What a glorious day we had for our task today, with two start locations and some meeting us directly at the task is was a meandering route to volunteering.

Suns out - Funs out

Once we were all at meeting point 1 - Michael took the crew to the streets over to catch those waiting at meeting point 2. We picked up the two waiting there, and had a lovely unexpected quick catch up with another goodgym member - Martin.

Today's task was some gardening, Forget me Not have a lovely outside space that people quite often use and potter about it, but it's those troublesome tasks where we at GoodGym shine. In the grasses were some thorny brambles, so time to get rustling and cut them out, plus a couple of saplings to remove. Around the edges of the fence, on the public path and down the alley also needed a good prune. Some sweeping up of the dried up catkins and finally clearing around the sides of the building - all of the wild common mallow.

Did you know? The French word for mallow is 'mauve', which is where we get the word for the colour mauve from.

Malva sylvestris

common mallow

Common mallow is a handsome 'weed' of waste ground, roadside verges and gardens. Its deep pink, stripey flowers provide nectar for insects throughout the summer.

Species information Category - Wildflowers Statistics - Height: up to 1.5m Conservation status - Common.

When to see June to October

About Common mallow is a handsome, large, spreading plant with beautiful deep pink flowers that appear from June to October. It can be found on roadside verges, along footpaths and on waste ground. Certain parts of common mallow are edible (leaves, flowers and seeds) and there is evidence that the Romans may have deliberately cultivated the plant to be used for food and medicine.

How to identify Common mallow has pale mauve, funnel-like flowers with five open petals and deep purple stripes. Its leaves have five lobes and its stalks have hairs on them.

Distribution Found throughout the UK, but especially common in Wales and Southern England.