Welcome to February in Cannizaro Park. As we move towards spring, the park is readying itself for its explosion of energy in the weeks ahead.
For now, visitors can enjoy the carpet of lavender crocus. The bulbs are everywhere you look. But before the burst of green distracts, we are focused on our remarkable collection of trees, particularly the myriad textures and colours of tree bark.
|
|
|
Cannizaro – park or arboretum?
|
|
|
Surveyors from the London Borough of Merton are updating the record of Cannizaro Park's trees.
Our Tree Team is working with the council to identify the condition and species of trees, as well as appropriate remedial works. In this current climate crisis, LBM Greenspaces is keen to protect notable trees. Future work may include air spading to reduce the compaction of roots and more mulched tree circles to reduce competition for precious resources.
While the survey is still in progress, the current tally shows Cannizaro has over 1200 trees and over 225 species. What an incredible legacy from all those tree donors from the past and present!
|
|
|
Friends' new website launches
|
|
|
We are delighted to announce that our new website is ready to view at www.cannizaropark.com. It's been a year in the making and represents the collective work and expertise of many volunteers and supporters. The new platform will guide visitors to the park, give information about the Friends and our many restoration projects and offer information about its flora and fauna.
We are grateful to have received the design and technical support in creating the site from our pro bono FoCP marketing partner Bright Pink Agency. BPA is an international marketing services group specialising in not-for-profit and franchise organisations. Chief Technology Officer, Jonie Iordache, is a park supporter and regularly walks her dog, Selma, there. She has been very generous with resources and her time over the past 12 months.
Our original website has served us very well for the past 15 years, thanks to Emma Hosking at Cow-Shed Startup. She created our original web presence and helped us keep it up-to-date during all that time. We would like to thank Emma for her sustained creativity, technical input and counsel.
We looked to some of the best examples in the world for inspiration in developing the new site – from as far away as the Central Park Conservancy in New York City, to our close ally: The Friends of Richmond Park. We understood that capturing the varied and beautiful imagery of Cannizaro Park was key, and thanks to the skill and dedication of our official park photographer, Francesca Snelling (www.akilipix.com), we now have a bank of stunning digital images.
We are also grateful for support from Richard True, a long-term FoCP gardening volunteer who has a particular interest in trees. He has helped create the tree section, providing copy and detailed tree photography.
We hope that you enjoy the results. As always, we welcome your feedback. Contact us at: marketing@cannizaropark.com with your suggestions.
|
|
Despite some frosty February mornings, the valiant volunteers turned out in good numbers and warmed themselves up by working on wintry tasks. As ever, we are eternally grateful to Anne Peacock and the team for their dedicated work in making the park more beautiful and sustainable, whatever the weather.
Roses were pruned and mulched in the Rose Garden and the surrounding area. In the Keir Garden, the volunteers transplanted several bushes to enhance the area around the climbing roses on the back wall. The newly planted trees had a mulch, and on one warm(ish) Tuesday morning, they tackled bed weeding, too.
|
|
|
|
Volunteers tackled brambles in the wild area alongside the outer wall of the Italian Garden but left the nettles to attract butterflies and other insects.
|
|
|
Joe Rushton and Mark Gilby fixed pipes to the gutters of the buildings near the Diana statue to ensure good water flow into the kindly donated water butts.
|
|
|
Look out for our Tuesday team. Over the next few weeks and into March, the focus will still be mulching and preparing the beds for summer.
|
|
Amongst our diverse tree collection in Cannizaro Park, we have several magnificent examples of the Cupressaceae family. Dawn redwoods (genus Metasequoia) are one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. A native of central China, the tree is deciduous and is also known as the water larch.
You can discover one pair of dawn redwoods in the Italian Garden as you walk down the path with the gates behind you (pictured above). And through the bottom gate beyond the Italian Garden, opposite the stream, there is another. A very tall one can also be found in the Bog Garden, just above the pond.
|
|
At this time of year, in addition to their distinctive copper-coloured bark, they also have beautiful ‘panicles’.
These look like large clumps of catkins but are, in fact, racemes, or flowers. They appear in clusters at the end of branches.
If you are ever in the park at sunset, the trees in the Italian Garden form a magnificent horizon set against the golden and orange sky.
|
|
|
|
When you were little, did you ever take a piece of paper and a wax crayon and make bark rubbings? I did! The form, texture and colour vary greatly from one tree to the next. At this time of year, when the frost thaws and the sun burns through the mist, we sense spring is in the air. But before the leaves crowd your view, it is an opportunity to look closely at the bark of our tremendous trees.
This vital part of a tree helps prevent it from drying out in hot weather while insulating it in the cold, as well as keeping at bay attacking fungi, insects and mammals. I highly recommend the inspiring tree trails on our new website. As yet, a 'bark trail' has not been devised. So here is a little game of 'hunting the tree' for you! |
|
|
|
The rough cinnamon bark of Metasequoia glyptostroboides, or dawn redwood, in the Italian Garden.
|
|
|
Sequoia sempervirens, or the coast redwood, with deeply creviced bark, is in Lady Jane's Wood.
|
|
|
|
Acer davidii subsp. grosseri: green bark with a blue tint. An elegant snake bark maple in Lady Jane's Wood.
|
|
|
A treat to find! Arbutus menziesii is in Lady Jane's Wood. So dramatic against a blue sky on a sunny day!
|
|
|
|
The great Pinus nigra with huge bark plates is in the Mediterranean Garden.
|
|
|
The oh-so-smooth bark of Lagerstroemia, or crape myrtle, is in the Italian Garden.
|
|
Jane Watkins
FoCP Horticulture Trustee
|
|
|
We always welcome new members and supporters to help the Friends of Cannizaro Park.
|
|
|
