The stormy winds have passed, leaving London's gardens looking grey and battered, so let's dream of better days ahead.
The RSPB, along with 24 other organisations, want to transform our Capital’s grey spaces into colourful fields where Londoners can feel cool fresh grass between their toes and admire the butterflies and bees attracted by the food from the thousands of colourful wildflowers blooming throughout spring and summer.
Over the past half a decade, acres of meadows have been lost in London, and restoring them will provide great outdoor spaces for picnics, play and relaxation for people, whilst also supporting a vast range of wildlife; now sadly declining in the Capital.
Many London schools are already working to plant and nurture a hundred new meadows as part of a Capital-wide competition. Don’t let them have all the fun! Help us bring the countryside to the city.
The seed of our partnership idea can be found online, take a look and then allow it to grow near you. It won't be ready in time for this month's Big Garden Birdwatch, but new meadows will be taking shape come Spring 2013. Nature isn't instant, but that's part of the fun.
Finally, do look out for Russians in your beds... the flowerbeds and lawns that is. Numbers of our native blackbirds are swollen at this time of year by migrant cousinskys, from Russia. They'll be Putin' in an appearance anytime now and there are subtle differences. Russian blackbirds have darker beaks and are ever so slightly larger than UK blackbirds. The invasion's underway!