31 Jul 2021
At the end of July I went to have a look around some of the private gardens opened up by the annual Green Squares and Secret Gardens event. Sadly it was compressed into a single day this year, for various Covid-related reasons, it seems, so I didn't get to poke around too many places. I went to:
And snapped a few things in between, too. It was a lovely day—a bit too hot, if anything—and it was interesting to get into a few places I'd only ever seen from the outside, especially The Paragon and Cornwallis gardens, which are the least visible to passing strangers of all of them.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village Clifton Garden Clifton Open Garden Squares Green Squares and Secret Gardens open day The Polygon garden the polygon
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Text Recognition Tags: The Polygon communal garden- an update Welcome! Regular visitors and passers-by wili notice three big changes in the Polvgon communai garden this year. 1. The cherry tree at the west side has been felied (to give neighbours more light) and replaced with a slow growing Frosted Thorn. This should bear berries and provide good autumn colour. We have been busy planting perennials around the tree, although soil depth is stil limited by roots. To that end, we are mulching with compost and putting in smaller plants that we hope wil establish and grow well. 2. We are trying out a 'no mow policy in parts of the garden so we can see what plants arrive. You wil see that we have cut paths round the beds, and up to the sitting and compost areas for ease of access. So far, the most notable arrivals have been yamow, ragwort (which supports the cinnabar moth caterpiliar), red campion, yelow rattie, cranesbill and corn cockle. 3. We also took the plunge and established a pond where the oid firepit was situated up by the sitting area The pond has a population of frogs and water snails and we have spotted one dragon By so far but are hoping for more We have put in a solar powered aerator to keep the water ovygenated. Wildflower seeds around the pend took well and we have had a great crop of poppies. We weicome wildife: tawny owis, poistrelle bats, many butterflies, honey and bumble bees and a wide variety of birds goldfinch, dunnock, great spatted woodpecker. Plus foxes and the occasional badger. We hope you enjoy our garden. Apologies for the leck of refreshments, but many people are away so we are not up to speed. Next year, we hope to be back in full swing with refreshments, including Polvgon elderfiower cordial and home baked cakes. The Polygon communal garden- an update Welcome! Regular visitors and passers-by wili notice three big changes in the Polvgon communai garden this year. 1. The cherry tree at the west side has been felied (to give neighbours more light) and replaced with a slow growing Frosted Thorn. This should bear berries and provide good autumn colour. We have been busy planting perennials around the tree, although soil depth is stil limited by roots. To that end, we are mulching with compost and putting in smaller plants that we hope wil establish and grow well. 2. We are trying out a 'no mow policy in parts of the garden so we can see what plants arrive. You wil see that we have cut paths round the beds, and up to the sitting and compost areas for ease of access. So far, the most notable arrivals have been yamow, ragwort (which supports the cinnabar moth caterpiliar), red campion, yelow rattie, cranesbill and corn cockle. 3. We also took the plunge and established a pond where the oid firepit was situated up by the sitting area The pond has a population of frogs and water snails and we have spotted one dragon By so far but are hoping for more We have put in a solar powered aerator to keep the water ovygenated. Wildflower seeds around the pend took well and we have had a great crop of poppies. We weicome wildife: tawny owis, poistrelle bats, many butterflies, honey and bumble bees and a wide variety of birds goldfinch, dunnock, great spatted woodpecker. Plus foxes and the occasional badger. We hope you enjoy our garden. Apologies for the leck of refreshments, but many people are away so we are not up to speed. Next year, we hope to be back in full swing with refreshments, including Polvgon elderfiower cordial and home baked cakes.
I'm afraid that this is a bit of a badly-curated wander, where I mostly just popped out to find out a little of the history of Underfall Yard and poke around the various open workshops, and, in hindsight, really didn't take pictures in any kind of coherent order. So there's a lot of pictures, but they don't really tell the story that, in hindsight, I seem to have been trying to tell, of the unusual electrical substation in Avon Crescent, the Bristol Electricity that predates the National Grid but is still in use, the history of the hydraulic power house... It's a bit of a mess.
But I suppose sometimes these wanders—always chronologically presented in the order I walked and took photos—simply will sometimes be a bit of a mess. Let's hope you still get something out of it, anyway...
I only found out from a recent Times crossword that "shivers" are splinters.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Hotwells Underfall Yard Spike Island Docks Heritage Weekend
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Text Recognition Tags: SLIPWAY RESTORATION TIMBERS There has been a slipway at Underfall Yard since at least the 1850s and records show that the wooden cradle has been renewed every thirty to forty years. It was last restored by Underfall Yard Trust in the 1990s and after accommodating a variety of vessels weighing up to 150 tons, it is now in need of repair. This challenging project is being completed by Underfall Yard's boatbuilders. Parts of the cradle will be rebuilt using a hardwood called Greenheart The density, hardness and stiffness of Greenheart make it ideal for use in marine environments where strength and durability are paramount. Greenheart is also rot-resistant and can last for many years even when fully submerged which means the end of the cradle nearest to the harbour can remain underwater. GREENHEART n so bevSETHAT THONE OFTHE EW TSOr WOOD THAT DORINT OATHE sornst WOO0INTHEWORLD BALSA WHCH HASA DEND TY OF 1KG R CUBIC ETRL CABINHEART HASA DNSITY OF ID40 KG PE CUBICHETR THE SZFANDwtICHT OFTHETHIEEMA THISA CHA vON HOECY THE TOUHES OF TH WOOD ALO HAEESIT DCAT TO WOM WITH UNDERFALL YARD SLIPWAY RESTORATION TIMBERS There has been a slipway at Underfall Yard since at least the 1850s and records show that the wooden cradle has been renewed every thirty to forty years. It was last restored by Underfall Yard Trust in the 1990s and after accommodating a variety of vessels weighing up to 150 tons, it is now in need of repair. This challenging project is being completed by Underfall Yard's boatbuilders. Parts of the cradle will be rebuilt using a hardwood called Greenheart The density, hardness and stiffness of Greenheart make it ideal for use in marine environments where strength and durability are paramount. Greenheart is also rot-resistant and can last for many years even when fully submerged which means the end of the cradle nearest to the harbour can remain underwater. GREENHEART n so bevSETHAT THONE OFTHE EW TSOr WOOD THAT DORINT OATHE sornst WOO0INTHEWORLD BALSA WHCH HASA DEND TY OF 1KG R CUBIC ETRL CABINHEART HASA DNSITY OF ID40 KG PE CUBICHETR THE SZFANDwtICHT OFTHETHIEEMA THISA CHA vON HOECY THE TOUHES OF TH WOOD ALO HAEESIT DCAT TO WOM WITH UNDERFALL YARD