Along with the autumn, early April is, supposedly, a great month to sow wild flower seeds. And, with good timing, Northleaze School had just approached us to see if we could help the School Council create a wild flower meadow.
For quick results, we suggested a mix of annual cornfield flowers would be ideal. Corn poppies, corn flowers, corn marigold, corn chamomile and ox eye daisies were purchased and the wonderful Clare Orr, a professional gardener in Long Ashton known to many, expertly stripped off turf to create a 9 sq metre patch of bare earth.
The spare turf, along with their worms, were lovingly placed by children of various ages to make a beetle bank alongside the potential meadow.
On the day of the Great Sow, we arrived with weighing machine and sand to ensure the right quantities of seed were fairly distributed across each square metre.
The Met Office website stated there was less than 5% chance of rain. So, imagine our surprise when the first hail stones hit our faces. It won't last, we said. But then came lightning, thunder and a hail storm of epic proportions.
We're not sure how many of year three were involved but, wow! Were they excited? Yes, they were! For over, an hour we sowed the seeds, planted columbines and had lots of fun getting drenched. It's a day to remember, for sure.
And let's hope the seeds germinate by the beginning of the new term and the first bright green shoots greet the school on its return. After that, fingers crossed for an explosion of bright red, white, blue and yellow flowers alive with an abundance of butterflies and bees.