Flower beds in Mayo Park?

[simon]

What on earth has happened to the two formal flower beds in the south east corner of Mayo Park? Someone appears to have laid woodchip paths across both of them and the beds themselves appear to have been left to weeds.
I hadn’t been in the park for a few months and was looking forward to seeing the beds that greet you as you enter from Mayo Road as they have always been well kept and had a variety of flowers in over the years.
That part of the park is well served with paths, although the main one is in desperate need of resurfacing, but the new ones don’t appear lead to anywhere, they just dissect what were once some rather nice flower beds.
Bizarre!

[Dawn Redwood]

Mayow Park Triangle work day
Saturday May 28, 11am-2pm. Mayow Park (Mayow Road entrance)
Friends of Mayow Park host another work day on the beds at the entrance to Mayow Park. Why not come along and help? There is no obligation to stay for three hours - you can work for half an hour or an hour if you want. All equipment provided - wear sensible footwear and bring a pair of gardening gloves.

[Ronski]

more info here as well...

http://friendsofmayowpark.blogspot.com/

[simon]

Thanks Ronski, but I still don't get it.
What was wrong with the flower beds?
What are the paths for? I see they are called woodland paths, but they are not in any woods.
I like the community garden and now realise that a variety of plants have been planted but couldn't they have been planted somewhere else in the park and the flower beds been left alone?

[Iris]

Thanks for pointing this out.
Aware of some genuine disappointment and agree that at present the space looks unfinished. Concern is understandable when people don't know what is happening or why. Not having an interpretation board on the site or the park notice board space (as one section was damaged and the door removed) makes it difficult to provide people with updated information. A team is working to develop something visually attractive and plants have been agreed. But shrubs will need time to develop. Some additional fruit plants will have to wait to be planted in the autumn.
Regarding the wood chip paths, most people (including children) are very pleased with the way the paths take them through the plant beds, which will be full of plants before too long.Also every Thursday the Montessori Pre school are usig the space for their Forest school class. People make use of the sitting logs on the grass space too. Need to give the space a few months to mature and improve. Hopefully the wait will be worth while and better than some old roses with one flowerhead.It's not easy to always please everyone. Also the reason for the change is sustainibilty and you wouldn't believe how much is spend by planting bedding plants and then to be taken out after a few months to be composted!
Things change all the time that's part of life.If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
Patients....
And you can't see the woodland paths....remember 'Imagination is more important than knowledge...'

[Tim Lund]

Although I'm not involved with this project, I can share with everyone this picture of the plans, taken from the now damaged noticeboard


I've scaled down the image to fit on normal screens, so the detail is not easy to read, so here's a list of some of the elements

• strawberry beds
• currants
• gooseberries
• raspberries
• edible hedge
• 2 fruit trees
• bog plants
• willow tunnel
• bulbs
• lawn
• edible / sensory herbal walk, including
• chamomile or salad burnet
• parsley
• fennel
• sage
• lemon balm
• woodchip / pineneedle path

with design by FOMP, as redrafted by Ruth Robinson.

Ruth Robinson is an active member of the London Permaculture group, on whose web site images from the 1st birthday celebrations for a similar project she is involved with can be found http://londonpermaculturalists.ning.com ... e=activity

There are several issues this project raises, one of which is whether park users prefer fruit and vegetables to parks standards, such as roses and bedding plants. There certainly is a trend that way, and as readers of the Forum will know, I like seeing a combination of fruit and veg growing, along with more purely visually attractive plants, and in public spaces where they can send out the message that growing fruit and veg is interesting - e.g. these neighbours' front garden that I cultivate

I think most people like it - certainly the neighbours I arranged it with do, and various passers-by say nice things - but it's not exactly smart, because I look after it in a way that doesn't cost me any money. Hence the netting over some Brussels sprouts rigged up with bamboo canes and old plastic water bottles, and the not-particularly-cared-for grass. I also know that some people think it's a bit odd to do this with a front garden, but as long as everyone who should be consulted is happy, then I think that's okay.

The question with the Pavilion Triangle is whether we require fussier standards in space which is fully public, in the sense of being publicly owned as well as visible, and whether everyone has been properly consulted.

[Ramon]

I have to say that I agree with the first post and I appreciate it is not yet finished. Neither the sketch or the work done to date fills me with confidence that it will be ok when finished.

In my opinion, it makes the entrance to the Park look messy - I am not opposed to this style but it looks out of place in this prominent position. I also agree that a woodland walk should be amongst trees - like the one that seems to have been incorporated in the new play area - why not expand this.

I would prefer to see this project relocated somewhere more appropriate and the formal beds re-introduced - there are lots of other areas in the Park where a community project could enhance a neglected area.

Whilst I support these types of projects there does seem to be a lot of new projects being started when surely a more sustainable strategy would be to enhance what is already there? Who is going to maintain this space from now on?

The garden to the side of the pavilion is well placed and enhanced this neglected corner which I think was time and effort well spent - but why were the metal railings replaced with a cheap wooden fence?

[mummycat]

..

[Tim Lund]

but it's not exactly smart, because I look after it in a way that doesn't cost me any money. Hence the netting over some Brussels sprouts rigged up with bamboo canes and old plastic water bottles, and the not-particularly-cared-for grass

That really is a mess, TIm! If I was your neighbour, I'd want you to clear that up.... it's lucky you don't live in a conservation area! It's really a matter of aesthetic standards, isn't it? I think that's why I don't get enthusiastic over allotments - I just couldn't put up with other people's junk.

Well, thank you for that, Mummycat. I hope you appreciated that I chose that shot to illustrate why some people might not be happy with growing fruit and veg. The alternative is this

which is part of my informal deal with my neighbours - and the wider public.

Ramon raises the question of "a more sustainable strategy" - but in the context of growing fruit and veg, this does tend to push towards unsightly features such as my old plastic bottles. There's a sort of cop-out here, in that there are some fruit and veg which look attractive and don't require this sort of unsightly protection, or much time spent on them. This works especially well with many herbs - and lavender as above can also be considered such. But some of the plants in this project will require protection and a fair bit of time and effort - e.g. the strawberries, gooseberries and currants.

And while bedding plants - however attractive - are demanding of time and budget, I don't think this is true of roses. If FOMP wanted to revive that bed, I think they would have done better to find someone who would care for the roses, which is just a matter of understanding how to prune them, and when to replace individual bushes when they get old and tired.

[Iris]

but it's not exactly smart, because I look after it in a way that doesn't cost me any money. Hence the netting over some Brussels sprouts rigged up with bamboo canes and old plastic water bottles, and the not-particularly-cared-for grass

That really is a mess, TIm! If I was your neighbour, I'd want you to clear that up.... it's lucky you don't live in a conservation area! It's really a matter of aesthetic standards, isn't it? I think that's why I don't get enthusiastic over allotments - I just couldn't put up with other people's junk.

What mess?? clear what up Mummycat?

I can only see plants,unless I have missed something?

We can debate we it starts looking like this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/6619625.stm

[Tim Lund]

What mess?? clear what up Mummycat?

I can only see plants,unless I have missed something?

Sorry everyone ,we can't please everyone. Stop moaning ,and look at the bright side of life
At least there is no flytipping nor litter!!

Thanks Iris, but I think Mummycat was only making the same point I'd been making, which is that not everyone wants to see fruit and veg being grown, unless perhaps they are also required to be prettied up - like the model allotment in St James' Park.

Re there being no litter ... well there is sometimes, but because I have negotiated actual rights to this garden* I feel some responsibility for it, so when I pass by I remove the occasional sweet wrapper or fried chicken box.

*A licence to occupy documented in emails and, I was told recently, minuted by the committee of the Housing Association who own the property.

[coll]

I actually think this IS OUR space to moan. Is this not a community forum about community issues? The changes that have gone on in Mayow park for the past few years claim to have all been done in the name of the 'Community.' However, I know of many people who have said they don't feel any sense of welcome extended to the actual community who live around and use the park - other than those directly involved in FOMP or some on this forum. Usually any questioning of decisions is met with this same aggression show above. Barking at people to 'stop moaning' isn't helping. I think some people need to remember that Mayo Park is for 'us' the public- many with whom are not directly involved with the garden project. Do we have no say whatsoever without risk of being met with aggression. A little bit of people skills and good PR would go a long way.

Also, there might not be any fly tipping at the moment but have you seen the park after a sunny weekend afternoon? The idea of rubbish bins seems completely foreign to some.

[simon]

Thanks for your responses.
I’m still not convinced that the south east triangle is the best possible site for the woodland paths and the fruit, veg and herb gardens. I think there is a place in public parks for formal beds of flowers and roses and that entrance, which serves the bowls club, is one of them.
As Tim says, roses just need someone who knows that they are doing to prune them. Bedding plants may have a limited lifespan but does that mean we should never use them? Also, I don’t really see that having maintenance done by volunteers is inherently better than having it done by contractors, except that they are cheaper. Is that the real issue here? Re the flower beds yet another victim of the Cuts?
I also question the lack of consultation about how Mayo Park is developed. Up until the New Year I used Mayo Park several times a week and nobody ever asked my opinion. Who, for example, decided that dogs should be banned from the centre and a cricket pitch be installed? That pitch looks way off being ready for use, by the way.
To be honest, I’ve given up on Mayo Park now and instead drive to Beckenham Place Park every day these days, where my dogs and I enjoy a woodland path that actually passes through a wood.

[coll]

Simon, I couldn't agree more!

[Tim Lund]

Since it's on my way to work, I thought I'd take a photo of the garden set up by the same designer last year in Brockley. Here it is



I know it's not going to persuade Simon and Coll - and I'm not actually trying to - but it's worth recognising that it looks a bit tidier than my bit of public cultivation.

Note the children's watering cans in the background. Nearby there was a secured off area with a whole lot more kids' stuff, including some raised beds in which peas were growing up the chain-link mesh securing the space. I should perhaps have taken a photo of this, because the immediate impact on me was far more 'this is interesting' than what is shown in the photo. On reflection, I think this is because the it was clear what it was all about - which is an argument for saying that if we're to have this sort of planting in public parks, they need to be explained in one way or another.

[Tim Lund]

One of the roses removed was in fact rescued, and is about to bloom again

[Rachael]

'Rescued' or tea-leafed, Tim?

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Tim Lund]

Rescued - not even hybrid tea leafed

[perryman]

Not exactly flower bed related, but at long long last it seems they are repairing some of the paths in Mayow park.
They've started on the paths by the playground - those ripped up by the machinery used to create Susan Wise's cricket square.

Good news, but I just hope they are not replaced with more of these woodland aggregate paths.

[Tim Lund]

The next Friends of Mayow Park quarterly meeting will be held on Tuesday 11th October 2011 at Forest Hill School starting at 7pm prompt. It will finish by 8.30pm. Topics for the meeting will include cricket and the Green Flag recently awarded to Mayow Park.
Go into the school via the gates on Dacres Road and explain to the security staff that you are coming to the Mayow Park meeting. We will find out on the evening which room we will be in.

http://friendsofmayowpark.blogspot.com/ ... eting.html