Gardening on 30th March 2013

A bit of a miserable Easter weekend with snow and hail and very cold but work was needed on the Triangle to sort out the path and remove weeds round plants.
Some of the logs marking the path boundary have disappeared in the past fortnight which is very sad. Do people who take them realise the logs were put in by volunteers giving up their own time? Something needed to be done to keep the path visible, so a small log from home and a few lengths of salvaged planks came to the rescue. They have  filled some, but not all, of the gaps and the planks are less attractive than logs but they serve a purpose, until such time as we get replacement logs.
In the larger plant bed, all the fruit plants were weeded and well-rotted wood chip placed round them. Some of our park users have already added  salad leaves round one of the fruit trees (see picture) , but they could only be seen when the unwanted plants were removed. Thank you to the unknown people who did this planting.
In the herb bed, some dandelions were removed and garlic chives were sown. This growing season we plan to have beans and brassicas growing among the herbs as well as callaloo. The callaloo did not do too well last year so hopefully they will be taller and stronger this year.
If you have any thoughts about what to grow in the herb bed this year, or if you have plants and seeds to spare which you think could grow in the Triangle, do get in touch.

2013: What we've done, what we're doing

FOMP's year begins ...

with an AGM, where volunteers are elected for the essential roles of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, (Alona, Sue & Hilary) and there are also brief formal reports. This year FOMP is looking for more volunteers for handle communications, sports liaison, co-ordinating volunteers working on the Pavilion triangle and orchard, events, and representing the interests of dog-walkers, young people and families.

At the AGM, held February 19th, Tim Lund volunteered for the communications role, while Alona undertook to continue her work on the Triangle and orchard. So that still leaves us looking for sporty, young eventful family-oriented dog-walkers - well, you understand - doesn't have to be just one person, in fact, the more the merrier!

Other news ... 

• FOMP celebrates 20 years this spring, and a small celebration will mark the occasion. 
• Mayow, Sydenham Wells and Home Park Parks, in three different wards (Perry Vale, Sydenham, and Bellingham) through their User Groups have set up a forum to share common concerns. There will be a three parks walk some time in June. 
• 5th March 2013 will mark the long anticipated start of work - site set up, fencing, etc. - for the refurbishment of the pavilion, working closely with Iris to ensure minimal disruption to Grow Mayow. It is hoped to complete by end of June 2013, but damp rot in the building and stagnant water in the basement are possible risk factors. There would be weekly meetings with the contractors. 
• There will be two cricket clubs using Mayow Park as a base - Streatham and Marlborough and Caribbean Mix - and provisional match dates have now been published. Caribbean Mix were also proposing a week long cricket event in the first week of September. Glendale are working on changing facilities for the period before the completion of the pavilion. 
• Further sports activities planned are:
•  Junior football – midweek Primary Years 3 and 4 
• Midweek school use – Sports days 
• Park Active – half-terms and summer holidays run by TeachSport (free activities) 
• Park Run – Paul Harper was looking to encourage a weekly 5k run, currently held at Hilly Fields. The use of the cafe would help a lot with this,
• a potential cycle event, and not forgetting
• regular usage of the tennis courts and bowls green 
• Sydenham Arts Festival - we look forward to again hosting an event as part of the Sydenham Arts Festival

The Way Forward for FOMP 

Those attending the meeting were asked to write down their thoughts on the following questions:

• What do you think are the best features of Mayow Park?
• What is disappointing about Mayow Park?
• What do you see as the roles for Friends of Mayow Park?
• What will encourage more people to become involved with FOMP?

We hope to publish the results of this survey in due course.