There's just no stopping our beautiful Poppies from bursting into life. It seems that at least they are enjoying this rainy weather. Photos just don't pay justice to the fantastic display of poppy power we are currently enjoying down in our little Micro-Meadow.
We have boldly taken the opportunity to enter this year's Britain in Bloom North West competition and are really excited, not to mention really busy, getting our meadow and yard area ready for the judges who will be paying us a visit on July 24th, as part of the RHS Britain in Bloom It's Your Neighbourhood scheme.
The scheme is for community groups who want to ‘green up’ local areas by adding some colour to communites, making new friends and getting active in local areas. Please do come along and show us some support, especially if you remember what the plot looked like 12 months ago.
There is so much to do in order to smarten things up a little and OL1y has promised to be on her very best behaviour during the judges visit!
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of some herbs for our new window box and have decided that a nicely shaped lavender plant should provide the perfect colour for the centre. - Lavender?!? Yes, The lavender plant is not just a fragrant flower, it's also an edible herb. You can use use it to add flavor to baked goods and other recipes. The strong flavour can be somewhat overpowering, so remember to always add sparingly. There are also some interesting health benefits to eating lavender which include upping your intake of vitamins and minerals and also protecting your body from antioxidants and stress. Here's a short, but interesting article about lavender: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/eat-purple-english-lavender-is-perfect-for-cooking-both-savoury-and-sweet-8076919.html
The Eco-Group have also submitted a cheeky bid to Oldham Council's amazing Green Dividend Fund in the hope of obtaining funding for a set of self irrigating vertical plant pods. The system is solar powered from a water butt and would really help us brighten up a somewhat dull and unispiring area of our micro-meadow.
As you can see we've not exactly been sitting on our laurels (pun intended)!