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.
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!
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.
Many people will be wondering what is happening with the flowerbeds in Wharfemeadows Park. We want to reassure everyone that flowers will soon be appearing in the 4 large beds nearest to Bridge Avenue.
Otley in Bloom, Wildlife Friendly Otley and Otley 2030 are working together, supported by local councillors and with agreement from Leeds City Council.
A planting plan has been drawn up and plants ordered from Leeds Parks and Countryside department several weeks ago. The beds will be planted up with flowering perennials which support wildlife, encourage bees, butterflies and improve biodiversity.
We hope that by the end of the summer the beds will be full of life and colour. These beds will then be maintained by the community groups rather than by Leeds City Council.
We are pleased to have been able to come to an agreement which has saved these beds from being grassed over. Which also delivers much better planting for sustaining pollinating insects than the annual bedding plants normally seen in these beds.
When the perennials die back in the autumn we will be doing a further planting of spring bulbs to extend the flowering season.
We know that some people, particularly those living near the park will be keen to get involved in the planting of these beds and in helping to keep them looking good in the future and we would be delighted to have you join us. We are now simply waiting for a delivery date for the plants from Parks and Countryside.
As we progress we will add more photos showing the developments of the beds.
Day one was lovely after some rain overnight and the garden soil had been well prepared. Roughly 850 plants turned up from Leeds Parks and we added to this stock from our own gardens and allotment. A strong team worked for four hours on the first two beds. We left it watered thanks to Parks letting us use their hose and hopefully we might get a bit more rain tonight.
Day 2 was a little cooler but by now we had learnt how to get this massive task completed and some more volunteers turned up. It felt a little sad leaving the beds after watering the plants in as we were not sure about the weather. Luckily the BBC were right and we had a series of night time rainfalls over the next few days. Over to nature…
May is such a great time around Otley to carry out the first big clean up after the late winter weather. Recently we have been out dead-heading daffodils in the Barrier planters and the rose bed of the Firestation. Litter picking of the garden at Bremner Street opposite Asda has to be done. The amazing Nectar beds close to the Prince Henry’s crossing needed 4 large bags of weeds to be taken out of it and clearing Myers beck of Balsam to minimise flooding in the winter on such a lovely warm day made sinking into the mud in wellies a real pleasure. Why not come along and help out, just watch Facebook for the next project. https://www.facebook.com/Otleyinbloom
Otley in Bloom 