Some of you will have noticed that a lot of work has been going on at Swan Meadow (the 1/2 acre green space alongside Swan Road). We have been planting native shrubs and wildflower seed along the hedge. WFEG have had help from Simon Evans of Dream Gardens and Tony of the Bell Inn in digging out a hole for a small pond at the side away from the road. Creating a pond is probably the best thing anyone can do to encourage wildlife but obviously raises concerns about safety, despite duck ponds having been a feature of many villages for centuries.
But this is going to be a 'Pebble Pond' which means that it will be largely filled with pebbles so that there should be no issue of any unsupervised child being at risk. We can put wetland plants in and around the pond and it will be near to other meadow flowers providing shelter and food for frogs, dragonflies and other creatures.
The next step for Swan Meadow will be to rotovate the path areas and plant grass seed meaning it will necessary to avoid walking on the path areas for some months while the grass matures. And in a few weeks we will be seeding the bank at the Burton Road end with a 'Flowering Lawn' wildflower and grass mix with buttercup, red clover, selfheal, oxeye daisy and a few others which will be popular with bees and other pollinators.
We've also seeded the western verge on Burton Road between Swan Bridge and the railway bridge and are working on a plan to create flowerbeds on the far side of the railway bridge to provide a gateway to the village. All important work towards the Heart of England of Bloom judges visit on 5th July!
