This GG Richmond Group Run session saw us tackling the weeds at The Three Pigeons Plot.

As well as three pigeons and a heron, we were accompanied by midges and biting insects who, like us, were making the most of a beautiful evening by the River Thames. Tackling some of the nettles in the Plot added to the stings and sorrows of volunteer gardening but Liz, Chris, Rosie and Anita ignored the bites and stings and got stuck-in with a chatty and transformative session of weeding, watering and sweeping, leaving our riverside Plot blooming and beautiful.

Good fortune also came with the discovery of a donation of plants (a peony, a rose and an exotic looking bulb ) hidden away in the border. So many thanks you to our mystery donor.

Lunchtime visit to GoodGym Richmond’s Sponsored Plots in Buccleuch Gardens to check out tasks for tonight’s Group Run session.

Also an opportunity to plant some more woodruff next to one of the benches and do a bit of gardening around the Arcade lawn including weeding and plantain pulling.

Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny Monday.

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Thursday, 8 May 2025.

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, Chris Ken and Anita spent time decorating one of GoodGym Richmond‘s sponsored plots in Buccleuch Gardens in order to remember and honour those who served in World War II and also the millions who lost their lives in the conflict.

Most of the 90+ reusable poppies had been premade from recycled clothing but the session started with a sewing bee where we made up further poppies from pre-cut petals and centres (cut out from a pre-loved faux suede coat bought from a car boot sale for £1) and then created the distinctive black centres of Flanders poppies using a permanent marker.

Half of puppies were combined with lengths of freshly cut ivy (weeded out of the adjacent border) to decorate seven withie wreaths that we then attached to the black railings of the arcade. The other poppies were wired onto the tips of the branches of the alder tree in the arcade lawn.

Taking the step ladder home at the end of the session there was an opportunity to walk across the nearby poppy-decorated pedestrian crossing on Petersham Road which marks the entrance to the Royal British Legion’s poppy factory.

...midges.

A beautiful April evening, except for the swarms of midges, for GoodGym Richmond’s second Monday of the month Group Run task at our sponsored plots in Buccleuch Gardens, Richmond.

But I guess, particularly as this was a WWF/GoodGym ‘Workout for Nature’, we should embrace the midges and the less glamorous animals, insects and wildlife that are all part of the broad biodiversity and healthy ecosystem that we are trying encourage by are gardening work.

So let’s hear it for midges Chironomidae (Diptera): their larvae and pupae are important food for fish and other aquatic organisms such as newts. And the flying midges in their adult stage are eaten by fish, insectivorous birds, bats and flying predatory insects.

Enough of midges and onto our heroic humans Anita, Chris, Jade, Lucy and Suze.

Anita, Chris, Jade and Suze. set about sweeping, weeding and litter picking around all the benches and in the borders. Our weeding focused on weeding out unwanted plants such as ivy and also three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrum) which looks very pretty, like a white bluebell, but is actually a real thug, a non-native invasive plant listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (making it an offence to introduce the plant to the wild in the UK).

Meanwhile Lucy, who had completed 16km of her London marathon training to get to the task, still had the tenacity to prick-out and pot-up a whole tray of salvia ‘blue admiral’ seedlings, before she headed off into the dusk to clock a further 3km.

A very warm welcome to Mamoud who joined Anita for Task preparation for the Richmond GoodGym second monday Group run task in the evening.

As well as walking through Buccleuch Gardens assessing the most urgent gardening tasks required across our sponsored plots , we also unloaded compost and salvia seedlings and took them down to the Arcade, then went down to the river to wash out plant plots and trays in the river, preparation for pricking out and growing on the salvia.

5 GG’ers started off at the 3 Pigeons plot and walked along the river clearing the area of various litter, some of it swept in by the tide. It was lovely weather and we enjoyed the sunshine, fresh air and good company. We finished off close to the Sea Scouts entrance and managed to fill up 3 bin bags. Then we headed back to Tide Tables for a well deserved coffee.