Happy December from Station Green! If you have walked past Station South recently, particularly along the Fallowfield loop side you may have noticed that the bank is looking particularly bare. Our aim is to remove the brambles and replace them with wildflowers. Don’t worry there are plenty more brambles along the loop if you want to use the blackberries for making jam, pies or wine. However at Station South the thorns made that area difficult to manage and they were the only thing that could grow in that space. By introducing a range of native wildflower species we should attract some pollinators and range of wildlife to the garden. Most of the seeds we have sown have been collected from Station South including teasel and wild carrot. By using collected local seeds we will grow things are perfectly suited to Levenshulme, and we love to share and receive these in our seed swaps. We have also sown some yellow rattle which is particularly good for establishing wild flower meadows as it prevents grass growing. Yellow rattle is parasitic to grass feeding off its roots, grass is often a problem in establishing flowering meadow as it grows faster than other things and can smother other plants.

We only have 3 more Thursday gardening sessions before the end of the year! There are still some bulbs and bedding plants to be planted as well as more tree pruning and taking care of our wildlife hedge. We have a couple of cabbages, some celery and leeks to harvest too. The final session on the 18th December will be a mini-celebration of the year, winter solstice and Christmas and a garden tidy up for restarting the sessions on 8th January 2026! Please let me know if you have any ideas for Station Green in the new year.

Over the last week we have hosted some wreath making workshops including some using old bike wheels – look out for these at Station South. For anyone who needs last minute Christmas decorations or presents I will be hosting a mini wreath making workshop at the ‘Jolly Saturday before Christmas’. In the New Year I have planned a winter walk around Highfield Country for anyone looking for a gentle start to 2026.

Thanks for reading!