Home & Gardens

Those colourful signs of new beginnings

by Lorraine Gibson

newsdesk@stour andavon.net In Japanese culture the cherry blossom is highly prized for its delicate and ethereal beauty. To them, it represents both new beginnings and the fragility of life. Not only beautiful on the trees, the blossom creates a magical effect as it falls like snow to form a soft petal carpet on the ground. And on the subject of new beginnings, an innovative new venture called the Sakura Cherry Tree Project, designed to celebrate the friendship between Britain and Japan, has given a hundred cherry trees to Kingston Lacy, allowing them to enhance a garden originally imagined by the famous house’s owner, Henrietta Bankes, more than a century ago. Henrietta developed such a fascination with Japanese gardens that she was inspired to create the much-loved Tea Garden that still enchants visitors in the grounds of the Kingston Lacy estate today. After it was restored to its former zen glory by the National Trust in 2005 it features a rich diversity of plants native to Japan, from bamboo and acers to maples and cherries. The 100 new trees were planted opposite the Tea Garden last February meaning that this peaceful and tranquil area will also offer a magnificent display of delicate blossom every spring for generations to come. “Every year I look forward to the cherry blossom appearing as it means that spring has well and truly arrived,” says head gardener, Andrew Hunt. “Visitors at this time of year will see the pink blossom of the varieties Pandora and Shogestsu and the creamy white Ukon. “Perhaps the most impressive tree in the collection is the TaiHaku (great white cherry),” he adds, “this is a vast tree and its white blossom is spectacular.” Visit japansakura.org.

Tiny green shoots of snowdrops, those wonderful proclaimers of spring approaching, are already tentatively peeping through the damp leaves and moss in Kingston Lacy’s Victorian fernery. It all starts there, in the quiet, shady corner just beyond the house but soon carpets of brilliant white will be everywhere, as the famous ‘snowdrop walk’ meanders through the 40acre garden for a mile and a half. The fernery makes an atmospheric starting place before heading down the Lime Avenue and on to Lady’s Walk, where Henrietta Bankes planted the first snowdrops in the early 1900s.

HAT’S THE WAY: From left, looking stoney-faced, now he’s smiling and, right, showing his dual personality

Pictures: JO GREEN

Gnomebody loves you (when you’re down and out!)

Jo Green is a former allotmenteer, forager, amateur herbalist, pickler and jam maker who squeezed her allotment greenery into her tiny garden I admit to being a bit of a snob when it comes to gnomes. All those primary colours and that ‘Disney’ cuteness bring me out in hives. But when it comes to a gnome in distress, that’s a different story. Evicted from his old home with a ‘Free’ sign next to him, this little guy practically stuck his stubby thumb out for a ride! How could I drive past? Driving home with the gnome I considered whether to repaint him. Something muted? Untraditional? Hmmm... Okay, then something crazy – more crass than the original! Perhaps if I understood why they were painted these colours in the first place? So I started to do some research. That red hat has some serious historical pedigree! The hat (sometimes known as the Phyrgian hat ) was given to freed Roman slaves to indicate their new status. The symbol was taken up once again in the American Revolution and then again with the French Revolution with it being called the Liberty cap. Suddenly, the silly floppy hat took on noble proportions – it was born out of humanity’s quest for emancipation! Before I discovered this political provenance I had started to paint the gnome into a penguin but with this new knowledge I started to appreciate the meaning behind the colour so soon he will be fully back to his original glory!

Be a wildlife champion for the county

by Faith Eckersall

newsdesk@stourandavon.net Bird box? Tick. Compost heap? Tick. Log piles, wildflower grass and native hedge? Tick and tick again! If you’ve got all or some of these, you’re well on your way to becoming a Wildlife Champion for Dorset and you could be in line for a special plaque. Dorset Wildlife Trust wants more of us to commit to gardening for wildlife, turning our back and front yards into havens for biodiversity. A trust spokesman said: “There are 15million gardens in the UK totalling an acreage greater than all our National Nature Reserves put together, so what you do in your garden matters. “Large or small, your garden can provide a vital stepping stone for wildlife and be part of the patchwork of wildlifefriendly areas linking towns and the countryside.” Among the things the trust wants to see champions doing is commit to using only peat-free compost, cutting out harmful chemicals and slug pellets, creating a bucket, pond or bog garden if safe and appropriate, building or installing bat boxes, hedgehog houses and bird homes, and ensuring there are nectar-rich plants available for bees and other pollinators. If you want to apply for the trust’s free plaque, all you have to do is send it photographic evidence of at least six of these features, which are listed on its site. More details from dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/ gardenscheme.

Home & Garden You’ll get a lovely buzz from helping

by Lorraine Gibson

newsdesk@stourandavon.net

BEE HAPPY: Keeper Brian Morgan and, right, one of the hives

Could your Ferndown garden be a foster home for honey bees? In recent years the number of pollinating insects has been falling. While this situation is of concern to those with fruit trees, according to expert, Brian Morgan it’s a bigger problem for wild flowers which only have one summer to produce the seeds required for the following year. Bee-keeper Brian points out that honey bees can provide this crucial service to wild flowers – as well as all the other flowers in our gardens – so he wants to help remedy the situation... with your help. He’s looking people for who might consider having bees in their gardens without the trouble of looking after them. Brian, who recently moved to Ferndown from Croydon in Surrey says: “I’m looking for a place to house up to four colonies of bees.

Home & Garden this foster appeal

“They don’t need much room but I’d need to have access to the area about once a week to check progress. “If you have a large garden, then it may be possible to home a hive at the bottom,” he explains. “I have even known hives to be kept in a front garden –but not near a path close to the front door!” Commercial organisations, care and retirement homes, Guide and Scout groups, even some schools have hives on their land. “Schools have set up Bee Clubs where the children learn how bees live and how they make the honey we love to eat,” says Brian. If you live in Ferndown or are a nearby farmer and want to know more, email Brian at brianpmorgan51@gmail.com to arrange a visit to discuss what’s required and answer any questions.

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Home & Garden Recycling success

by Faith Eckersall

newsdesk@stourandavon.net

New figures show that the covid pandemic has had one silver lining – recycling rates have shot up in Dorset saving ‘millions’ of pounds. Latest Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs data shows that for the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the amount of waste that Dorset Council sent for recycling, reuse or composting rose from 58.9 per cent to 60.1 per cent. This places Dorset in the top 10 of 330 English councils, at number eight, and makes it England’s third bestperforming unitary authority. The council’s waste service officers say much of the rise is due to an increased waste capture rate – meaning how much recyclable material is going into recycling bins –due to last year’s pandemic lockdowns. More people working at home has resulted in more waste being collected at the kerbside but Dorset residents have also become adept at pitting the right items in the right bin, said the council. When this goes wrong, more items which could be recycled end up in landfill. The council believes the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the HGV driver shortage may impact next year but, it said: ‘The fact remains that the Recycle for Dorset kerbside collection continues to be a huge success for the county.’ Portfolio holder for customer and community services, Laura Miller said: “This is a phenomenal achievement considering the size and rurality of our county. “The entire waste services team has been working hard over the last 10 years, since the rollout of Recycle for Dorset, to get this far.” She thanked workers and residents, saying their efforts to ‘put the right stuff in the right bin’ not only helped protect the environment but had ‘saved millions of pounds’ that could now be put into essential services.

Announcements

DEATHS

ELLIS Susanne Judith Ellis ‘Susy’ nee Barber

Died peacefully on 16th December 2021 at Forest Holme Hospice, Poole. Much-loved Wife of Cliff, Mother to Antony and Nadine, Grandmother to her six beloved Grandchildren, Sister to Irene. Funeral Service to be held at Poole Crematorium Chapel on Friday, 21st January at 11.30 am. Family flowers only please but donations, if desired, for Forest Holme Hospice Charity and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. Personal messages, memories and donations may be made online at www.oharafunerals.co.uk Nicholas O’Hara Funeral Directors Tel: 01202 882134 New Stour & Avon, January 14, 2022 39 Home & Garden Garden waste dates

The new year for New Forest garden waste collections subscriptions to start will be April 4, 2022. The district council says all customers renewing their subscription will be given a discount for the 2022/23 subscription year and that four-weekly collections would resume from last Monday, January 10. “We aim to restart fortnightly collections midMarch,” said the council. “This will depend on staffing levels improving.” NFDC will write to residents in February with new information, including, an update on the frequency of garden waste collections, how subscriptions can be renewed, how discounts will be provided and how refunds will be offered for customers choosing not to renew their subscription. The council said it would be unlikely to accept new customers or sell additional sacks until July 2022. Visit newforest.gov.uk/findyourco llection.

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