Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Wildflower beds - should Haringey make the change?
Hi all
Have you watched Sarah Raven's tv series: 'Bees, Butterflies and Blooms'? Anyway, Sarah went around different areas of the UK on a quest to encourage Councils to phase out their brightly coloured, but pollen-less and nectar-less bedding plants, in exchange for pollinator-friendly wildflowers, e.g. friendly to: honey bees; hoverflies; butterflies; moths; bats and countless others. It was an uphill struggle for her. She found that many folks simply didn't understand the benefits of having nectar and pollen rich flowers instead of nursery-raised sterile blooms. It's the bright, attractive colours of cultivars that people like, but how about foxgloves; cornflowers; poppies and many other vibrant wildflowers, that are just are glorious!
I would like to see a change to how Haringey plants up its flowerbeds. If they were to exchange their begonias and pansies for cornflowers and poppies, for example, the beds would look just as nice. And, I know this is a matter of opinion, but I believe wildflowers would be a vast improvement.
The Royal Horticultural Society writes,"Over the last 50 years declines have been noted in many groups of British insects, including those that visit flowers. These include some common butterflies, moths, hoverflies and bees." - http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening/Plants-for-po...
From the Sarah Raven website: "Bee populations and other pollinating insects are in crisis. It’s a complex problem that scientists the world over are trying to fathom. The prognosis is grim - without healthy populations of insect pollinators across the world, Sarah believes our food security could be under threat as pollinating insects are vital to the production of the vast majority of fruits and vegetables. Backed by recent research, she believes that central to the problem is a lack of food and habitat, leading to the poor health and nutrition of pollinators. A lack of a rich and varied supply of pollen and nectar throughout the year to feed the insect pollination workforce and keep them strong and healthy, could be leaving them vulnerable to the effects of pesticides, pathogens and parasites".- http://www.sarahraven.com/beesbutterfliesblooms
I'd be very interested to know how you feel.
Best wishes
Tags for Forum Posts: cultivar, flowers, garden, haringey, harringay, plants, wild, wildflower
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Susan on
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Hi, my view is yes, more wildflower beds, but don't replace the traditional flower beds. There is no need - meadows can easily be incorporated into lawn. It would be great to see strips of lawn sown with wildflowers and allowed to grow through the summer. The council may even approve as it would save them mowing it. Even just 10% of the council's lawn space set aside for meadow would make a huge difference, in terms of cash saving and benefit to the environment.
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Permalink Reply by Jeanette Sitton on
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I agree with you. It's not necessary to remove the beds, some of this valuable space can, as you say, can have a dual purpose. One as solely people-oriented eye candy and the other, to please both people and wildlife. I can just see it now.... flowing grasses, punctuated by native wildflowers.
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Permalink Reply by letsgoletsgrow on
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It's not just the flower beds, but the ubiquitous evergreen shrubs, cherished by housing providers.
Just like other livestock, bees need a rich nutricious, easilly accessible,contaminnant free source of feed throughout the
months they are foraging. If this is not planned for, it is hardly surprising that the problems they have been facing in the
last 4/5 years are getting more acute.
The current trend for unrestricted beekeeping promotion and "so-called" natural beekeeping techniques are suspect too as disserving their cause......surprisingly! The effects of local climate variation has had a detrimental effect on existing colonies viability in the parts of London I am familiar with. This is a complex issue and needs more research and strategic planning.
I am trying to arrange ( near Finsbury Park ) a screening of this film I saw in Brixton last week. The N4 library offerred to host it but their laptop projector has susequently gone on the blink.
see DVD Film THE VANISHING BEES
i have a date if anyone can help out with a projector, please?
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Hi, my voluntary group, Lee Valley Bats, has a projector. I'm making enquiries to see if its fully booked up this year, or, if we can lend it out. I'll come back as soon as I know.
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Thanks, that would be great
.....I don't mind the venue too much, but near Finsbury Park would be good. I can get N4 library anytime (they don't have other events)with about 3 weeks notice to get good attendance. -
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Hi letsgolets grow
I've spoken to 'Lee Valley Bats' treasurer, who is happy to loan you the project. We would need written assurance from you and a deposit to cover the full cost of the projector, in case it becomes damaged while on loan. We purchased it 'brand new' last year. Your deposit would be fully returnable once machine is thoroughly checked over by us. If still interested, please let me know.
All the best
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will email you, as soon as I speak to the manager at N4 Library.....thank you so much!
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Permalink Reply by Alix on
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Hi, or we could just take the guerilla gardening route and get busy with some seed packets - packets of poppy seeds are about 50p from Wilco!
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I guess we could, but I really would like to see Haringey take ownership of this - planting pollinator- friendly plants really is the right thing to do, [in my opinion]! Wildflower meadow strips do require less mowing, as Susan C writes above. Maximum twice per year. The ground would first need to be prepared and, if Haringey have used manure or similar, that would need to be removed, as it's no good for wildflowers. They require a nutrient-poor soil. The manure would also burn their stems. Haringey has the machinery and, what they could manage in an hour, would take a group of volunteers a heck of a lot longer. Of course it can be done by people power - it's just difficult to muster enough volunteers. Mind you, I guess Haringey Online would be a perfect place to recruit volunteers.
If this discussion attracts enough interest, I'll print out and present the posts to Haringey's Ian Holt, (Biodiversity Project Manager). I have discussed this 'naturing-up' with Ian before and the response was that many people prefer bedding plants. However, if we were to have both bed'ers and wildflowers that would please most people, I would imagine. I can't think that Haringey would have any objections, as after all it would save them money in the long run.
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Permalink Reply by Sam R on
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If you drive South down the A10 great Cambridge road. Just past the junction with Church street there is the Church Street recreation ground on your left. Under the trees there are three wide strips of grass which are sown with wild flowers and every year left to grow and bloom. It's one of my little pleasure on my drive home from work to see it progress. If Enfield can do it in a playing field then why not haringey?
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Sounds lovely and I think I know where you mean. In the middle to long term, these wild strips, mowed just twice a year, would save the rate payer lots of money. Basically, we're paying for mowing where really mowing could be avoided. I don't know if this is widespread throughout Haringey, [I believe it is], but Ferry Lane Estate, (Tottenham Hale), is mowed FORTNIGHTLY. As the official Nature Rep. for the estate, I've so far managed to have one special area's mowing regime changed here, to once a year. It's our wildflower mini-woodland / meadow. It looks gorgeous and a rare spot for a social housing estate. Worth a visit. I'd be happy to show folks around.
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