We also cleared all the nettles and bramble from around the bus stop and have planted some wild flower seeds there, although at the moment I think a bin is a higher priority as the area always appears to be covered in litter and cigarette ends.
OPEN MORNING Wednesday 21st November 9.30am – 11am Let your child’s learning adventure start at Little Stoke Primary School
OPEN MORNING AT LITTLE STOKE PRIMARY SCHOOL If your child is due to start school in September 2019 please come along to our session to find out more about our school. Please visit our website for further information or ring the school to book a visit.
Please ring the school to book a place. We look forward to meeting you soon!
Vandalised decoy ducks from the pond at The Common East
The Common East continues to be a source of much frustration. Our butterfly bushes have again been cut down and we removed part of the bench after it was broken yet again. And although I think we’ve fixed the leaking overflow, the pond continues to be quite low on water. We were so disappointed to be told that vandals had pulled our decoy ducks, Barry and Kate, out of the water and had ripped their heads off and stamped on the bodies. Many of the local school children were hugely upset to see their mangled remains, so we removed the pieces the next day. We have bought new ones but are reluctant to put them out when it is felt by some of the group that they will suffer the same fate. Our gnomes and butterfly boxes on the island had also previously been broken beyond repair, and much as I would hate to be defeated by the
poor behaviour of a few (I prefer to see the problems as a black cloud that momentarily blocks the sun rather than a permanent thunderstorm), there is only so much of our budget that we can spend on replacing things. The hedge to the orchard has had to be repaired again and someone came in and removed every apple, every pear and every plum, which was hugely disappointing as we’d been approached by a juicer and a pickle maker who had offered to make us some produce to sell. At the same time, the pot we put in place to protect the ground dwelling bees nest was removed and now there remains nothing but an empty nest. On a positive note, we spent a couple of sessions there with Green Gym and have scythed the meadow and cleared all the bramble from the back entrance of Wheatfield School and Primrose Bridge (sometimes
LITTLE STOKE PRIMARY SCHOOL Little Stoke Lane Little Stoke Bristol BS34 6HY www.littlestokeps.co.uk
Tel: 01454 866522
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