Well, Readers, the meadow at the edge of Muswell Hill Playing Fields is looking absolutely splendid at the moment – I spoke to a woman walking her dog who said that she’d been sceptical initially, but that she thought it was absolutely wonderful. And so it is – we have cornflowers and poppies, mayweed and corn marigold, and no doubt lots of other plants just waiting in the wings.

To start with, people weren’t clear exactly what was going on, and there were worries that the plants would be trampled. But as they’ve grown up, the delineation between the meadow and the rest of the area has become clearer, no doubt helped by the wonderful posters from local children, explaining what’s been going on.

There were also worries that the local crows were eating the seeds, but my suspicion is that they were more interested in the worms and other invertebrates that had been turned up when the ground was rotavated to prepare for the seed planting – after all, clouds of crows follow the plough for just this reason (or did back in the day).

There are lots of pollinators about, including the less-appreciated ones such as the beetle in the photo below. The Conservation Volunteers are running pollinator surveys over the summer, and I hope to get along to at least one session, work permitting.

Considering how bare this area was just a few months ago, it’s very impressive how quickly the meadow has grown up. I look forward to monitoring its progress and watching the succession of plants over the next few months. If you live locally and haven’t been down to see it yet, it’s well worth a look, so take a wander down.

The meadow area in March