little green fingers

Playground funding, landfill sites and allium golf balls

'Landfill', 'tax' and 'offsets' - not usually three words I get particularly excited about but right now they may as well be 'Strictly' 'Come' and 'Dancing' for the effect they are having on my adrenalin levels.

Let me explain.

Our local play area - yes, the one I was banging on about last year (here, here and here) - has just been awarded a grant of £45,000 from WREN to complete the final phase of its redevelopment. Anyone trying to raise funds for community projects will know how tricky it's becoming. To be fair, we've been very fortunate to date. Firstly, we were awarded a large grant from Cambridgeshire Play Pathfinder (now, sadly, defunct) which helped build a fort, zipwire, shelter, willow tunnel, climbing logs, sandpit and mound. Then we had enough money from Awards for All to complete a trim trail. But after this we were struggling to find any other funds to complete the final phase.

But, we are lucky.  You see, we live a few miles from a landfill site. Now I'll admit, this isn't usually something you boast about and I'm sure Kirstie and Phil would have something to say on the matter, but I for one am delighted by our location, location, location.

You see, if you live within 10 miles of a Waste Recycling Group landfill site, you are eligible to apply for funding. I won't go into the details here, because it would strain my brain, and probably send you to sleep (it involves the phrase - offsetting tax liabilities - I rest my case), but in essence the cash comes from landfill tax and is there to improve the lives of communities living near the sites.

Funding can be for all sorts of projects in the community, conservation, heritage, regeneration or young people categories and has included such things as installing outdoor gyms, restoring wetlands, redeveloping gardens and creating new play areas. If you think this might help you, I urge you to have a look through the details here - and particularly the bit about Contributing Third Parties.

With our grant we are hoping to complete the entire playground project by next Easter with pathways through the area, a new climbing wall and slide installed on the mound, an earth-based BMX circuit, a new birds nest swing, more picnic tables plus a basketball hoop and all weather playing surface.

Of course, for me, I'm at least as interested in the soft landscaping areas. Those beds planted last year and this have been an interesting exercise in learning what will survive harsh winters, spring droughts, zero maintenance and close proximity to over-excited children.

The best performers have to be the grasses - Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' and Stipa gigantea - followed by Verbena bonariensis, which not only flowers for an extraordinarily long time, but has also seeds itself very effectively.

On top of this, I'd put in a good word for Centranthus ruber (which spreads like billy-oh but that's no bad thing in this situation), Achillea 'Moonshine', Sambucus 'Black Lace' (quick to establish and a great, dark backdrop), Veronicastrum virginicum 'Fascination' (great height and no need to stake), Stachys 'Silver Carpet" (great weed-suppressing groundcover - vital when weeding is so haphazard) and Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' (brilliant colour and long lasting).

And just a few last words of caution. Never plant alliums in a children's play area. They apparently look like enormous golf balls, all teed up and ready to be batted as far as possible across the grass.

 

Chair tethering, punks and playwrights

It was my 20 year college reunion this month. This was a sobering occasion (only metaphorically of course - in reality it was anything but - as evidenced by the fact I had to be tethered to a chair at 2am with the words "it's for your own safety Dawn"). No the sobriety in question was a result of my realising I had the immense good fortune to study history at one of the world's leading universities and yet the week before my mind had mostly been exercised with the question of grass heads.

Yes, that's right, grass heads* Here I was surrounded by impressive people doing impressive things (indeed, I was tethered by an award-winning playwright - always nice to have something to share with the grandkids) - and yet my recent CV mostly revolves around talking vegetables and alternative uses for toilet roll inners.

You see I had been tasked with making a grass head that wasn't too "Christmassy" - which obviously ruled out my go-to elf (it is wrong that I have a 'go-to elf''?  Actually, on second thoughts, don't answer that).

No, what I needed was alternative green-headed characters.  In the end, as you will see, I settled on a clown and a punk, or as I may have mumbled to my fellow alumni - "a misunderstood comic character with a history stretching back to the fifth dynasty of Egypt and a representative of the 1970s musical subculture which embraced anti-Establishment ideologies."

And if anyone has any other green-haired suggestions, do let me know (and, no, leprechauns are red-heads - I've already been caught out with that one...).

 

*For instructions, follow the general advice here, substituting grass seeds for the cress. Also, a word of advice: if you are tempted to cut up a Sylvanian Family picnic blanket to use as tartan trousers, remember children generally frown - a lot - at such blatant vandalism.

Bugs, butterflies and party planning

"But darling, you must have a theme!"

Even as I spoke these words I realised I'd become one of those appalling mothers who needs to get a grip, but I couldn't help myself. You see, this was my son's birthday we were discussing and there is nothing I love more than over-thinking a kid's party.

To be fair to me, Oscar has driven my slightly demented over the last year. He has been trying to decide on what to do for his birthday since September (which is particularly scary as his birthday is in late August).

To date he has decided he definitely wants a bowling party... no a swimming party... no a cinema party. His latest idea had been to just have a party in the garden. All well and good, but apparently, not for his unhinged mother who was now gripping his shoulders, staring wild-eyed into his face and demanding some sort of theme.

"Well, we could all go and look for snails?" Oscar helpfully suggested.

"Yes!  A wildlife party!  In fact, bugs and butterflies!  Perfect.  Well done darling!"

Oscar smiled, possibly at the idea he had apparently dreamt up, or just because I had released my grip.

So anyway, last week saw our first bugs and butterflies party and, in case you too harbour event planning tendencies, I thought I would share the ideas.

Invites: Well, OK, you could do something wondrous but I actually just texted parents (I know, I've disappointed myself there but this was the summer holidays so no chance of handing out invites int he playground). However, I did suggest the children come as their favourite bugs or butterflies (a suggestion for which I am sure every stressed-out parent thanked me from the bottom of their heart.)

Setting: The best part about this party is that the garden is your perfect, ready made backdrop.  However, if, like me, you have recently decided to paint your front door red, then you can add black paper circles to make a ladybird entrance.

We also set up Oscar's Bug Camp outside with our much used pop up tent, camping chairs, rugs and sign (made by yours truly from a stake, bits of old fence panel and acrylic paint). This created the perfect spot to serve the birthday tea (complete with Spider Cake, courtesy of Mr Waitrose - home decorated cakes are very much beyond my comfort zone),

Activities: After half an hour manic jumping on the trampoline combined with scoffing tea (akin to shaking up a lemonade bottle before giving it back to someone but I was trying not to dwell on this) we retired inside so the kids could decorate their own bug boxes (you can buy these in packs of two for £1.99 from Yellow Moon) with pens and stickers.

Next, we had the main event - the bug hunt.  As I could neither rely on bugs being about, nor on a bunch of six year olds catching them without incident, I opted for cardboard cut outs.  However, the bug collecting sheet (Download BUG HUNT) did give clues as to where the various quarry would usually be found so the kids would know where to hunt in the garden and they worked in pairs, putting the card creatures in their bug boxes as they went.

Also, to make them feel more legit, I personalised some magnifying glasses (which my very helpful mother tracked down in Wilkinsons for the princely sum of 69p each) with some acrylic paint pens.

Then we had musical statues and pass the parcel, because, quite frankly, it would be rude not to. Being me though I elbowed in the theme by making them dance and pass to bug themed music (and of course we used dragonfly wrapping paper).

In this I was helped by the power of Twitter.  Yes, never underestimate the use of social networking for playlists.  In case you wish to see the genius, and sometimes downright tenuous suggestions they are here (with thanks to @simiansuter @sallynex @patientgarden @jamesasincalir @clairepotter @vivgroskop @clairecoz @twitknitting @lizturner3 @Blundstonedlove @clairecozens @wendy_woowoo and friends on Facebook)

High Hopes - Frank Sinatra

Ugly Bug Ball - Burl Ives

Ant Music - Adam and the Ants

Henry the Wasp - The Highliners 

The Caterpillar - The Cure

The Boll Weevil Song - Brook Benton

Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast - Roger Glover

Beetlebum - Blur

The Bug Song - Stompin Tom Connors

Flight of the Bumblebee - Rimsky-Korsakov

Daddy Long Legs - Tumbleweed

The Bee Song - Arthur Askey

Itsy Bitsy Spider - Carly Simon

Come Fly with Me - Frank Sinatra (I told you some were very tenuous)

Love is like a Butterfly - Dolly Parton

I Believe in Bugs (and Other Insects) - Ivor Cutler

The Inch Worm - Danny Kaye

Boris the Spider - The Who

Butterfly - Mariah Carey

Beetlejuice Theme Song

Party Bags: As always, I went for the 16p paper bags sold out our local stationery emporium and simply printed out names and bugs to stick on (recyclable, cheap and on theme - what's not to love?). These were filled with the bug boxes, magnifying glasses, assorted bug themed nonsense and sweets with more E numbers than I thought possible.

And Oscar's verdict? Apparently it was very good... but next year he definitely wants a disco party.

Radio 4, pet badgers and Hinge and Bracket

(Image from RSPB site)

I love Radio 4.  And I mean really love it.

It's been my station of choice since I was 13. Admittedly, I did have a brief flirtation with Steve Wright in the Afternoon in the mid 80s (yes, I know, and I'm not proud it) and I'll admit that The Random Jottings of Hinge and Bracket was in fact on Radio 2, but basically, I'm a Radio 4 girl through and through.

It has kept me entertained during homesick nights at boarding school, distracted me through summers grading daffodil bulbs (the holiday job of choice in Lincolnshire), and been the background to many of the key moments in my life - (John Major's Desert Island Discs springs to mind - but I won't go into details as my mother reads this blog...).

And so, this goes some way to explain why the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time has been presenting a short feature for this week's Gardeners' Question Time. It was recorded, a couple of weeks ago, at the new RSPB Wildlife Garden in Flatford, Suffolk which has been designed by Alex Johnson and Catherine Heatherington to show how you can create a wildlife friendly garden that doesn't have to look.. well.. messy.

With a wildlife crazy son and a poncey designer outlook, I have to say this concept appealed and the garden has plenty of simple ideas you can use without being 'in-your-face' educational. It's run by Shirley Boyle of the RSPB, who you can hear in the piece, with the help of intern Jacob Hunter and a whole raft of incredible volunteers. Best of all, it's literally buzzing with wildlife (including horse-flies as the producer, Lucy Dichmont can painfully attest) which my son would love.

But I'll admit what really caught my interest was the story of the two sisters who bequeathed the land to the RSPB - Sylvia and Margaret (Gargy) Richardson, who used to run a tearoom in the garden (seriously, tea and gardens, possibly my perfect pairing). They seemed to have been that wonderfully English combination of nature-loving eccentricity with a range of interesting pets, including a fox cub, rook and even a badger (pictured above).  Admittedly, in my head they occasionally morph into Hinge and Bracket, but listening to 26 years of radio comedy can have this sort of side effect.

The piece will be going out on Radio 4 tomorrow (Friday) at 3pm and then repeats at 2pm on Sunday.(it's about 16 minutes in...).

PS On the same Radio 4 theme, my friend Bee's book, Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad is being serialised on Woman's Hour this week - OK so it has nothing to do with kids or gardening but I'm very proud.