Horse chestnuts hit by leaf miner moth

The horse chestnuts in the Church Yard of Old St Andrew's Church in Kingsbury were particularly lovely this Spring but have been hit again by what I believe is the larvae of C. ohridella leaf miner moth.

The current infestation (the pictures were taken this morning) is the worst I have seen since the first attacks several years ago, Eventually as can be seen the tree loses its leaves prematurely.

The trees will not be permanently damaged but the attacks seem to be happening earlier and with more intensity. It makes the trees unsightly in July and August when foliage should be at its healthiest.

One recommendation is that fallen leaves of affected trees should be collected up and removed from the site and burned. This is because the pupae overwinter in the 'mines' in the fallen leaves. I am not sure how practical that is on the St Andrew's site but sure possible for isolated trees in our parks.

Removal of the leaves mean that there will be fewer attacks over the season and they will be later, giving the trees more of a breathing space.

Treewatch, in association with the Royal Horticultural Society, are monitoring the disease and welcoem your reports: LINK

Seasonal confusion in the churchyard

Snowdrops in Old St Andrew's Churchyard on Sunday

I was chatting with some fellow gardeners at Birchen Green allotments in  warm sunshine yesterday about the current strange behaviour of plants.  I picked the last of my tomatoes about 10 days ago and still have chillies flowering and fruiting in the cold greenhouse. Nasturtium seedlings were growing healthily at our feet as we spoke.

To add to the confusing  picture as I walked through the churchyard at Old St Andrew's I spied these snowdrops in full bloom with daffodils not far behind. Snowdrops before all the trees have shed their leaves...

Dumping spoils Brent heritage site

Dumping next to the footpath

I bumped into Cllr Ann John, leader of Brent Council and Muhammed Butt, deputy leader and a host of Labour supporters  doing a walk-about meeting residents in Welsh Harp ward last Sunday.

I hope some of the residents raised the issue of fly-tipping on the footpath leading from St Andrew's Road through to old St Andrew's churchyard and Old Church Lane. Old St Andrew's church is the only Grade 1 listed building in Brent and the ancient churchyard has been cleaned up by Community Payback LINK

As I've mentioned before as budget cuts bite  there is reluctance to take responsibility for areas which do not clearly come under council department remits and this seems to be one of them. The footpath is a public right of way but is not actually on a street.  Some of the dumping seems to be the result of open air drinking in the old churchyard, evidenced by orange Sainsbury's carrier bags and discarded beer cans and spirit bottles. As always, once a dump remains uncleared more rubbish accumulates.

Other items seem to be redundant toys that appear to have been dumped over the fence of the privately run St Andrew's Nursery which is situated between the new St Andrew's church and the footpath:

Toys apparently dumped over the nursery fence

 It would be good news if the church, nursery and council got together and cleaned up the area.

Breathing New Life into an Old Church

Old St Andrew's Church in Kingsbury is probably the oldest building in Brent and our only Grade 1 listed building. Drama Workhouse, a local community group that used to be based at the Dudden Hill Community Centre in Willesden, are the new users of the building. They have secured Heritage Lottery Fund money to survey local residents on how the building can be developed. The vision is to bring the church back to life as a vibrant and dynamic Heritage and Cultural Centre connecting it with the wider community.  Drama Workhouse  want to ensure that activities cater for people of all ages and backgrounds. The survey can be found HERE.
The deadline is July 2nd 2010