Peace in the Park

11/05/12: Natures full agenda. Why not pay a visit?

Peace in the Park Team — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:25:48 +0000

So here I am blogging away over the last few months, with a view to conveying information and stimulating interest in the wonderful landscape and gardens here in Nuneham. Then today, I suddenly realised that I haven’t let anyone know that the grounds are actually open to the public throughout the year and not just for the ‘Peace in the Park’ Festival. Whatever month you choose to visit there is something to delight the senses. In January and February, while still in the throws of winter, nature’s stalwarts, the Snowdrops and Aconites, are inspiring those less hardy specimens to sample the delights of a new year. In late March and April daffodils and narcissi herald the beginning of the spring flowers and Magnolias and Cherries fanfare the coming of the new green mantles on the many trees.

Vivid colours of the new season

Late April and early May, the bluebells carpet the woodland and the magnificent wisteria cascades down the rear of the building (actually smothering the old external spiral staircase) and Rhododendrons come into their full regalia.

Wisteria on the back wall of the house

June is heady with the scent of roses while in July the fragrance of the various herbs, on the lower terrace, will perfume the air when brushed against. August, the hot spots come into their own with dahlias, cannas and asters amongst the many late flowering herbaceous perennials. September is rich with the reds, purples and blacks of the fruits of autumn that somehow are suggestive of the darker days of winter to come.

Rich autumn colours of natures harvest

October bids adieu to the passing garden year with a final spectacular display of russets and yellows of the falling leaves before finally the shadows, mists and frosts of winter envelope the scenery. Since our arrival in 1993, the gardens have been open to visitors - no we don’t hold open days but anyone who wishes to spend some time in the grounds is welcome to drop in to our Reception. No, we don’t charge either. You may be interested to know, particularly in this day and age of ‘securing returns on investments,’ that it has been the ethos of the Brahma Kumaris not to charge for any of the services they offer, whether related to residential or non-residential 'activities'. This means that any donation that a visitor might make is done with an energy of appreciation. This is not a payment but a contribution, that reflects individual financial circumstances, towards the work of the organisation, so enabling others to take benefit. Mother Nature has a full and varied agenda and, like spirituality, should be available to everyone at no cost. Why not come and sample her wares?

29/04/12: One Swallow Doesn’t Make a Summer!

Peace in the Park Team — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:35:31 +0000

Swallows have long been associated with the coming of warmer summer months. The first sighting in 2012 in the Park was April 13th, eight days earlier than last year. Well actually, in truth, it was a house martin and no more have been seen since! That’s been the way in the last few years for the numbers are much smaller than maybe a decade ago. But what a remarkable journey they make – 10,000 miles twice a year. The UK swallow population winters in South Africa and Namibia and their return journey, across the Congo rainforest, the Sahara and up through Portugal and Spain, takes about six weeks. But where does the expression, found in the title, originate? The Young Man and the Swallow is one of Aesop’s Fables and was first recorded by Aristotle in about 300BC. It is associated with the proverb 'One swallow doesn't make a summer'. The fable is about a young man who spends all his money on gambling and high living until he has only a cloak to protect him from the weather. Seeing an unusually early swallow fly by, the man assumes that spring has come and sells his cloak so as to use the proceeds to recoup his fortune with a last bet. Not only does he lose his money but cold weather closes in again. Finding the swallow frozen to death, the young man blames it for deceiving him. The young man also dies of cold.

A woodcut from the 1814 edition of Samuel Croxall's The Fables of Aesop

The swallow has long been part of folklore. Also known as the 'svale' bird according to Danish folklore, the swallow received its name by trying to relieve the sufferings of Christ while on the cross by crying 'Svale, svale' which figuratively translates as 'Cheer up, cheer up!' In Scotland it was believed that the swallow had the blood of the Devil in its veins. If a swallow builds a nest in the eaves of your home, it is thought to be lucky and to be protective against fire, lightning and storms. Misfortune will follow if it suddenly abandons the nest. The swallow that flies into your home will bring considerable good fortune. A French belief tells that should one land on your shoulder then death is present. An almost universal belief held by farmers is said that to kill a swallow will result in the milk yield being poor and if you disturb the nest then the harvest will be a poor one. It was believed that the swallow carried two precious stones within their bodies: a red one to cure insanity and a black one thought to bring good luck. The swallow like the wren is credited with bringing fire to humankind, but both suffered as a result, hence the red feathers.

An instantly recognisable profile

I don’t know about all of the folklore aspects but one fact that is a useful one to remember is that if you want to know what the weather has in store, watch the height at which swallows fly: high indicates good weather and low that rain is on the way! Had more of them been seen in the last two weeks, they would definitely have been flying very low!!

23/04/12: Capability Brown’s influence on Nuneham Park

Peace in the Park Team — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:10:02 +0000

Nuneham Park is recorded on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade I, the highest designation, which means that it is of international importance.

Why grade 1? The present designed landscape and house were laid out by the Harcourt family from the mid eighteenth to the early twentieth century, incorporating the work of three nationally important landscape designers, William Mason, Capability Brown and W.S. Gilpin, and influenced by a range of other important figures in art and literature.

Probably, the most influential of the designers on Nuneham Park was Brown; this was the last of his commissions (1778 – 82) for he died in 1783.

So what are some of the indicators of a Brown landscape? It is probably best recognised through its use of planting in the form of pasture, enlivened with tree clumps, perimeter shelterbelts and screens of trees.

Nuneham Park as an example of a Lancelot 'Capability' Brown landscape

Brown planted skillfully so that dark evergreens would be used as a backdrop to highlight temples and other garden buildings. Another function of the planting was the screening of buildings so that they would not all be seen at once and would, instead, be revealed at set locations as a visitor walked (or rode) around the landscape.

The alternate use of evergreens and deciduous planting would allow for changes of mood as a visitor walked along path that threaded through the gardens and woodlands. He also contrived glimpses of the pastures, ponds and rivers through consciously planned openings between trees and shrubs. Brown's Walk to the south of the House is a classic example of this.

Trees take time to mature, so in order that his designs could be appreciated during his patrons’ lifetimes, Brown also invented a tree-moving machine to transplant mature specimens. The resultant landscape is recognisably English parkland, and was perfectly designed to encourage those eighteenth-century pursuits of hunting and shooting.

Brown's tree moving machine

Although Brown’s minimalist design aesthetic was fashionable there was criticism of this type of planting. In 1772, the architect William Chambers stated that ‘whole woods have been swept away to make room for a little grass and a few American weeds. Our virtuosi have scarcely left an acre of shade, nor three trees growing in a line, from Land’s End to the Tweed, and if their humour for devastation continues to rage much longer there will not be a forest-tree left standing in the whole Kingdom.’ In reality, however, it appears that Brown actually planted thousands of new trees when creating his shelter belts and clumps, predominantly oak, ash and elm.

Nuneham Park epitomizes the style of Brown

20/04/12: “Gardening requires as much skill as collecting litter!”

Peace in the Park Team — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:10:18 +0000

How much each one of us identifies with a particular image of ourselves or a particular role we play can govern how reactive we are to criticism of that sense of self or how much pleasure we feel when it is praised. This, of course, is a trap for it means that we are dependant, even in the most subtle way, on praise for our sense of self-worth. Self worth or esteem should not be tied up in what we do but associated with a greater (spiritual) sense of who we are and the associated qualities and virtues. I have been working with and developing this latter awareness for more than 20 years. Therefore, as someone who has been working in the gardens for nearly that length of time, it is interesting to observe my feelings to statements such as that shared by our Prime Minister, repeated in the title of this blog. Speaking, last year, about the Coalition’s priorities in allocating work to long-term unemployed, David Cameron suggested that gardening shouldn’t be treated as a real career for it requires only as much skill as collecting litter!

(Leaf) litter collection in hand, last autumn. (Groan .... bad joke!)

Does, the fact that I am including this in a blog mean that I was affected by the comment? Actually, no! However, it is interesting to note such comments as they are the ‘mirror of life’ by which we can each check our internal state. It should be said that such comments are, in fact, unusual. However, a much more frequently heard comment, from those who visit Nuneham Park, might be something like, “What a wonderful job you do in maintaining the gardens,” or “The gardens look stunning. Well done!” It is this sort of praise that may, and I emphasize, ‘may’ also be part of that subtle trap.

"The gardens look stunning. Well done!"

Let me share with you an example that might help to clarify this. A few years ago, I had run a course over two consecutive weekends. In the written feedback, one person had commented how the course was one of the best they had been on and what an excellent job I had done as the facilitator. On reading the feedback, the Centre Coordinator congratulated me, adding the very insightful comment, “Use this for your self respect and not for your ego.” It requires a clean mirror to always get it right!

13/04/12: Nuneham Park – A visual treat!

Peace in the Park Team — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:09:52 +0000

As I was trawling though our photo archive for appropriate photographs for this ‘Year in the Garden’ blog, I was struck by the many beautiful, striking and unusual images that have been amassed over the years: vases and vistas, Thames and trees, fields and flowers. Perhaps, if some of you are unsure whether you might attend the Peace in the Park event on 23rd and 24th June, have a look at the photos on the following link. They will give you a flavour of what to expect in the grounds where the event will take place - all the images are taken in June. Enjoy!

Summertime blues.... and pinks and reds. Click image to enter the Summer Gallery

06/04/12: Yawn … Another record-breaking month!

Peace in the Park Team — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:05:05 +0000

Once again the British weather is the focus of attention. March, which is usually wet and blustery, was unusually warm and dry. However, the local farmer, Ron Benson, was reminding me that such weather patterns are cyclic. Indeed, dry March weather is a common enough occurrence that a traditional saying marks such an event: ‘A peck of dust in March is worth a king’s ransom.’ (A ‘peck’ was a dry measure of two gallons; the ‘king's ransom’ may refer to the £100,000 raised to pay for the release of King Richard I, who, returning from the crusades, was held captive in Germany.) It is understood that when the ground is dry enough for dust to be seen during March planting, the seeds are going into near optimal conditions and this will be reflected in the yield at harvest.

A peck of dust in March ...

So how unusual (or not) has the weather been in Oxfordshire this year? Well the days recently have been cloudless and very warm; up to 20°C. Night-time temperatures have been broadly as expected: zero and just above.

Frosty March morning in Nuneham Park

The net result is that the trees and flowers are well on – the Chestnuts have a green mantle already and the majority of the daffodils are soon to be over!

March daffodils at their best

But what of a more definitive measure of our local weather! Apparently, annual rainfall patterns in Oxford have recently been characterised by large deviations from the long-term averages. A number of dry spells has been registered, most notably between 1988 and 1992, 1995, and in 1996 and 97. Ron’s measurements indicate that, since last May, instead of the usual 28” of rain here in Nuneham Park, we have only had about 6” – about 20% of that expected. Nuneham does seem to have its own micro-climate, though, particularly when it comes to rain. Many’s a time when it can be seen to be raining in Oxford and towards Wallingford and yet nothing has fallen here in the Park. It is rumored, by some of the older residents of the Park, to be as a result of Didcot power station which is due southwest from us! Whatever the cause, the result remains the same! Also, the unusual rainfall patterns have been accompanied by exceptionally mild temperatures! The post-1986 decades are actually the warmest on record, by a considerable margin. One of the consequences of the combination of low rainfall and high temperatures is high evaporation from the soil and transpiration from plants. Again, the last decade has been marked by persistently above average evapotranspiration in Oxfordshire, the consequence of which is a potential shortage of water. With the hosepipe ban already in place, this summer, without doubt, will be a challenging one for the plants and trees in the gardens.

Thanks to Pugh of th Daily Mail

30/03/12: A great sense of loss!

Peace in the Park Team — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:06:46 +0000

In an earlier entry, I spoke of the challenge of selecting trees to remove when thinning woodlands. The other side of the coin is where the decision is made for you. Sometimes trees succumb to disease or fungal infection and need to be felled as they constitute a safety hazard. When you have gardens and grounds landscaped in the late 18th century there is likely to be a number of trees that are reaching maturity. The ash, shown below, is such a tree at perhaps 200 years old. Many people have admired the tree as it towered nearly 100’ above the woodland path through Brown’s Walk although, until the trunk showed the split pictured, there was very little indication of any problem. The base had been covered by brambles. When cleared, the level of rot was quite apparent and the Council condemned the tree immediately. So, an easy call but a heartbreaking loss!

Towering, majestic ash, condemned because of rot that ultimately caused the tree to twist in the winds and split.

20/03/12: Using everything in a worthwhile way.

Peace in the Park Team — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:00:37 +0000

To work in the gardens of Nuneham Park brings a great deal of pleasure. It also brings a significant level satisfaction to know that more than 10,000 people each year make use of the Centre, many of whom will visit the grounds, as well. However, to open the grounds to the public brings with it some potential Health & Safety issues, most of which may never come to the attention of our visitors – that’s how it should be really. Let’s consider just one of those. As you can imagine, with the grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, a number of the trees survive from that period and so are of a significant age: 240 years minimum. (Just think, if trees could tell their story, what wonders we would be privy to!)

London Planes are amongst the tallest and oldest trees in Nuneham Park

With trees of this age, there will be a certain amount of dieback of branches. This in itself is not necessarily a problem. The problem is when this occurs 50, 70 or 100 feet above the ground! As we have a duty to protect the public, we must ensure that these branches don’t become a hazard by deciding to ‘make their way down to the ground at inappropriate times.’ Consequently, we survey the trees annually to identify where dieback is evident or where fungal infection is present. However, as a spiritual charity, our ethic to use all our resources in a worthwhile way, whether that is finances, materials, manpower or time. Tree surgeons are expensive and so are left until after the other resources have done what they can. Staff will cut out a number of the lower dead limbs, rope others and snap the dead wood away. Where a danger remains, the tree will be cordoned off until such time as one of the most useful collaborators in this type of work has had a chance to do their work – that of the winter storms. It is surprising how efficient they can be on the west-facing, exposed slopes in Nuneham Park in removing the unwanted dead material.

Dead beech branches brought down by the wind

The down side of this is that the wind doesn’t have the power to discern in quite the same way as a gardener. Consequently, there is also a certain amount of damage that occurs.

Wind damage to the Giant Redwood

Whatever! We’ll accept that. It certainly cuts down the time and expense invested in tree surgery.

13/03/12: Red kites in abundance.

Peace in the Park team — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:41:46 +0000

I first saw black kites when I visited India in 1991.There were perhaps as many as 30 or 40 at a time wheeling in the air above Dehli, easily distinguished by their great wingspan and distinctively forked tail. If you have visited any of India’s cities and also know a little about kites, in particular that they are scavengers, you will understand why the two have made such a marriage of convenience! Its cousin, the red kite, common across Great Britain some three hundred years ago is a magnificent, big bird of prey, whose russet plumage makes it much more attractive than the black kite. In medieval times, it fed in the streets of London, where it was given special protection for its useful role in cleansing the streets.

: Red kites' size and striking colour is best appreciated when in flight

Following the persecution of red kites in the 19th century, both by shooting and poisoning, only a small population remained in Wales at the end of the last century. However, it was around the same time as that visit to India, that the red kite was reintroduced into England, near Stokenchurch, just 12 miles to the south east of Nuneham Courtenay, as the kite flies. Since then, travelling between the Retreat Centre and London, we have seen the gradual but steady rise in numbers of the birds, languidly circling over the M40. About 6 or 7 years ago, we saw the first bird over the gardens here and then every year subsequently. Last year, a pair built a nest in the woods but never raised a family. Perhaps they came to realise that they were uncomfortably close to the house and therefore to people. Well, as of last week, a pair can again be seen to be carrying nesting materials into one of the big trees, in a different part of the garden. We shall watch, from a distance, with interest. Apparently, when they build they create large, twig nests, decorated with wool or scraps of plastic and paper.

: Red kites nest in tall trees near open landscapes

While a large bird, it is not strong or aggressive. Usually we see the kite being mobbed by crows but today three kites ganged up on one crow and continued to dive-bomb it in the tree top. Apparently, it can be very protective of the nest area, but not of the whole breeding territory. Let’s see how we get on together this year! As I don’t have a zoom lens, I have taken these excellent images of the internet, from ‘Northern Kites.’

05/03/12: Box Blight Blues – the continuing story.

Peace in the Park Team — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:51:34 +0000

So, it’s official. It is blight! However, the news is not all bad …seemingly! If you too have box in your gardens you may be interested in the outcome. There are two fungal species that cause Box Blight and the plant sample, analysed by the RHS indicates, that we have the less virulent of the two - Volutella buxi. Usually, the fungus is introduced into a garden through new box plant introductions. The culprit here in Nuneham Park is almost certainly four small conical bushes purchased e few years ago!

The culprit box plants - the source of infection

So what are our options? Well, there are three approaches we can take, each of increasing severity. The first and least intrusive, involves a number of different step. To restrict the fungal growth, the plants need to be in the ‘best possible’ condition. To that end, this week we ‘raked’ out all the dead twiggy branches from within the hedge, regardless of the gappy effect it left behind - to increase the air flow within the hedge is a plus point - and vacuumed up as much of the dead leaf material from around the hedge, spores being spread through rain-splash. Apparently, the fungal invasion is facilitated by wounds to the plant, which is often the hedge-cutting operation. In our case, this was certainly enhanced by significant numbers of mussel scale. Hence, the second step for us has been to spray the hedge with a suitable insecticide (Provado). With this done, we then fed the hedge to promote fresh growth.

Mussel scale damage can open the door to box blight infection

The only thing remaining for us to do is to ensure that the hedge has sufficient moisture available to it through the summer months so it doesn’t become stressed. So, now we wait! If this doesn’t work and I emphasise the word ‘if,’ the second level of control is somewhat more drastic! It would involve cutting the plants right back to below the lowest branches, watering and feeding and, with the judicious use of spray, ensure the new growth remains clean from any ‘wandering’ spores. This approach does assume that the fungal infection is not within the main stem beneath the cut. Finally, if all else has failed, and we won’t know until 2014, then the third option is to grub out the whole hedge – 160m of it! What would replace it? Apparently, Ilex eliptica is a valuable substitute! I do feel that it would be a good precaution to feed, water and spray with insecticide the other mature box plants around the garden, even though they are showing no signs of infection. It would be such a shame to see bushes and indeed trees that are nearly 200 years old, succumb to this disease because we hadn’t taken sufficient precautions.