Ivydene Gardens Home: Mission Statement

Brookweed Fruit

Chris Garnons-William's mission is to educate and inform as many people on how to garden successively using organic methods and companion planting. This involves design, construction and maintenance of private gardens. It also involves creating Photo Galleries to compare the flower, foliage, shape/habit, fruit/seeds and in flower beds of all cultivated and native to UK wildflowers either grown and/or sold in the UK to aid your choice of plants for mail-order directly from the supplier to you.

Tree Facts

According to the Kent and Medway Landcover Survey in 2003, 12.5% of Kent was covered in woodland in 1999.

Trees help reduce the 'greenhouse effect' by absorbing CO2. One acre of trees removes 2.6 tons of CO2 per year.

2 mature trees (or a 25 feet by 25 feet lawn) provides enough oxygen for a family of 4.

One person causes about 10 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide to be emitted a year. 1 tree removes about 1 tonne of CO2 per year. Planting 30 trees per person will remove each person's carbon debt for that year.

20 trees can offset the polluting effects of 1 car driven 60 miles.

The presence of trees can increase the value of a property by up to 20%.

If you can maintain your garden to produce as much oxygen as possible then you and the others on this planet can breathe.

From The Times of 15th March 2006 :-

"Food transport now accounts for a quarter of all HGV miles in the UK and is responsible for almost 2 per cent of our annual carbon emissions. Air freight is the biggest culprit - the number of planes rushing us our Ugandan mange tout and Brazilian figs has doubled in 10 years".

 

The high-food-miles food that the journalist had consumed on a Saturday and Sunday had travelled 153,290 miles from the producer abroad via the supermarket to his home. If each item he had eaten only weighed 4 ounces per mile travelled, and he weighed 200 lbs, then his weight of food would have travelled 191.6 miles. If he had used his car to travel this distance, then it would need 64 trees for those 2 days and 11656 trees per year to offset the pollution created.

The low-food-miles food he had consumed for a different 2 days had originated from this country and it had travelled 899 miles. If he had used his car to travel 1.1miles, then it would need 0.37 trees and 69 trees per year to offset the pollution created.

From the Countryside Survey 2000 produced by DEFRA, there is 1.5 million hectares of Broadleaved woodland and 1.4 million hectares of Coniferous Woodland in the UK in 2000. Broadleaved woodland only has its foliage for 2/3rds of the year. There is 2.47 acres to the hectare and about 60 million population in the UK, which gives an average of 0.1 acres of usable woodland per person per year. If a tree is planted every 5 yards, then 195 trees could be planted per acre, giving 19.5 trees per person.

Even if we ate food produced in this country, we would still require 3 times the woodland cover that we have and 600 times the woodland cover if we ate that food imported from abroad.

If you could produce any of your own food on your own land, this would produce a reduction in pollution.

 

 

Independent of climate, forest cover in southern Amazon may fall to 20% by 2016 (03/09/2008).
Forest cover in the "Arc of Deforestation" of southern Amazonia will decline to around 20 percent in 2016 due to continued logging and conversion of forests for cattle pasture and soy farms, report researchers writing in the journal Environmental Conservation. Analyzing high resolution satellite data from 1984 through 2004 for the Alta Floresta region in northern Mato Grosso, Fernanda Michalski, Carlos Peres and Iain Lake of the University of East Anglia found that forest cover declined from 91.1 percent to 41.7 percent between 1984 and 2004. They note that while the deforestation rate has slowed to around 2 percent per year since peaking at more than 8 percent annually in late 1980s to mid-1990s, renewed expansion of road networks will enable loggers to increasingly exploit remaining forests, leading to degradation and likely eventual conversion for agricultural use. Overall Michalski and colleagues forecast that forest cover in Alta Floresta will fall to 21 percent by 2016, a decline of 77 percent since 1984.

THE AMAZON RAINFOREST PROVIDES OXYGEN FOR THE WORLD - IF THIS DECLINE CONTINUES US HUMANS WILL HAVE NO OXYGEN TO BREATHE.

Cobtree Manor Park is where I and my friend take her dog for a 2 hour walk every week. See Map Cobtree Manor Park and Cobtree Manor 18 hole Public Golf Course (1golf.eu picture shows the golf course with its fairways to the left of the point 2/3rds across the picture from the left, with 2 grassed areas dotted with trees behind a hedge of trees above that golf course - that area is where people walk their dogs) occupy 50 acres of parkland displaying a diverse and maturing collection of trees and shrubs. I would be surprised if Cobtree Manor Park grassed area occupied more than 6 of those 50 acres. The Park Ranger and Maidstone Borough Council have decided that every dog will be put on a lead at this public place with no method of allowing that dog any exercise unless the owners can run with the dog under their byelaws of 1998.

Cobtree Manor Park

To reduce dating in the woods of Cobtree Manor Park (seen as the top right section of the 1golf.eu picture below the Industrial Estates) and to improve the amenities, The Cobtree Officer of Maidstone Borough Council, King Street, Maidstone, Kent. ME15 6JQ has produced a Draft Master Plan and is requesting comments to be forwarded to that Cobtree Officer by noon on Friday 16 April 2010. A copy of the plan is available at Cobtree Manor Cafe for inspection and from this link. As of 9 April the local dog walking area has been moved to the furthest point away from the car park at the end of the woods and notices have been put up showing dogs on leads instead of roaming free.

"The Master Plan sets out a number of improvements which should increase the number of visitors to the park whilst maintaining its heritage and many of its delightful rural features.

Cobtree Manor Park was bequeethed to the people of Maidstone by the late Sir Garrard Tyrewhitt-Drake. Maidstone Borough Council maintains the park as public open space and may, with the consent of the Cobtree Charity and Kent County Council, provide additional facilities for the benefit of the people of Maidstone and other members of the general public.

The master plan proposes a number of new facilities and the council would like to hear your views on each, as well as your views on the overall scheme. Please complete the table overleaf and return it as indicated by noon on Friday 16 April 2010.

Your comments and contributions will be considered carefully by the council, and will help us develop the park in a way which reflects your wishes." from the Cobtree Manor Park - Questionnaire. Written comments on paper should be sent to the Cobtree Officer Brian Latimer or emailed to him at brianlatimer@maidstone.gov.uk and must be in by Friday 16th April 2010.

Comments

It is noted that notices in the park have been requesting members of the untrained public to assist in pruning and clearing in the park. This they have done under the supervision of the staff; to the extent that most of the undergrowth under the trees has been cleared allowing the wind to blow straight through and the loud noise of the motorway to reach the other end of the park. We can now see the Industrial Estate of Aylesford, which we could not before.

In doing this clearing, we did point out to the staff a large area of Tuberous Comfrey which was in a thicket by the Old Iron Gates leading to the hill with the Elephant House on it. The thicket has now been pruned, the Tuberous Comfrey been trampled on and is no longer visible. From Derby City Council Flora of Derbyshire "Tuberous Comfrey is a very rare casual perennial of waysides and rough ground. In recent times, only four locations have been reported, all in lowland, southern and eastern parts of the county (Allen Wood SK3175; Scarcliffe SK4968; Brook Farm SK3027, near Caldwell SK2618). While certainly indigenous to northern Britain, an older record from Crich (SK35) for 1913 has been taken to suggest the plant was once also native to Derbyshire (Clapham 1969)." The proposed rerouting of the Bridle Path to behind the existing pond at the top of the hill with the Elephant House on it would destroy another area of Tuberous Comfrey and trample over a small cemetery of little animals. "It grows wild in European woodlands in damp, dappled shade, & along riverbanks. In the garden it requires persistent moisture & falls flat on a hot dry day, though it won't be as sickly as it momentarily appears & a good ground-soaking perks it right up. So long as it does not experience drought, it will adapt to a wide range of soil conditions from loamy to sandy to clayey, with pH ranging from a bit acidic to a bit alkaline." from paghat.com. Drought will now occur where it was by the Old Iron Gates since the thicket has been "pruned".
We would be sorry to lose the butterflies on the bluebells, bramble and ivy that would be restricted to only the very small area of proposed Wildlife Meadow by the Woods at the bottom of a hill with water springs on it. The wildlife is now being excluded from all the other areas by the "pruning", so that the nettles, brambles etc which had for instance the butterfly life cycle included; are now being ruthlessly removed to create a garden, not a park, with neat little areas. Hopefully the remaining rabbits might be housetrained to mow the grass in rows!

The proposed rerouting of the Bridle Path would also disturb the declining numbers of Great Crested Newts who use that pond.

The proposed Local Dog Walking Area has been placed furthest from the Park Car Park on a 45 degree sloped part of the wood where either badgers or foxes have had their set or lair, with a muddy horizontal path through it, and trampling on the orchids if one strays from that 30 yard length path to use the full area of slope. This Local Dog Walking Area is located in the 3rd Thick line of trees from the right hand side of the bottom of the 1golf.eu picture and you may have the added benefit of being hit by straying golf balls. Since 80% of the people who walk in the area from those Iron Gates up to the Pond and through the grassed areas are walking their dogs, it is assumed that implementing the proposed Master Plan will involve having to either carry their dogs to the Local Dog Walking Area or have them on short leads to that area. At 61 and my friend being 27 years older than me, we would not be strong enough to carry the dog, and we would be sorry to lose the facility to have the bitch unleashed as we can at the moment in all of the Cobtree Manor Park. As of April 9ht this Local Dog walking Area has been moved to the furthest point away from the Golf Club house but still within range of stray golf balls.

Lizzie is a P.A.T. Dog (Pets as Therapy Dog), who looks forward to the exercise in the Park on the days either side of when she visits and comforts the sick in Rochester. "Pets As Therapy is a national charity founded in 1983. It is unique in that it provides therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats. Since its beginning over 23,000 P.A.T. dogs have been registered into the Pets As Therapy scheme. Every year some of these retire and new dogs, having first been examined and passed on health, temperament, suitability and stability grounds, join Pets As Therapy." It would be a shame to stop this beneficial exercise for a working 14 year old Border Collie.

It is interesting that a lake is proposed that close to the Cafe, with the likelihood of flies pestering the eaters. Presumably the water in it would come from the public mains supply. Why not have used the water from the springs on the hill with the Elephant House on it and the water draining past the old Iron Gates into the ditch beyond? Line the end of the ditch with a pond liner and have the water being used by the rapidly disappearing rabbits and squirrels. The Island beds of Trees and Shrubs with nettles and brambles used to provide shelter from the dogs and people, but these are now being "pruned" to leave no shelter, but it does make it easier to use a tractor mower near them. This lake would be the other side of the Car Park, thus distracting the flies from crossing to the Cafe or Exhibition Areas. The staff did point out to us on the 9th of April an improvement for the wildlife by weaving the cut down branches through the 2 rails and post fence between the park and the golf course with the intention of allowing the bramble to grow through it. I am grateful for the superior knowledge of these staff who consider that rotting timber will not rot the rails of a wooden fence and nor will the bramble - entwined in those rotting branches stopping the wind from going through the space between those rails - not cause those rails to be broken, but we must be grateful for the short time within the life cycle of the butterfly that they will be able to use this facility before the cycle is ended in the autumn/winter clearout and them being shredded.

The Raised Cycle Path in the bottom woods does not seem to have a large enough width to allow ambulances to come and take away the cyclists who have fallen off it. This Cycle Path is at the other end of the woods, so how are you going to stop the cyclists from cycling in the wood, round all the proposed new pathways or on the grass between the car park and the woods, which they have done during the week from the 9th to the 16th April? Shame about the wild flora that might be growing there with its wildlife isn't it? Is Mote Park in Maidstone not big enough for the cyclists?

The new paths up the hill to the rest of the grassed areas may exceed the maximum gradient required for wheelchairs, perhaps those people could be catered for?

One of the walkers we met did say that "Kent County Council now has a policy of banning dogs from public places" and that this might be the policy here?

Since a majority of Cobtree Manor Park has been allocated to the Golf Course in the 1960's, could we not still have a larger area than 30 yards of muddy track to walk the dog who is assisting us?

Leave the area beyond the old Iron Gates to the walkers and people in wheelchairs to have restful walks, and put the children in the remaining area with its woods below it instead of them being allowed to cycle round the entire park. Fence that area off to prevent 4x4s from driving in circles on the grass for their fun, which they did last year, from the Old Iron Gates to the Road by the Entrance, and up from the gates through the cleared woods to stop the access there with metal security fencing or concrete anti-tank bollards. Lock those gates, so that only the staff can get through in vehicles to mow the grass, collect the litter or maintain the trees/shrubbery. Kent Wildlife Trust is across the road from the Golf Course and could assist in plants/wildflower meadows/ponds to create a more friendly place for wildlife and for us to study it with their information about the flora and wildlife - badgers, squirrels, butterflies, great crested newt, tuberous comfrey in the Llama Barn. The current policy of "pruning" everything kills off any overwintering wildlife (caterpillars etc) when put through the shredder - if only 1/3 of the area was tackled each year by getting rid of dead, damaged or diseased material, and then the crossing branches, the wildlife like the badgers might survive by migrating to another part of the park every 2 years. The pruned branches could be put in heaps by the boundary shrubbery to provide material for wildlife like Staghorn beetles. This would also leave the undergowth alone for 2 years, which would reduce the noise from the motorway, the wind howling through and provide shelter for the wildlife from the humans passing by or through that area. The flora could be noted and notices put up to show it to the public, rather than them trampling all over it in the woods, boundary shrubbery or island beds for at least half of the remaining part of the Cobtree Manor Park, when you consider how much has been given of the estate to the few who play golf.

Since there have only been 2 visitors to this site who have emailed me in the last 2 years, the above comments may be a waste of time, since written comments on paper to the Cobtree Officer Brian Latimer or emailed to him at brianlatimer@maidstone.gov.uk must be in by Friday 16th April 2010 and not emailed to me.