What to grow

While basking in the glorious sunshine we’ve had over the last few weeks, I’ve had to pinch myself – just two months ago we were battling gale force winds and a river of rain. While now we’re being treated to heavenly long, balmy days. With this wonderful weather it’s heartening to see lots of bees, butterflies and even the odd dragonfly and I’ve been trying to plant nature friendly plants to attract more to the garden.

Alongside all the welcome visitors, I have also been battling slugs and snails that have recently been frequenting my garden. To beat them, I have been using nematodes and laying lightly crushed egg shell around the stems of my plants. And for my pot plants specifically, I have been wrapping the top in copper tape to try and deter the terrors.

Now, more on the seeds to sow to attract wildlife – this month I am sowing California Poppies.

How to grow

California poppies have beautiful, delicate petals and feathery green leaves, offering a fabulous shot of colour to the garden. They are so easy to grow from seed and can be planted directly in the ground from May and June, with flowers appearing in July and August.

California Poppies like to be grown in a sun-shiney spot, but above this, they are reasonably low maintenance. They do not require a lot of watering and the soil does not need to be especially rich – no feeding needed, they in fact work well in poor soil conditions.

To start, choose a sunny spot to start them off. They can be sown in pots or directly into the ground. Sow the seeds thinly into moist soil, ensure they are placed around 3cm deep and 10-15cm apart, lightly cover them with soil and then gently water, then water sparingly only when the top of the soil is dry.

Green escape

This month, I went and explored the Memorial Recreation Ground. It’s a stones throw away from West Ham Park tube station and can also be easily accessed from the Greenway.

It’s a lovely vast open expanse of green space, from where you can get a wonderful view right across the river, over to the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf.

The area is a hive of activity, with a basketball court, a couple of well maintained rugby pitches, a flood lit Astroturf football pitch and a number of equally well maintained grass football pitches. The space also offers kids a great, children’s play area, with swings, slides and mini climbing walls.

If sport or entertaining kids isn’t up your street, explore the wild flower meadow and check out the hedges of wonderful bright white pyracantha and wander along the pretty tree lined walk way. It’s another excellent space to soak up nature and have an escape from the hubbub of the city.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.