Begone Blasted Beast…Leave Spring Well Alone.
With this unwelcome return of the so called Mini Beast From the East...
Social Media…Does It Come With Benefits?
People often crack on about social media and how it's destroying the art of conversation, mutterings of dire warnings about its use for any manner of nefarious reasons. Well, I for one love it, not least because you can have interaction with literally hundreds of people that you might never come across in 'real life.' Such was the case this week. Enjoying A general online natter with someone on one of our Facebook pages and up popped an old photo of the Radipole gardens playing fields! (Many thanks to Alan Appleby who gave me permission to post it on here.) To say that I've been searching for something like...
Nurture Nature is on a Roll and Wildlife Will Win.
Even though we're supposed to be on the cusp of Spring, I'm sat here at my desk, clad in multiple layers, gas fires blasting out much welcome warmth, the Easterly winds's howling a hoolie and snow lies deep on the ground. Yet there is more to come so they say from this Beast from the East. I take heart though from the fact that in 6 weeks time the sun will be a'shining, the weather will be kind and bestow great warmth on our Nurture Nature and Welcome Wildlife event. ********* So grab a warming cuppa Settle down by a blazing fire. Sneak an early hot cross bun If that's what you...
Beat Winter Blues…Bring Back Brass Bands!
With the Beast from the East looming ever closer, maybe it's time to warm ourselves up with memories of far warmer weather and vivid green parks. The Friends committee are geared up to holding an event every month of the year and this years are almost in the bag. Just a few are remaining bits and pieces to firm up on, minor details and final dates. (Check out our our event calendar here https://radipoleparkandgardensfriends.wordpress.com/events-2018-2/) In the past, one thing that many parks were renown for was music. It's where the public went to immerse themselves in the cheerful melodies of the local town band or toe tapping to the...
Not Quite What the Advert Promised!
The problem with organising garden events is that sometimes Mother Nature doesn't play ball. So it was with our fruit pruning in the Community Orchard. The poster promised so much, sunshine and warmth. ...
Forget the Beast from the East…Spring has Sprung in Radipole Gardens
Depressed with all this talk of the Beast from the East...
The Creation; Four Men and a Floating Tin Shack
Four Men and a Floating Tin Shack Now you might well wonder what on earth the grainy old photo of four men and a floating tin shack has to do with our beautiful park and gardens. Let me explain....
A Walk in the Park
So fed up with the grey and gloomy days, it was literally a breath of fresh air to see the sun in the sky once more. Garbed in numerous layers of warm clothing it was time to venture forth and see what's happening down in the gardens. The first things that caught my eye were the little crocus braving the cold winds, though it maybe wasn't quite warm enough to persuade them to open fully. But as anyone knows...
The Ground Beneath your Very Feet…
As a continuation of the history of Radipole park and gardens, here's a couple more photos from the 1930's showing their construction. Pictured below is the partly infilled, swampy land, and the original, very much shorter, Alexander Bridge, with Hanover Road running off into the distance and Lyndhurst Terrace facing the the tracks. Most of the garden's were formed with the dredging of Weymouth's estuary floor, redeposited via pump to infill the ground. Only problem was, it wasn’t filling it quite quick enough. The solution? It also became the town’s tip. Unfortunately, those frequent dumpings of debris brought with them a certain noxious aroma! Definitely not one that local residents...
Prim and Proper or Wild and Woolly?
However, nowadays, many gardens are trending towards more naturalistic beds and borders, planted up with perennials and mulched to keep those infernal weeds at bay. Does this make our gardens any less beautiful?...