Volume 11 Number 6
16 September 2001 at St Mark with St Margaret's Church Hall
* It was agreed at the meeting to make a £200 donation to St Mark with St Margaret's Church to help with redecoration and repairs. JC received a letter from Reverend Richard James warmly thanking PCEG "for the very generous donation which they have granted to the Church Hall fund. With such welcome support it will soon be possible to commence work on the very necessary repairs to the roof and some items of interior decoration and refurbishment which hopefully will make the hall into a rather more pleasant environment for all who use it."
* Best wishes from the group to PCEG members Laurence Pinturault and Sandra Warne who are both recovering from operations.
* Many thanks to Vernon Grandison, the Plumstead photographer who took our picture on the common. Members can order copies at the AGM or through Anji Petersen. There are also pictures taken by Julia Cowdell and Nick Day which will hopefully be available to view at the AGM.
* "Inspired by..." is a new exhibition of textile art and designs, embroidered book binding, straw embroidery and embroidery on paper and features work by PCEG member Barbara Fitch, who is a member of The New Elizabethans Embroidery group. See their work at The Museum of Garden History, Lambeth Palace Road SE1 from 4 - 30 November between 10:30-5pm. http://website.lineone.net/~lbsc/neweliz.htm
* JC has had the clothing bank removed from the PCEG-adopted recycling site on Plumstead Common Road because of continuing problems of clothes being strewn on the common and dead animals found inside the bin during the summer. It is to be re-sited at the council depot near the old Safeways supermarket in Woolwich.
* Members may have noticed yellow stencils of dogs and the text "Clean it up!" appearing on pavements around the common. PCEG are pleased to see the council addressing the issue of dog waste in this way.
* In the next edition of the Newsletter watch out for news about:
The Barrow on Winn's Common. Recent research evidence shows it is most likely to be Bronze Age.
The Education Pack, which has been prepared by Plumstead Manor School as part of the Our Common Story project, is to be launched into local schools this term.
* Nick Day has produced a PCEG Christmas card that shows a picture of the Slade steps in winter. Ten cards and envelopes cost £4 (part of which covers printing costs, the rest goes to PCEG). Sets can be ordered through Nick - Tel. 8473 5932 or email:
nickday@winn.demon.co.uk
Also available through Nick is a credit card sized hotline card which gives direct telephone numbers for Greenwich council departments.
* After the meeting, we purchased 50 daffodil bulbs from Erica for planting at the Slade steps from Tormount Road. Barbara Fitch organised for these to be put in during the pond group session on 23 September and has since donated the cost of the bulbs to the Group.
Sales have reached over six thousand pounds so far. Full details at the AGM.
There are copies still available at Abalone Printers on Plumstead Common Road, Snappy Snaps in Powis Street, Woolwich or from JC at 8 Blendon Terrace.
A second brood of Moorhens has appeared but the ducklings have not been seen this year. A pond pruning day has been arranged for Sunday 28 October in conjunction with the usual Pond day. All members welcome and much needed!
Reports on the Nature Reserve were mainly of damage and vandalism - the buddleia had been set on fire, the chestnut paling fencing broken down and graffiti spotted on the pavement and steps leading to St John's Terrace. On the positive side, there was not much litter. JC and Rob to discuss the fallen trees. JC thanked Sheila Andrews, not only for planting which she undertook during the summer, but also for her fascinating reminiscences in Our Common Story on life as a pupil of Kings Warren School (now Plumstead Manor).
With the disbanding of the Parks Constabulary, Rob Poole explained that if members see any law breaking (including bylaws) they should call the police. It was suggested that callers should get the name of the person they speak to (so that the complaint is logged) and if relevant, the cad reference aswell. The police do monitor complaints and may set up an operation if they receive enough calls and it is deemed appropriate.
There is currently in place a contracted security firm who do random checks on specific sites. Park Keepers/Assistants are being reorganised for April 2002. Rob Poole is to speak to Bob Gillespie about PCEG's concerns and invite him to the AGM in November.
It was marvellous to come back from New Zealand and find the Group had been functioning so well in my absence. I particularly want to thank Anji Petersen for producing and distributing two excellent Newsletters and for organising graffiti removal sessions. It is great to have a young person so active in our Group. Many thanks also, of course, to Roger Taylor our Vice Chair and to Nick Day, who has come up with several interesting initiatives of his own. And last but not least: much appreciation to all those members who have participated. Without you we wouldn't have a Group.
Slugs I wonder how many of you have, like us, had your garden invaded by ugly great slugs with voracious appetites this year. They are none too easy to kill. Unlike snails, slugs carry on feeding, albeit more slowly, throughout the winter. Until now I have baulked at the idea of buying beer for them but a beer slug trap came my way by accident recently and I am seeing first-hand that there can be nothing more guaranteed to lure a slug to its death than the smell of a tasty drop of beer. They all slide their way to the party, make merry and drown in the beer. I'm afraid they still need to be fished out and buried. I find an old pair of kitchen tongs useful for this job.
Hoverflies I turn to this much more pleasant topic with relief for hoverflies are the gardener's friends. They pollinate our flowers and eat up the aphids. The semi-transparent, legless larvae are 8-17 mm long. The adults are often mistaken for wasps as some species have a similar colouring. However, they don't have a sting and have an unmistakable habit of hovering in the air. They lay tiny yellow-white eggs singly near aphid colonies. This has been an excellent year for them so that I have found that we've had no problems at all with aphids. Some well-known plants that support them are Phacelia, Verbascum, purple loosestrife and hemp agrimony. Yet none of these drew so many as our Stargazer lilies did this year. Immediately the flowers opened, the hoverflies gathered in hundreds to feed on the nectar.
Heather There may still just be time to buy some winter heathers to brighten the dull months. Many varieties are acid lovers so will not tolerate limy soils and cannot be watered with chalky tap water. However, Erica carnea and E.darleyensis grow well in alkaline soils. Grow them in a sunny position and water them in dry weather.
Mahonia If you plant these their fragrant yellow flowers will really brighten a winter's day. There are varieties to suit many situations including to provide ground cover or for rocky or woodland sites as well as for shrub borders. They like fairly fertile soil that is moist but well- drained. Many prefer partial shade.
Botanic names
riparius, -a, -um = of the banks of rivers
rivularis, -is, -e = brook-loving
rivalis, -is, -e = growing by streams
What do you know 2001 What does pH mean?
July answer The lily beetle is easy to detect. It is bright red with a black head and is 6-7 mm long. It is active from early spring onwards. The larvae appear in mid-summer. These are plump, 8-9 mm long, and are a slightly orange colour with a black head. the larvae are found on the underside of leaves, partially covered in excreta. They will devastate lilies, fritillaries and other members of the lily family in a very short time so it is worth keeping a close watch out for them.