^^Three Pigeons Post: Small Group Mission Sunday 28 June 2020:

This is the Sign we’ve been Waiting for.**

Harry, Monika, Nat, Mena, Salwah and Anita were the 2m ‘Socially Distanced Six’ for this week’s Three Pigeons Plot Small Group Session. We got through an amazing array of tasks during the session and, Ta Dah, we now have a sign to promote GoodGym and inform passers by about who is doing the work.

The Sign.

Our original ‘Sponsored by GoodGym Richmond ’ sign for the Three Pigeons Plot disappeared within a week of being put up last December and it was never found. We were determined that the replacement would not be such an easy target for would-be vandals. Harry had already cut and drilled a concrete block to mount the sign and this morning it was secured in place with fresh concrete and screws.

Planting.

As the ground is rock hard and stony, preparing the soil and planting is no easy task at The Three pigeons. Today Salwah and other members of The Socially Distance Six planted the following:

10 Dwarf Sunflowers grown from seed.

11 Gaillardia grown from seed.

2 x Angelica.

2 x Lovage.

4 x Dwarf Buddleia (Buddleja 'Summer Bird Violet')

6 x Dwarf Myrtle (Myrtle Tarentina)

2 x Ceanothus thyrsiflorus Repens

Propping.

With the removal of the last of the poppies, some of the plants that had been supported by the poppies were flopping over so we gave them a bit of extra support with black poles recycled from a dismantled trampoline. We managed to create a temporary support, but more work (and additional hardware, a sledgehammer and JP) will be needed to construct something more effective.

Deadheading.

Monika took up scissors to continue deadheading the Sweet William. This is a time-consuming task but is incredibly effective and rewards the care that is given. We could see the results of previous week’s deadheading, with a carpet of new blooms.

Insect Hotel Construction: Preparing bug-friendly media to fill the pallets.

Nat and Mena headed to the Beuccleuch Garden’s lockup to work on some of the media for the Insect Hotel. After carrying down bricks, logs and old planters into the lockup, they did a great job:

· Sizing the logs and separating out those too big to fit within their pallet;

· Dismantling the planters and threading the withies into the ‘twigs’ pallet;

· Cutting some of the the bigger rolls of carpet prepared last week down into smaller strips and tying them into ‘slices’, ready to decorate the outside of the ‘woolens’ pallet.

Each of the six EUR1 pallets will have a different sort of filling, with the intention of attracting and providing habitat for a variety of different wildlife:

.1. Small logs. Drilled with holes of differing sizes, these small logs/branches from Ham Lands will attract and provide nesting for solitary bees

.2. Woolens. Rolls of wool carpet and recycled woolen clothing and insulation will provide food and a home for moths,

.3. Bricks. The holes running through old London red bricks will provide a home for bugs, spiders and other small creatures.

.4. Twigs. Old willow withies, canes, reeds, straw and foraged sticks will provide food, protection and a dry home for ladybirds to hibernate in.

.5. Terracota. Recyled terracotta plant pots, saucers and roof tiles will provide a haven for invertebrates.

.6. TBA. Possibly a base layer filled with dried leaves and other dried plant material such as loose bark, a place for beetles, centipedes, woodlice and spiders? And/or pebbles and stones to give a frost-free hibernation place for amphibians.

Bagging.

A mountain of brown, spent poppies had been pulled up earlier in the week. Harry compacted these and wrestled them into bags, adding green waste and weeds from today’s tasks, all ready for Richmond Landscape Services (the Council contractors) to collect.

Watering.

And finally, many trugs and buckets of water were carried from the river to ‘water in’ all the new plants and give the whole bed a really good water.