Two walks coming up:

Thursday 26 October:  walk starting at the Woodfield Pavilion, Tooting Common, gathering at 10.45 a.m. and continuing for c. 45 minutes; another of the monthly walks organised by the Woodfield Project, hoping to concentrate on ‘spooky’ plants.  Free.

Report:  Perhaps discouraged by the gloomy weather earlier in the day, only two people turned up for this walk.  However, by 11 a.m. the weather had greatly improved, so we spent a pleasant hour discussing some of the plants growing near the Pavilion, concentrating on those which were in some way or another ‘spooky’.  These included lesser duckweed, Lemna minor, associated with the nursery bogey Jenny Greenteeth; cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris, otherwise known as mother-die; and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, the flowers of which were widely believed to bring misfortune if brought indoors.  This was the last of the current series of walks, we hope to start again in March 2024.

Sunday  29 October:  Forgotten Uses of Wild Plants, Newark Library garden, 10.30 – c.11.30 a.m.  Organised by Friends of Library Garden.  Free.

Report:  11 people gathered in what is now officially known as the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Garden, and had what was agreed to be an enjoyable hour wandering around the site, which is managed mainly for the benefit of wildlife.  Later some of those present kindly shared the names they remembered for some of the plants discussed.

Image:  discussing green alkanet, Pentaglottis sempervirens, in the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Garden, © Carlos Bruzon.