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Living Spaces in the Long Border

In the summer of 2005 the Friends of the Botanical Gardens (FOBS) were awarded £15,000 from a fund called Living Spaces. This is a scheme developed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is designed to make money available to community groups for the improvement of open spaces in their neighbourhood. FOBS have used this money to restore the Long Border, which runs most of the way along the west and south boundary wall of the Gardens. This border was never included in the overall Lottery-funded restoration, had received very little attention over many years, and was a mess of overgrown shrub and weed growth.

It was decided to establish collections of North and South American plants here, as these geographical areas were not well represented in the Gardens. A planting design (covering 11 A3 sheets at 1:50 scale) was produced over the summer, together with a work programme of site clearance, treatment and planting. During initial tree work one or two trees were removed, canopies lifted and stumps ground out. Volunteers and staff then spread gravel and manure (about 60 tons of each) over the whole border, which was then rotovated. In spite of this treatment, the border’s heavy clay still needs careful handling

Planting started in the fine dry weather of mid-January, and was completed very quickly with small groups taking responsibility for each A3 sheet of the planting plan. The South American section lies at the top end of the border, close to the restored Mediterranean Climate Garden (Area L on the interactive map of the gardens), and lying within the shelter of Birch Hill (Area E), the highest point in the Gardens. North American collections continue down the border, with a substantial area devoted to appropriate Ericaceous plants, e.g. Kalmias, Phyllodoces, Ledum, Vaccinium and the relatively unusual North American rhododendrons; (these will complement the more widely grown Himalayan rhododendrons in the neighbouring Asian Garden (Area N)). The lower part of the border is quite wet, and somewhat shaded by mature trees. Here ferns, myricas, nyssas, lobelias, etc. are concentrated to take advantage of the fairly reliable damp conditions throughout the growing season. North American Hamamelis and Fothergilla varieties will tie in to the nearby Woodland Garden (Area Q), where Hamamelis cultivars are being collected together to give glorious mid-winter colour.

The new plantings look thin as at the time of writing (spring 2006) as none of the herbaceous perennials or bulbs dared to emerge during the recent very frosty weather. In addition, part of the boundary wall collapsed some two years ago. Repair work started mid-February 2006, and planting of the affected area is necessarily delayed until the repairs are complete. Not quite all the plants have been sourced yet and some, e.g. erythroniums, will only be available autumn 2006. Nevertheless, the border looks profoundly better, and can only improve as plants mature or are found and planted.

FOBS are hugely grateful to Living Spaces for their most generous support, which has made it possible to completely rejuvenate this border, so that it can be integrated with the newly-restored Gardens and contribute to their beauty.