Dear Friends of Emersons Green Park,

It seems like it can’t quite decide whether to be winter or summer – so that must mean it is spring! A careful look at the trees shows many about to come into leaf. The blackthorn is flowering abundantly and I have been having fun trying to learn some bird calls. Sue has reported a pair of buzzards overhead. Are they nesting near?

This month I thought it would be good to introduce you to the orchard. Hidden away in the southwest corner of the park, over the footbridge, you will discover a fairly higgledy piggledy patch of planting that is just beginning to mature. There are several traditional apple trees, a damson, a local variety of plum and lots of other interesting plants, which you might not immediately recognise.

Like this ‘Strawberry Tree’. A small tree near the centre of the patch surrounded by apples, it bears a strawberry ‘look alike’ fruit around December time. Ours has not yet fruited but it may soon.

Also you might be interested in this. it’s official name is Rubus tricolour or ground cover raspberry. We are using it to ‘take a patch’ of land from the grass and it is working well.

Another thing we have done to stop grasses taking everything over is to sow some ‘Yellow Rattle’. Two patches were seeded  last autumn with this rather special wildflower, which takes nutrients from grass roots. We are hoping it will come up shortly and I will post a photo.

Here is a pic of some of us you may recognise.

We keep the orchard going with occasional work sessions on a Saturday from 10 -12. We would love some more help so, if you would like to, please join us at the orchard this year on

April 23rd
May 21st
June 25th
July 23rd
Aug 20th
Sept 24th

See you there if you can make it.

Chris