10 people 2 tonnes of compost, many hands make light work
2022 saw OiB and other organisations take over four beds in the park. The first year was tough. We discovered that the soil was completely without organic material having been used to hold short term plantings for many years. The summer started with a drought, followed by a hose pipe ban and by autumn we knew what we had to do, which was to spread two tonnes of compost over the whole area.
Despite the cold it was a very sunny day which made the process a lot of fun.
Then began the weeding as time and time again small seeds erupted into life, this is going to be a long process so if anyone feels they can help please let us know.
It was great to get back to making Christmas OiB decorations in a member’s house in preparation for the festival. This year we wanted to give the kids of Otley small collections of sun flower seeds that they could plant for next summer. We try to package sunflower seeds in something (preferably compostable) to make it interesting and, as in other years, we ask the kids to take these seeds from the tree and then we replace them each day. Income from this work went to Horticap (who provide adults with learning and other disabilities training in horticulture, allied crafts and rural skills) and was worth £123.61 . All thanks to the generosity of the people of Otley.
When OiB are working in the beds we are often asked, what are planted here. So here are how many plants we planted equally across all four beds at the start of summer.
Cornus Midwinter Fire
12
Spirea Bridal Wreath
8
Foxglove Excelsior Hybrids
72
Achillea Filipendulina Gold Plate
32
Allium Globemaster
120
Astranta Major
24
Nepeta Six Hills Giant
16
Lavender Augustifolia Hidcote
24
Geum Lady Stratheden
48
Seabiosa Perfecta Alba
24
Geranium Orion
16
Echinacea Summer Cocktail
24
Crocosmia George Davison
120
Helleborus Walbertons Rosemary
8
Helleborus Niger Potters Wheel
8
Helleborus Hybrid Pluto
8
Salvia Nemorosa
24
Sedum Album
40
Sedum Sunsparkler Dazzle Berry
40
Myosotis
96
Verbena Bonariensis
48
Campanula Portenschlagiana
16
Sedum Rupstre Angelina
16
Sedum Salskianum
16
Then as part of the December preparation for adding compost we added a bunch of bulbs.
People and Groups; I’d like to thank all the people who help Otley in Bloom do their work. This includes Otley Town Council (OTC), Otley BID, Rotary Club of Otley, Inner Wheel Club of Otley Chevin ,Otley Maker Space, Wildlife Friendly Otley (WFO), Courtyard Planters, Otley 2030, all Otley businesses, Leeds Parks Department and the many individuals who give up time to help us. It continues to be a real pleasure to work with you all to make the town a greener and prettier place.
Litter; in 2022 the need for litter picking has reduced significantly, though some parks, roads and hidden places have received impromptu tidy ups.
Climate Emergency; we have continued to use locally grown perennial plantings wherever possible as well as peat-free compost. Biodiversity has also influenced our decisions.
Planters and Beds; OiB maintain some 85 different beds around Otley, from the very small to fair-sized gardens. Some require irregular rubbish removal, cutting back, dead-heading or re-planting. Where possible we maintain benches, fruit trees, herbs and bird boxes to enhance areas.
OiB spent time with OTC and the BID confirming planter responsibilities. OiB has removed its branding on the Insta-planta planters. OiB has taken on weeding and litter clearing of the Kirkgate planters.
Watering; OiB has requested that OTC, Leeds and other organisations add lockable taps to the outside of the public or semi-public buildings to simplify watering around town. This will become more important as climate change attacks local water supplies in the coming years. Plants need water. If Otley wants a green centre then it has to make water more easily available. 2022 saw a hose pipe ban with the likelihood of another in 2023 looking probable.
Advice; where we can, OiB offers advice. This years we offered help to OTC, Inner Wheel Club of Otley Chevin, Hug on a Tray and Leeds Parks.
Wildflower plantings; the BT garden contract between WFO and Openreach, which OiB practically support, came to an end and at present we don’t know what will happen from the end of 2022 going forward (update, Wildlife Friendly Otley have done a deal with Openreach so hopefully all will be fine). We hope the project can be continued. We believe that having that semi-natural garden in the centre of town is a real benefit.
OiB highlighted the potential destruction of Wharfe Meadow’s large flower beds as part of Leeds Park’s cost cutting actions early in Spring and thanks to some fast foot work from OTC, WFO, Otley 2030, Leeds Parks, OiB and other interested parties we reached an agreement for local organisations to take over the maintenance of four flower beds. OiB aimed for perennial plantings with high insect attractiveness that were somewhere between the human-orientated plantings of a traditional park and the wildflower meadows that insects would love. Given that the soil lacks any water retaining organic material we spent many project days planting up, watering and weeding (so much weeding) to achieve a planting that worked. Watering stopped once the hose pipe-ban came into force. Before the year end we hope to make a major modification to the soil which should mean less work in 2023. From feedback in the park this has been a success and we should all pat ourselves on the back.
OiB was asked to plant up a corner of Gallows hill into an insect re-fueling station. We cleared and dug over the space. We cleaned lots of streets of leaf litter to provide a better structured soil. Planted insect-focused plantings and built mini fences to protect the area from dogs needing a tree. The dry spell in the midst of the Summer killed some plants and so some additional planting was required. Hopefully that will be less of a problem in 2023.
The last 3 months has been a steep learning curve. The soil in the beds has proven to have poor water retaining properties. We have tried to develop beds that show that any gardener can maintain a garden with very insect-friendly plantings without having to move completely over to a wildflower planting.
Watering and weeding has proven to be a major part of looking after these beds, which we expect to reduce in coming years as we build up the organic material in the beds and remove weed seed.
These beds are buzzing, full of colour and being enjoyed by local families.
Many thanks to those who stopped to talk and discuss the plants, also lots of thanks to those who have helped water and weed.
Inner Wheel Club of Otley Chevin supports Otley in Bloom
Way back in January, the members of Otley Chevin Inner Wheel Club voted to support a Community effort as their contribution to Inner Wheel Day. They approached the Otley in Bloom Committee, who were taking over some of the beds in Wharfemeadows Park because Leeds Parks. did not have the funds to continue to plant these up. Four beds have been taken over by Otley in Bloom and filled with perennial plants, almost 20 different varieties, including Cornflowers, Scabious, Lavender, Geraniums, Echinacea, Crocosmia, Hellebores, Salvias and Sedums, in addition to spring flowering bulbs.
Members gathered in the park to learn about the choice of plants, which were attracting many bees, to hear about the plan for the beds and to present a cheque to Penny Rhodes from the Otley in Bloom in support of the project. The photo shows President Pam Beck presenting the cheque, accompanied by members of the Otley Chevin Club, in front of one of the beds in the park.
Otley in Bloom 