Flower Bombs!

We had a lovely treat in Victoria Park today instead of the usual gardening tasks. The Park is closing for a couple of weeks to allow work on the pathways to be carried out. Today was our last volunteer day until the park re-opens, so Katy, our Volunteer Coordinator (PCC) organised a little picnic alongside the opportunity to make flower bombs, do some botanical shadow drawing or copying plants or butterflies and colouring them in from some books she'd brought along. The flower bombs were made out of taking small balls of clay and moulding them into a bowl shape, then adding a bit of soil and some seeds including meadow buttercup, cornflower, oxeye daisy, or self heal - you could mix and match as you wanted to - gently closing the clay bowl and making sure there weren't any gaps, rolling it back into a ball. The final part was to roll the clay ball in some more of the soil and wrapping it in newspaper to keep it safe. Once the clay is dry, then, in Katy's own words, you can 'lob' each bomb onto some open soil in your gardens, tubs, private spaces and wait for the seeds to propogate and grow - the flowers are aimed at attracting butterflies and bees. It was very therapeutic and mindful, and the time went too quickly. After some refreshments and enjoyment of the picnic it was time to pack up and depart. The park is open again on Monday 25th September, and Goodgym are back on Wednesday 27th September - you can join the task here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/victoria-park-gardening-bf574ad4-eeea-4d12-9c41-c70c601a957e