The Trim Reapers

September is the time not only for school returns or off-season holidays but also for the final cut of the year for wildflower meadows. What is a wildflower meadow? - you may ask. In contrast to gardens with beds filled with perennials planted in fertile soil, the meadows are areas of permanent grass where wildflowers can grow. Whether looking messy or vibrant and colourful, the meadows provide habitat for insects, bees, butterflies and birds, much needed in urban areas.

This year's mini-meadow Autumn cutback at Friary Gardens had six guests from GoodGym Ealing and Hounslow:

• Steph - the hunt of the litter - armed with two litter pickers, this cowboy from the Wild West (Hayes) shot down all the crooked bottles and cans he found.
• Michelle - the outlander - scouted the gardens' frontier and cut down all the trespasser grasses.
• Sevan - the one raising the stakes - marked the dog poo left irresponsibly by the dog owners with bamboo poles to prevent others from stepping into the "landmines" (ironically, not preventing himself from doing that at the very end of the task).
• Penny - shear persistence - diligently cut the grassy plants sticking out and left them in the meadow per Juliet's (the task owner) instructions to encourage the wildflower growth the following year.
• Kash - the trim reaper - with her bramble-proof gloves, collected all the prickly stems and piled them in the compost bin.
• Gus - the human garden shredder - chopped the trimmings like a machine to fit them into the compost bin.

Whether it was due to different weather this year or the earlier cutback of the mini-meadow in June, the task finished much quicker than last year. Juliet offered GoodGymers soft drinks, homebaked brownies and Madeleines. And a bonus task!

Penny and Kash stayed to dig out squares in the grass to reach the bare soil where Friends of Friary Gardens had planned to put a new wildflower mix. Meanwhile, Sevan wheelbarrowed the extracted grassy patches to the compost bin. That job concluded the sunny September Sunday in Acton, and the GoodGymers ran, walked or cycled home to make the most of the last hours of the weekend.