June flowers (and bugs)

One of the main reasons for making the meadow was to create a haven for animals and insects (especially the rare ones). And after a couple of years of planting and caring for the space, we've got more wildlife than ever before! Here's some of what you might find if you keep your eyes peeled.

A Rose Chafer beetle eating pollen on a Camissia flower. These beetles are said to be in decline in the UK, so we're really lucky they've picked the meadow for their new home.

Summer flowers blooming! We've not had buttercups on the meadow in a while, so it's great that they're making a comeback.

Bumblebee on a Camissia flower. With the wet and cold weather, our native bees have been having a hard time this year - except in the meadow where they've been busy eating nectar since April!

This might be a Mint Moth (if you're an expert, feel free to  make a correction!). They like living in meadows, so it'd make sense that they'd be in abundance around Mabley. This year, there are a more butterflies on the meadow than ever before, which is fantastic news.

Ox-eye Daisies blooming by the road. A nice sight for drivers, and the perfect landing pad for butterflies too.

Willow weaving on the meadow

We had an extra-special gardening club on Saturday with artists Penny Sadubin and Elsa Godfrey teaching us how to weave with willow. As it turns out, we had some natural-born weavers who created some incredible willow sculptures for the meadow. The creations are still there if you want to take a look!

The gardening club will be taking a break over the summer, but will be back and better than ever in autumn, so stay tuned...

If you need some willow woven, ask these two. They'd never woven before but their creation was AMAZING!

A willow butterfly with wildflower decorations.

A wavey willow screen in progress.

The finishing touches.

Willow weavers are go!

Penny Sadubin (our resident willow expert) adds some extra support to a willow fence.

Our pals from Friends of Homerton Station dropped by for lunch!

Free willow weaving workshop with Penny Sadubin - Saturday 9 June

After the Jubilee break, the gardening club is back for an extra-special session: willow weaving with amazing local artists Penny Sadubin and Elsa Godfrey.

Penny and Elsa are expert at working with natural materials, so come to the meadow on Saturday 9 June from 12pm-2pm when they'll be teaching us how to make a design on paper, then weave it in freshly-cut willow. After that, we'll all make a large willow sculpture to leave in the meadow so everyone can enjoy it.

The workshop will be loads of fun for kids, and great for anyone keen to learn a new skill and get creative - so everyone's welcome. All materials will be provided and there'll be free drinks and snacks too. See you then!