Moor Green in April
- Moor Green
- Apr 13
- 6 min read
This time last year I started the Newsletter with England's first famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer..
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
When April with its sweet-smelling showers
2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
Has pierced the drought of March to the root,
3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour
And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid
4 Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
By which power the flower is created;
This was a massive joke if you remember, because we'd just had a month of rain and Moor Green plotholders were "planting their spuds in mud".
This year though, Geoff got it right! We did have a drought in March. We're just missing the sweet-smelling April showers. I don't hear too many people complaining though. It's been a beautiful spell of weather for digging the plot over or starting to plant, or just sitting and thinking about what to do with all those packets of seeds.
Not too much actually showing in terms of veg yet so this edition is going to focus on one species that we plant very rarely if ever, but this time of year it's the star of the show. Trees! We're blessed with a lot of them at Moor Green and you only have to visit other sites in Brum to see how lucky we are. Luckiest of all in April when most of them go into blossom. All this is great news for the pollinators just when the daffs and snowdrops are giving out. And even better news for us after a hard winter. Just have a wander round and enjoy when you have half an hour (you mustn't be a slave to your plot). And if you can't, have a look at these!
And on the second finest country lane in the city a gorgeous sea buckthorn..
Just for comparison this is the finest country lane in the whole city ( down from the borehole toilets) . It's all a matter of personal taste...
Like a path through a neglected wood (except for the giveaway blue piping obvs...)
And this is just magnificent..
And look at this beauty in the middle of a busy plot
And you can't miss this lovely display on the main road running past the Clubhouse
And on top of all this, fellow plotters, WE have been adding to the future stock of flowering trees. The good old Woodland Trust supplied us with hundreds of tiny saplings for the new hedge which will sit outside the boundary fence on the south side going down to the Rea. On the 22nd March a whole mixed bunch of volunteers (see below) planted 210 slips of hawthorn, blackthorn and hazel in just over an hour.
The photo only shows a few of the planters. There were 22 volunteers in total, what a great turnout! Many thanks to Alf, Anthony, Bern, Carolyn, Dan, David, Deborah, Duncan, Eamonn, Esther, Harvey, Howard, Jo, Kerryn, Louise, Niall, Oz, Pam, Paul, Rob, Tony and Tom.
Then the redoubtable Dan came back later and put a protective baler twine barrier around the whole lot.
Now all we have to do is wait 7-8 years and then we can think about laying the hedge. But the job's not over yet - see below.....
Who'd like to Adopt a tree?
The lovely Woodland Trust actually sent us some species of tree - like oak, silver birch and rowan, that don't really make good hedgerow material. So we have 100 or more little saplings that we'd like to use - maybe to create an avenue along one of the main roads or a little copse somewhere, or as infill in some of the already wooded areas: more trees never go amiss. If you want bees to pollinate your plants or birds to sing while you're working or buzzards to predate on the local rat population, trees are the answer. The problem is that if we plant them on any of the grassed areas now , the council mower is likely to take them out. So we need volunteers to take these tiny (6-9 inches tall) slips, plant them on their plot and look after them for two to three years. SUPPORT NATURE - ADOPT A TREE! They're dead easy to plant and don't need much looking after. You can adopt one or more of whichever species you like. Just contact us on madahal.site manager@gmail.com if you're up for it and we'll put you in touch with Oz on the teaching plot, where they're all currently sitting waiting for a new guardian. After three years, with your agreement, we'll dig them up again and put them in their permanent home.
Who'd Like to go to a free gig this Easter?
Well, those nice people at the Clubhouse anticipate your every thought - see details below. All profits on the night go toward the general upkeep of the pavilion, and in particular this year, we'll be undertaking maintenance on the pavilion windows. Come along, listen to some fabulous music, and have a few drinks! And if wild horses wouldn't drag you to a noisy rock band, come in the afternoon, enjoy the view from the picnic tables, bring the kids and chill in the (relative) quiet. Or do both! As usual, we’ll have an array of Glasshouse beers for you to enjoy!
Annual General Meeting - 17th May -12 midday
This is the most important meeting of the year for the Association - and it's YOUR meeting folks. please come and contribute your thoughts – all current plot holders and social members are welcome. You will meet new people, appoint the new committee, understand better what’s going on and almost certainly get a cup of tea and a biscuit into the bargain. The bar will be open afterwards. Committee nominations is the big item, but you also get a report from the chairperson on all the things your committee has done this year and from the treasurer on how what we've spent the Association's money on. And of course you can ask us questions, or raise any matters that concern or interest you. A nomination list is on the noticeboard in the Clubhouse and in that wooden letterbox outside the front door of the Clubhouse so you can add your nomination even when the building is closed. If you're interested in helping this site continue to be the well-run little paradise that it is - or if you think you could help run it better, why not add your name to the nominations list? All nominations have to be proposed and seconded and the last date for adding to the list is Saturday 3rd May.
Russell Road Gates
You may remember that last year our summer fundraiser was for the restoration of the beautiful but (technical term) knackered gates at the Russell Road entrance. This whole process took rather longer than we hoped, but we've finally identified a contractor to do the whole job and make the gates good for another 50 years. Thanks Jim, who's made this project his own. Work starts on the project on 22nd April so with luck we'll have a beautiful - and more secure - way in to the top end of the site formally opened by July. We're in a race with the opening ceremony for Moseley and Kings Heath stations. We're going to win.
Plot Inspections
Some of you might have seen the team of three inspecting plots a couple of weeks ago. We looked at every plot on site to check as usual that plot holders were meeting the standard required by your tenancy agreement (set by the Council, not us). For the most part we've sent standard emails to those tenants who didnt meet the benchmark, but some we'll be contacting personally, especially if we haven't seen you recently. Plots will be reinspected at the end of this month.
And Finally....
If you have alder or hazel on your plot you might have spotted these little critters
They are alder leaf beetles (thanks Oz) - once rare, now increasingly common here. They're only pests if you actually plan to eat your alder/hazel leaves (not recommended) so just enjoy their shiny blueness. That's all for this month fellow plotters. Wherever you go, Moor Green or Majorca, enjoy your Easter!
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