September 2008

It is of course entirely appropriate on historical grounds that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea represent the capital in Britain In Bloom. The Royal Borough is rich in horticultural association: on the Embankment we can still see the remains of Sir Thomas More’s Orchard – now known as Roper’s Garden while nearby there is the Chelsea Physic Garden, laid out for the Apothecaries in 1673, and which includes what is believed to be the earliest example of a rock garden (1773). In 1681 Looker, Cook, Field and London opened their commercial nursery over the several hundred acres on which the V&A and Natural History Museum now sit. From here Longleat in Wiltshire was first landscaped and later on George London teamed up with Henry Wise to design and supply all the plants for most of the other major gardens in the England from this nursery. Who thought that celebrity gardeners was a thing only of the late 20th Century?

Popularising gardening still further, another important local resident and figure in the history of gardening was JC Loudon who roped in his wife to assist with the production in 1826 of what they entitled: “An Encyclopaedia of Gardening: comprising the theory and practice of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture and landscape planning including all the latest improvements; a general history of gardening in all countries; and a statistical view of its present state, with suggestions for its future progress, in the British Isles.” It’s a great read! Their now built-over garden in Bayswater contained 2,000 different species. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

In 1840, Benjamin Baud’s West of London and Westminster, now Brompton, Cemetery was opened and further south in about 1881, the Royal Exotic Nursery at Chelsea owned by James Veitch & Sons assisted with the redevelopment of the nearby St.Lukes’ Churchyard. The Veitch family were famous plant hunters and nurserymen and were responsible for introducing many new plants for our gardens. Perhaps ironically, work started this summer on restoring St.Lukes’ Gardens and many of the original species of plants are set to be re-introduced.

And of course today, despite the media controversy and speculation, the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea plays host each year to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Flower Show which features many new plants and displays from around the world.

Introducing new plants and varieties is currently promulgated as one of the best ways to deal with climate change – however a word of caution! Readers of the May edition of the Royal Horticultural Society magazine will see a spectacular photograph of a log cabin and surrounding trees that have been completely covered by a voracious vine, Kudzu Vine, which was introduced into the United States from Japan in 1876. Not everything exotic is necessarily advantageous!

The same magazine also has some wonderful ideas for summer tubs and window boxes and if you haven’t already thought about your own contribution to this year’s In Bloom campaign, I would urge you to consider their advice to mimic in miniature a famous public garden or space. Examples include Sissinghurst’s White Garden, Westonbirt’s glorious autumnal display, Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage (which would suit a drier prospect) or even my favourite, Roberto Burle Marx’s sumptuous Brazilian landscapes (without the tropical rain showers!). A few pots, a few plants and a little imagination can go an awfully long way!

September marks the climax of the In Bloom process – I wonder how well the Royal Borough will have fared in each of the competitions?

August 2008

In the August edition of the “Leader’s Blog” by the Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, attention is drawn to the very negative response that some people have to trees. Where to you or I they provide shade, sustain the atmosphere or help prevent our precious soil from disappearing into the Thames, to others they are nothing more than a useful plaything on which to toughen their pet dog’s jaws.

At a recent commemorative tree planting in Holland Park, the former film director and now weekly critic / columnist in the Sunday Times (amongst others), Michael Winner, stated that trees “symbolise life”, and there can be no more poignant reminder of that when looking up through the now diseased branches of the chestnut tree that Ann Frank observed in Amsterdam from her hiding place “glistening with dew, the seagulls and other birds glinting with silver as they swooped through the air and we were so moved and entranced that we couldn’t speak…”. Despite the obvious dangers that that particular tree now presents on account of the extent of decay through it, the efforts to propagate new trees from it as a fall-back should the current efforts to save it are an inspiration.

I believe the oldest living species of tree is Metasequioia glyptostrodoides. A member of the Redwood tree family, its common name, Dawn Redwood, refers to the ‘dawn of time’ from whence it is thought to originate. For centuries, western scientists thought that it was extinct but in 1941 a small number of living specimens were discovered growing in the Sichuan province of China.

Rare or unusual trees are always a source of interest as much as the history behind them. In 2003 the London Naturalist published an extremely informative paper: Greater London as an arboretum – a guide to its trees. The authors are all authorities in their field and despite the evocative title of the paper (consider the whole of London as one big arboretum … ) it is particularly satisfying to see that they have included trees from the Royal borough. These include the olive tree growing in Chelsea Physic Garden that was featured in a more recent edition of the RHS Garden magazine (yes, we’ve all got an olive now thanks to these articles extolling the virtues of matching your plant choice to the changing climate!) but this doesn’t just bear fruit: it’s enormous! Another tree mentioned is the avocado Persea americana – also in Chelsea (and which I gather is fruit bearing so I won’t disclose its particular street-side location). And to complete the south of the borough, there are the Ginkgo in the Chelsea Physic Garden (dreadfully stinky when in fruit!) and Melia azedarach or what I was taught to know as a "Syringa" tree during my apprenticeship in central Africa rather than the Mediterranean from whence the species originate.

In the north of the Royal Borough, apart from an Australian Nettle Tree, Celtis australis, that excites the attention of colleagues who specialised in that flora, there’s also an extremely rare Ash – Fraxinus angustifolia ‘Veltheimii’ - in Little Wormwood Scrubs. This noble tree with its almost nonchalant wind-tossed branchlets is one of only a very few known to be planted in the United Kingdom and is of particular interest to myself on account of what appear to be saddle grafting scars. Saddle grafting is a now unusual technique where the already rooted host plant is “beheaded” and the resultant “stock” stem sharpened to a point. The “scion” (or plant being grafted onto it) is cut straight across and then has its base hollowed to take point of the stock - a bit like saddling a horse! A tight binding of grafting tape (and a great deal of luck in my experience) ensures a successful union and eventually strongly grafted plant. It is a great shame that this sort of nursery skill is both in short supply and rarely practiced as greater dependence is placed upon plants imported from around the world rather than grown at home. Is this the price of progress,

Holland Park probably has one of the most concentrated and diverse collections of trees of any corner of the borough. This worthy tradition is maintained – and protected - by the park management and Friends of Holland Park and is entirely in keeping with the original landowners’ various plantings of trees in what was once little more than open field. To be successfully appreciated such a treasure requires a reliable guide and this can be done either by accompanying the Friends on an organised tree walk (contact the Ecology Centre for further details) or by the purchasing of the recently launched guide produced by the Friends: Some Notable Trees of Holland Park – A Walk. Copies can be obtained from the Park Reception office which is open each day.

Later this year in Holland Park the Royal Borough's staff will be moving a number of Red Oak trees from their current positions beside the sports field to provide them and those remaining with more space in which to spread their branches. The equipment used for such an exercise is massive and operationally extremely technical, but this will ensure that future generations will be able to sit or lie on their backs underneath their shade and look up at blue sky breaking through the branches – just as Ann Frank did, and in whose memory a chestnut now stands on the opposite side of the sports field. It’s not just what trees symbolise … it’s that they are life that makes them so important.

The "flute" player here is one of the Japanese gardeners who visit the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park every few years to repair their handiwork.