bilboburgler

North Parade Window Boxes

Window boxes made for North Parade

During 2023 we wanted to help to soften the hard frontage of North Parade with some window boxes. For those who don’t know North Parade, it is a relatively busy north to south road with terraces on the east side some of which have been decorated with lovely flower boxes and some of which present a cliff of stone to the passerby.

OiB offered 20 window boxes installed and planted up for a low price to see who wanted to join in. The design aims to minimise damage to the window frame so owners and renters alike can take advantage of the offer. Obviously some of the windows were not suitable due to positioning of double-glazing, aerial cables etc. So far we have made and installed10 boxes.

The first, but not the last.

Planters in Otley

As well as the Barrier Planters and the Kirkgate Planters and the various Leeds Planters that need a little care there are some abandoned planters. Given that they have been left scruffy and do not present Otley at their best they and their content has received a big tidy up.

Gallows Hill carpark

willow weaving to make a fence at Gallows Hill

In 2022 OiB tidied up and planted the corner of the Gallows Hill carpark. This survived despite the drought but it suffered badly from dogs, leaping from their cars and using this corner the way only dogs can. We tried building a fence of broken branches which worked well. Unfortunately some tidy person thought the fence looked terrible so they took it away.

Fast forward to April 2023 and OiB decided to learn how to weave willow, we asked the Friends of Gallows Hill to cut us some willow and we wove our own “tidy” willow fence. Looks good, tidy and it seems to keep dogs out!

Nectar beds and Daffodils

OiB have been maintaining an insect-friendly bed in Wharfemeadows for more than 10 years. The idea is to provide food for insects from February to November. This time we needed to clear up from winter damage, though this year we will probably need to replant some of this bed in the autumn. If you want to add an insect-friendly bed to your own garden look at this pdf which was originally posted by the RHS. Our bed holds hellebore, primrose, snowdrops, rudbeckia, lavender, fox gloves, viburnum and more.