The Open Spaces Panel
The purpose of the Open Spaces Panel is to:
Protect and enhance open spaces for all
Defend open spaces and nature from neglect, deterioration or loss
Ensure all open spaces are sufficient for the future
Convenor: Judith Chegwidden, judith.chegwidden@gmail.com
The Panel meets monthly and members are very welcome to join our meetings and raise any concerns that they have about our open spaces.
Our main focus over the next few months will be our Front Garden Award Scheme. Designed to encourage residents in central Putney to plant rather than pave their front gardens, this scheme aims to encourage wildlife, reduce the risk of flash flooding and to make our streets more attractive to walk along. To join in and do your bit to make Putney blooming marvellous, late April is the time to start planting up. See the side panel for useful tips on planting containers. Judging will take place from 5 June to 24 June.
Our volunteers continue to help to maintain the Putney Tower Parklet on the corner of Charlwood Road and will be putting in new plants over the next month preparing for the London in Bloom judges who will arrive in midsummer.
We liaise with other groups focusing on maintaining our parks and open spaces – including the Friends of Wandsworth Park and Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators.
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Click below to see recording of Mark Wasilewski, Park Manager of St James’s Park and The Green Park talk on “The Changing Face of Horticulture’ to our April meeting.
Mark illustrated about how the ways in which we garden have changed over the last few decades and the implication for all gardeners, including park managers and those involved in London in Bloom.
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The Putney Society 2024 Front Garden Awards for roads in central Putney is aimed at encouraging more people to plant flowers in front of their house.
For those without a lot of space flowers in containers can produce a colourful display. And for beginners The Open Spaces Panel have produced a quick guide to successful planting summer plants (annuals) in containers.
Simply click below:
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A timely reminder about the importance of our gardens in conserving our wildlife (data courtesy of the Financial Times 06/01/24). The UK's gardens make up an area that is bigger than all our wildlife reserves put together, an area that equates to about one-fifth of Wales.
The 2023 State of Nature report stated that one in six of our native species are at risk of extinction. It is more important than ever to make sure that our gardens are wildlife friendly and to call a halt to the loss of green space to concrete and paving.
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Recording of the Meeting with Lucy Hart on Planting for Biodiversity at Fulham Palace
Posted on May 27, 2023
At the May 2023 Putney Society meeting the speaker was
Lucy Hart, Head Gardener at Fulham Palace who gave an illustrated talk on
‘Increasing biodiversity in the gardens of Fulham Palace - including planting for drought conditions’.
To listen to the recording of the meeting please click of the link: