Moor Pool in Bloom

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Moor Pool in Bloom Calendar for 2012 Saturday 3rd March: 11am to 1pm Making grafts from Moor Pool's fruit trees Dan (National Trust) will demonstrate. Bring sharp knife (eg Stanley) and stout gloves. Everything else provided including indoor shelter. Contact: Liz Muir: 07792473975 or by e-mail Saturday 12th May: 11am to 2pm. Moor Pool in Bloom Annual Plant Sale Venue to be notified later Offers of plants gratefully received Offers of help - much appreciated. Contact: Liz Muir: 07792473975 or by e-mail Saturday 23rd June: 9.30am to 4pm Planting the Circle: Lower Hall Bring your recycled container! and plant it up with compost and flowers More details later. Contact: Liz Muir: 07792473975 or by e-mail RHS Visit: July 2012 TBA Grafting Moor Pool Trees to Rootstock - March 3rd 2012 Moor Pools band of community gardeners held a rootstock training day to learn how to save many of the 100 year old fruit trees which will be lost when the building of new homes on the Estate commences. Dan Pooler from Wightwick Manor gardens came along to demonstrate how cuttings taken from apples, pears, damsons and plums can be grafted onto rootstocks to perpetuate the many fruit trees planted when Nettlefold's estate was built in 1907. Residents which have actively been working over recent years to restore the Estate see this as an important step in preserving an important aspect of Moor Pools history. Amongst those taking part was Hilary Everard who wanted to graft a scion from her grandfather's apple tree. Liz Muir who coordinates the Moor Pool in Bloom project was keen to ensure the projects success. 'We know many of the fruit trees are very old dating from when trees were planted in all the allotments and gardens to encourage a healthy lifestyle. We hope having preserved the trees we can identify varieties and find out if we have anything unusual'. Other recent events include clearing of the spinney helped by volunteers from the National Trust and in May a plant sale will be taking place with most of the plants grown on the Estate and the funds used to help continue the restoration work. 'We are very grateful to Wightwick and for Dan for coming along and hopefully in years to come we will be able to offer fruit trees produced from Estate stock' said Liz. Wightwick Manor www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wightwick-manor is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton. Like Winterbourne Gardens, Wightwick is a surviving example of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement. Moor Pool in Bloom would like to particularly thank Mandy and Peter Argus who made their home available for the event along with refreshments. Moor Pool in Bloom Calendar for 2011 Volunteers needed for Jobs/Projects Planters and Flowers for the Circle/shop Tidying and maintaining estate - Saturday group, one hour per month. Plant propagation. Seed sowing sessions will be arranged for November but most of the work will be done in early Spring. RHS Planning for 2011. Are you interested in next year’s displays? Bees. Improving Moor Pool’s Bee population. Bird and Bat Boxes for Moor Pool. February half term. (Prepare January) Children and Adults: Are you interested in developing this programme for the estate? Composting Suggestion made that we should compost more green waste for our own use. Please contact Liz initially on 07792473975 or email e.muir276@btinternet.com Moor Pool in Bloom Community Greenhouse - October 2010 Residents and members of the MiB team gathered to celebrate the finishing of the greenhouse kindly donated by the Selly Oak B&Q store. In particular thanks must go to Linda Booth and Annette Postill from B&Q for their help obtaining the greenhouse. MiB co-ordinator Liz Muir is looking forward to growing plants and seedlings for next years season. With the likelyhood of financial assistance from the Council diminishing with the financial cutbacks, the facility to produce our own plant stock will be essential. Mike Hayward kindly donated space on his allotment to site the greenhouse and along with other volunteers laid a base and assisted with the assembly. Pictured from left to right are Mike Hayward, Liz Muir, Ron Pearson, Paula Mcgee and Dave McGee. Paula McGee is holding the RHS plaque awarded to MiB for their first years efforts in the competition. Resident's efforts to restore the Moor Pool Estate paid off with an excellent first time result in the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom competition. Moor Pool entering the competition for the first time scored a level 3 out of 5 in the Neighbourhood Award section. Liz Muir and Rob Sutton collected the certificate at a ceremony at Leominster Priory from Sir William Lawrence. Liz Muir who co-ordinated the project said: "This is the first year we have entered and we could not have achieved this fantastic result without the help of the many residents who got involved." Rob Sutton added "This shows just how much everyone cares about Moor Pool and wants to put right the years of neglect. There's much hard work ahead but this is a great start and hopefully we can carry it on next year." Shortly after celebrating the opening of the greenhouse, the team were back working at The Square clearing and planting the wild flower plug plants which Winterbourne Botanic Gardens had grown for us. Moor Pool in Bloom Sunflower Competition 2010 Congratulations to Ben Sykes of Moor Pool Ave for a tremendous result with his sunflowers. At the Wildlife Day entrants were given seeds and of all the entrants, Ben was the only person who was successful in getting his to grow and flower. In addition to this, Ben managed to nurture his plants with one reaching the lofty heights of 230cms! Ben, aged 9, attends Harborne Primary School (Class 5OJ). He is involved in the school's garden club and with his sister Elspeth also helped plant the spring bulbs with Moor Pool in Bloom last year. Well done Ben - Monty Don watch out ! Moor Pool in Bloom Plant Sale 2010 A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the Moor Pool in Bloom plant sale in June. We embarked on the project with no idea whether we would get any donations or indeed any customers but we got both, in spades, so to speak!! Liz Muir worked tirelessly to get the event off the ground and provided much needed expert advice on the day. Even the most ungreen fingered left with something and the confidence to get growing. The event raised over £200 for Moor Pool in Bloom so thanks again if you took the time to dig a plant up or sow some seeds and if you made a purchase I hope it's blooming! Rachel New The Square - Work Day March 28th 2010 Residents continued with clearance of the undergrowth and brambles after years of continuing neglect. Deep rooted ivy was pulled back exposing many bulbs which will at last see daylight. A large pile of rubbish was soon accumulated. At eleven minutes past two a historic moment arrived when the roar of a lawnmower was heard for the first time after many years absence. Progress and the hard work of residents is beginning to bear fruit with replanting scheduled for April or May after a final clearance workday. Residents also took time to discuss replacement options for the dilapidated fence which is falling down in places. The preferred option was posts with chain between and a costing will be sought. Visit by Ken Whittaker - March 27th 2010 Ken Whittaker visited Moor Pool to advise on an entry for Britain in Ken Whittaker RHS Judge for Britain in Bloom visited the Moor Pool coffee morning and gave a talk on the tips and tricks of seed sowing. Ken brought along a few items which he had made himself over the years, all intended to make the process of seed sowing easier. Ken then kindly walked the proposed route for Moor Pools entry in Britain in Bloom and explained to residents how the judging process operated. Fortunately the recent improved weather meant bulbs were beginning to flower. Ken noted there was already a big improvement due to the hard work of residents since his last visit. Thanks again to Ken for giving his time to come along to Moor Pool. Mother and Toddler Seed Planting - March 26th 2010 On the 26th March MiB and the local mother and toddler group held a seed planting morning at the Moor Pool Hall. Led by Rachel New morning breakfast presenter for Heart FM. The children had great fun planting various seeds which are currently being germinated and will be planted out when ready. This is part of MiBs strategy to get all sections and ages of the community involved. Many thanks to Rachel for coming along and Elise organiser of the mother and toddlers for her support. Royal Horticultural Society visit Moor Pool January 2010 Ken Whittaker visited Moor Pool to advise on an entry for Britain in Bloom 2010. After a tour of the Estate, Ken thought Moor Pool had great potential after restoration to be a backdrop for an entry in this years competition. MiB are grateful to Ken for the time he spent here and for the constructive suggestions made. Moor Pool in Bloom Coordinator Liz Muir pictured with Ken Whittaker from the RHS. The Circle - January, 2010 Following on from work which had started the same weekend as The Square, members of MiB continued with pruning and clearance of the undergrowth outside the Circle flats. A serious problem at The Circle is the japanese knotweed. The residents association will continue to press both Grainger and the Council to tackle this problem particularly as damage to the pavement continues unabated. The Square - January, 2010 After many years neglect, residents and volunteers who work for the National Trust descended on The Square off Carless Avenue to begin clearing the ivy, excess growth and rubbish which had accumulated. The objective was to make a start on clearance which would allow replanting of more manageable species whilst retaining adequate cover for wildlife. The tree canopy was raised which allowed considerably more light to enter the area and a thick mat of ivy across the ground removed along with excess undergrowth. MiB are extremely grateful to the National Trust volunteers led by Pete Orme who gave up their Saturday to come along and help and make what turned out to be a mammoth task possible. MiB will now be working with residents on proposals for the next stage including replacement or refurbishment of the low level fence which has collapsed in places and replanting. Other items to consider will be bird and bat boxes. MiB would also like to thank Sue Hickin from Birmingham City Council who arranged for the hit squad to come and remove all the waste the following week. This was a large task in itself. Lastly the use of the lower hall at luchtime to recover and warm up was appreciated by all. All in all the day proved a great success, demonstrating commitment from residents and outside volunteers to restoring one of Moor Pools open spaces. The open spaces at the square showed remarkable improvement after the clean up. Residents met recently to discuss the next stage and to come up with proposals for the wooden fence which has badly deteriorated. If you would like to be involved with work at The Square or have suggestions as to what you would like to see done, please contact MiB. Park Edge 2009 The first clearance work and restoration of Moor Pools open spaces began with Park Edge. Local residents and MiB members have begun clearing the ivy which has been blanketing the fence and trees. The fence has now reappeared and with a lot of hard physical work the ground has been cleared and replanting started. The committee are grateful for the donation of plants and the efforts in particular of local residents. Park Edge will be a likely candidate for an entry in Britain in Bloom 2010 as work progresses. Bulb Planting 2009 Many of you will have already been out planting some of the 4000 bulbs that have been bought with donations and the community chest grant. The MiB and MRA Committee would like to thank all those who are taking part and especially the residents whose financial donations have made this possible. Moor Pool should be especially bright and cheery next Spring. Councillors John and Deirdre Alden accompanied Residents' Association Chair Rob Sutton and resident Jenny Buchan, planting spring bulbs at the junction of Moor Pool Avenue and Margaret Grove. The bulbs were available following a generous grant from the local Ward Committee and an anonymous donation by a Moor Pool resident. Moor Pool in Bloom 2009 The Residents Association is undertaking its first Moor Pool in Bloom. This year we are focussing on the Circle. If successful we hope to continue in future years in other areas of the Estate. This years event will get us started and also allow us to better understand what is involved in terms of maintenance and legal requirements. The Moor Pool in Bloom 2009 project started off with planting around the edge of the bowling green. Sandra and Frances from the Bowling club and Liz Muir from the Moor Pool in Bloom Committee spent a busy Saturday afternoon planting over 120 specimens. The plants were supplied by Cofton Nurseries and the Committee are very grateful to Chris Jones and Gary McManus from Cofton for their kind assistance. Next on the agenda is a number of planters at the Circle which will not only give some additional colour to the heart of the Estate but also protect the verges which are being vandalised by drivers. This should happen as soon as 'technical issues' with Birmingham City Council have been overcome. The MiB Committee are very grateful to our local Councillors for making available £500 to get this years project off the ground. We already have some volunteers who will keep an eye on the planters at the Circle but anyone else who would like to do the odd spot of watering and pruning will be very welcome. Other links: Press Release - RHS Britain in Bloom: It’s Your Neighbourhood Award (September 2010) Royal Horticultural Society - Britain in Bloom Find out more about Britain in Bloom which the MiB team are proposing to enter. Moorpool in Bloom Circular 01 (January 2010) Photographs Planting Spring Bulbs under trees and in grass Call for war on Knotweed Evening Mail, May 13th 2010 Battle to halt the knotweed threat Birmingham Post Lite, May 12th 2010 Japanese Knotweed Alliance for advice on controlling Japanese Knotweed