Autumn is typically a time for preparation at Beeline Way, readying any spring and summer planting before winter comes and the rains and frost hit.  We thought we would share some of our plans with you so that you can see what we’re doing, and what you can do to get involved.  We’re going to break down the work to do into the individual zones of Beeline Way to make them easier to follow:

Pocket Park

As the official entrance to the New Malden end of Beeline Way, the Pocket Park receives the most attention from us in terms of day to day maintenance, and is the only area with seating.  It receives hundreds of visitors every day and many more hundreds of insect residents live there – but it’s not without significant challenges.  As an access point to the Network Rail premises beyond and to the main lines of the Thames Water maintenance routes, planting at the Pocket Park very often suffers from footfall and attempts in the past to plant bedding plants have not ended well.

As such we’d like to consider some smaller, more targeted planting options.  At the area next to the bike maintenance stand we are considering planting some bedding plants in the small strip of land previously occupied by some bay trees; this area receives some sunlight through the day and is relatively sheltered, making it suitable for yarrow, sea holly and heuchera – which we have successfully seeded elsewhere.  We always have to be careful when planting close to areas of pollution as it can make the soil very nitrogenous, and we have to pay attention to soil water retention – the area and plants we are considering are especially suited to both of these factors.

In fact due to the nitrogen content of the soil, we are most likely to have a large number of nettles in this area – and we realise most people don’t like them.  However many species of butterfly do, and in fact the favoured Red Admiral butterfly and Jersey Tiger moth both lay almost exclusively on nettle plants.  We’ll keep them under control and away from the paths though.

Further along we have a patch of grasses in situ by the old “animal print” boards facing the station wall.  We intend to keep these as they work as a weed supressant and are a good habitat for grubs and caterpillars; though we are considering increasing the variety of grasses here to accomodate more species.

At the “Bug Hotel” we are going to be clearing out the apertures for the front-facing wood blocks and opening them up a little so that carpenter and leafcutter bees can use them, but otherwise it will remain untouched.  There are bulbs in the upcycled recycling box on the ‘roof’ which will be weeded and seeded ready for spring.  We would like to clear some of the ground around the hotel and lay some additional soil so that we can plant a small number of wildflowers in proximity to the habitat.

We also intend to plant some more sturdy daisy-like plants here such as echinacea and ox-eyes using the generous donations we have been provided from residents for seeds.

What you can do

We always need help digging out and preparing soil, weeding and clearing debris.  If you would like to assist with this then please contact us or find us on Facebook.

If you have any UK native grasses you no longer want in your garden and would like to donate, please also let us know.  Likewise, if you have any garden edging (of any material) you no longer want that we can use to demarcate areas and stop weed spread, we will gladly make use of it.

Cattle Bridge/”Badger Slope”

Many visitors to Beeline Way stop and admire the badger mural created by local artist Roshan Abeysekera but may not realise they are in the middle of a wildlife hotspot; the large number of thistles in this area are home to an incredible number of insect larvae and are a prime feeding and meeting spot during the summer.  We are however looking to convert the bike-path side of the slope back to a more traditional planting area by removing the thistles and replacing them with asters, hellebores, cyclamen and heathers; we do this in order to help secure the underlying soil which is otherwise subject to erosion.  Rest assured the insects will not go without as the cluster of thistles on the walking path side will remain, giving plenty of good photo opportunities for budding entomologists.

On the other side of the bridge, the “meadow”, we are working on installing a water harvesting system so for now are not interrupting the thousands of crickets here.  Eventually we will need to dig over the meadow again and seed it with clay/damp loving plants as we did a few years ago.

What you can do

If you have sturdy gloves and a sturdier disposition you can help to remove the thistles and brambles here periodically.  Watch where you tread though, many of the plants here are still young and small!

There are many invasive sycamores on the slope which need digging out or cutting down, but the slope is steep and so only get involved with this if you are very steady on your feet.

If you see graffiti on or under the bridge which is fresh, please try and take a photo and submit a report to the council so that we can have it removed.

Woods and Wetland

By and large the woods approaching Beverley Brook are left to look after themselves and we prefer to leave this area untouched as it’s a vital pathway for badgers, foxes, mice, bats and owls.  The ephemeral pond is absolutely full of wildlife right now – having been colonised by newts – and needs time to establish so we ask that people not approach it beyond admiring from the fenceline – though it is a vernal pool, the water is deeper than it looks and it is a hazard.

The trees by the edge of the path do need periodic maintenance and you will sometimes see us or the council’s contractors felling them in order that they don’t fall and injure a passer-by – we have a number of silver birch reaching the end of their 30-50 year life span which are liable to falling.  Otherwise we try not to disturb the soil as to discourage any further erosion.

What you can do

Report felled trees or falling trees to the council.

Take some time to sit by the ancient oak here and admire the birdsong!

Discourage others from dropping litter over the fenceline (which is hard to reach) by picking up rubbish you see if it’s safe to do so and you have gloves, and pop it in the council-provided bin by the play area.