Cricklade Fritillary Tea Room and Wildlife Garden

April 2008 News and Update

March was a glorious riot of spring colour in Cricklade and Cricklade Bloomers and the Town Council Grounds men are working hard to keep all the floral displays and green areas looking good for everyone to enjoy. During April Cricklade sees thousands of visitors arrive in the Town to see the Fritillaries in North Meadow; the National Nature Reserve to the north of the Town has 80% of the UK population of the rare Snakes Head Fritillary flowers; it’s well worth a visit during the flowering season, usually at its best the last three weeks of April.

Cricklade gets ready for unannounced spring judging. Unannounced Britain in Bloom judging will take place anytime between April 12th & May 4th. Cricklade Bloomers, Cricklade Town council, Residents groups, schools, churches and youth organisations have all been busy getting their own areas looking good for the unannounced judging. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Take down or better still plant up those dead hanging baskets and containers still outside from last summer, mow the lawn, trim the edges, sweep the path and pick up any litter, don’t forget to look up get those plastic bags that have blown into the hedges and trees.

Join the Big Cricklade Spring Clean. Sunday 13th April 10.30am . Start at the Thames Hall

Give just one hour of your day to collect litter around the Town, collecting bags, gloves and litter pickers provided. Refreshments provided at the Fritillary Tea Rooms. See article below. Show your support for the Town and help us make Cricklade a better place.

FREE Warrior recycled garden Compost: Saturday 19th April 9.00am at the old school by the Town Bridge

Yes it’s FREE we have 3 tons to give away. Swap a bag of green garden waste for a bag of rich Warrior recycled compost, use it for soil improving or planting. Get there early first come first served.

Adopt a Street Scheme - we need more people to sign up to look after their street. Keep the gutters weed free, litter off the streets and report graffiti. There are already a number of streets being looked after in the Town by local residents – have you noticed the difference – would you like to adopt your street, more information from Anita Barratt 01793 751403 or Bob Jones 01793 750773

Fritillary Tea Rooms. Open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on Saturday and Sunday April 12/13th, 19/20th & 26/27th

Over three weekends in April Cricklade Bloomers will be serving teas, home made cakes and light lunches in the Thames Hall by the Town Bridge from 10.00am to 5.00pm . You will be able to buy pots of flowering Fritillaries, Cricklade in Bloom postcards, and make a special Bug box for your garden.

There will be displays by the Court Leet and Natural England, who will be giving guided walks around North Meadow.

This is our major fundraising event, last year Cricklade Bloomers raised over £1600 all of which was put back into the Town in floral displays, planting trees and bulbs. We hope to see you at the Fritillary Tea Rooms.

Biodiversity in Bloom

In 2005 Cricklade Bloomers in conjunction with English Nature held two open days over the Fritillary season promoting the Britain in Bloom competition and the work of Cricklade Bloomers in the community. As a fundraising event we also provided light refreshments to those visiting North Meadow National Nature Reserve.

In 2006 we decided to expand on the success of this event to cover three weekends of the main Fritillary season .

In November 2005 we contacted English Nature to see if they would sponsor a Biodiversity theme, possibly a Wildlife Garden to be built in the Thames Hall. We wanted to display to the public how their gardens could easily become a haven for wildlife. The display garden was to be a living example of some of the elements that should be included to attract and support wildlife.

English Nature were very keen to support the Biodiversity theme. The design was discussed with English Nature site manager Robert Wolstenholme and the drawing produced by Bloomers Chairman Anita Barratt .

English Nature provided display boards on subjects such as Ponds, Amphibians, Gardening for Wildlife, Bats, Reptiles, Birds in your Garden, Homes for Insects, Composting, Bog Gardens , Sustainable timber products, and information on peat alternatives. They also provided a series of 10 booklets about all the above subjects for the visiting public to take free of charge.

The garden was built by members of Cricklade Bloomers, Cricklade Garden Club and English Nature. All materials and plants used in the garden were re-used in other community gardens around the Town. The Garden attracted a great deal of interest and a better understanding of the importance of encouraging biodiversity in the garden.

Wildlife Garden