3 Goodgymers returned to help Compassionate Kenilworth with maintenance of their wildflower meadow. After initial digging and clearing of the brambles earlier in the year, unfortunately we managed to uncover lots of thistle seeds which have now run riot. Our task today was to dig up some of the thistles to give the wildflowers and other plants a chance to thrive.

After a brief warm up and short jog across Abbey Fields, we arrived at the garden with tools in hand. The first task was to double glove to avoid getting too many prickles from the thistles. This method made clearing the thistles much quicker as with some heavy rain earlier in the day, the ground was quite soft, so with a good tug the thistles and roots came out in one with minimal digging required.

Once a decent pile of thistles had built up, Lil and Katherine attempted to carry the pile over towards the back of the wildflower garden area to add to the compost pile. This involved navigating some stinging nettles but also had the added bonus of walking past (and perhaps tasting one or two) blackberries on the way back.

There are still some thistles to go but we've definitely started to make some inroads on the task now.

It was lovely to welcome Allan back after his long holiday and hear all about Lil's exciting plans for the long weekend.