And Some Good News...

In a month dominated by reports of Chalara fraxinea affecting ash trees it is good to have some positive news to report.  I sat in on a recent Plant Heritage Council meeting http://www.nccpg.com/ where, as always, it was useful to hear the kinds of questions that are being raised by another garden-related organisation.  A particular treat on this occasion was a presentation by Sue Biggs (Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society) who brought us all up to date with happenings in the RHS.  The sale of the lease of Lawrence Hall and an upcoming fundraising campaign, have given the RHS the chance to plan a multitude of exciting projects.  A couple of them caught my eye.

Historians and researchers will be happy to hear about the proposed extension of the Lindley Library.  Additional physical space and greater access to the RHS collections of archived material will make research there even more of a pleasure.

I loved the sound of a sixty-acre perennial meadow, and a Mediterranean edible garden planned for RHS Hyde Hall in Essex.  Perhaps even more exciting is the prospect of a new urban RHS garden to be created somewhere in the Midlands.  The RHS are currently looking for a site with a minimum of three acres.  Any ideas?

Sue also mentioned 'A Career to be proud of' - a project launched by Alan Titchmarsh in April this year.  I couldn't help thinking about the 'Comment' Alan wrote in celebration of the project whilst I was sitting in a recent GreenLINK meeting. http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/Journals/The-Garden/Past-Issues/2012-issues/April/PDFS/Gardening-a-career-to-be-proud-of

While fellow GreenLINK members aired their frustrations about the disproportionate cuts to urban parks services, I reflected on the enormous gap between those who 'get' the benefits of interacting with nature on any level, and those who don't.  The general feeling amongst delegates was that decision makers in government are ignoring the views of professionals in the green sector.  I wonder whether, if some of them have never experienced the very real benefits of contact with nature, they simply don't understand?  What practical measures can we take to help them cross that divide?

With Alan's 'Comment' in mind, I have a link that I promise will brighten your day.  It's about a very imaginative project that's taking place in Bristol.  Calendula are being grown by community groups around the city in preparation for a national collection to be hosted by Bristol Zoo Gardens.  I'll be finding out more about the project for an article I'm writing in 2013.  But in the meantime, have a look at the link.  I challenge anyone to watch it and still question the importance of gardening for health and general wellbeing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q34mSMFkGyA&feature=youtu.be

Finally, if you've found the media driven frenzy about ash tree die back dispiriting, have a look at this link for what is perhaps, a more balanced view. http://blog.habitataid.co.uk/sackcloth-and-ashes/

Landscapes old and new

Sadly, the glorious sunshine that blessed the AGT Conference in Bath didn't follow us up the M1 for Yorkshire Gardens Trust's Research and Recording Study Day - but Yorkshire drizzle didn't diminish the experience of being in Yorkshire Sculpture Park.  The combination of historic landscape and contemporary art takes some beating. http://www.ysp.co.uk/

Karen Lynch (Yorkshire Gardens Trust), Dr Jan Woudstra (University of Sheffield), and Dr Helen Pheby (Curator, Y.S.P) talked us through the transformation of the landscape at Bretton Hall from the 18th century to its present role as a Sculpture Park.  It was good to learn that, rather than just being a backdrop for the sculpture, the landscape is a source of inspiration for the artists who work there. Even better to hear that ongoing research into the historic landscape plays an important part in that process.

Karen Lynch told us about the tenacious Diana Beaumont, whose world-famous 19th century plant collection at Bretton included sub-tropical plants from India. Dr Pheby immediately passed on this new piece of information to Hemali Bhuata, a visiting artist from India, who was at that very moment, creating new work in response to her experience at Bretton.   As Dr Pheby pointed out, the history as it continues to be revealed by researchers, benefits everyone - the staff, visitors and the artists.

It's a big leap from Yorkshire to New York but the High Line Symposium at the Garden Museum made it possible.  What a treat to hear about the rescue of the  early 20th century elevated freight railway line from the High Line's co-founders themselves - Joshua David and Robert Hammond.  How fascinating to hear how these two ordinary professional men, without a background in landscape or design, pushed themselves well beyond the extraordinary to raise the funds necessary for the restoration.  Their book 'High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky' is well worth a read. http://www.thehighline.org/

An important part of the Symposium was a competition for ideas for a new London landscape.  The short-listed entries on display were a real feast of creativity.  The winning design, by Fletcher Priest Architects, suggests re-using the old Mail rail tunnels that run underground just north of Oxford Street.  Given my need for greenness and sunlight it probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but what an ingenious and seemingly workable idea - to create an underground fungal garden, lit by fibre optic ducts.  Have a look at the short-listed designs if you have a minute. http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/events/competitions/highline.php

A final thought  - what's happening to the wealth of practical experience built up by Des Smith and the Willerby Landscape team now that the Olympics are over?  In case you don't know, they were the team responsible for the planting and maintenance of the much admired 2012 Garden in the Olympic South Park?  It would be good to think that their skills will be passed on to the teams dealing with the park in the future.  It would be complete madness to allow all that expertise to just disappear.