A Harrogate man is donating money raised from his garden display to the Philippines.

Paul Ivison, of Mayfield Terrace, decorates his garden with themed displays at different points in the year.

Mr. Ivison, who has lived in the area for 15 years, told the Stray Ferret it takes him about three hours to put together the display.

He said:

“I started doing this three years ago to put smiles on people’s faces and to spread some joy.”

Last year, his garden had 12 trees but this year he has 18 trees in his display.

Mr. Ivison tries to stay sustainable when creating his display, sourcing his Christmas trees from Freecycle and Freegle which are both charity organisations that aim to increase reuse and reduce landfill with a service where people can give away things that would have been thrown away.

Paul Ivison will be reusing the trees through the organisations Freegle and Freecycle

In December 2021, he started fundraising by selling toys to raise money for family homes that were destroyed by typhoon Rai that hit the Philippines last year.

He raised £700 which was used to make repairs.

This year, he will be sending any money raised to a Catholic priest, who will distribute it to those he can help after another typhoon hit the North of the country on November 23.

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Mr. Ivison said the people of Harrogate enjoy his garden:

“Lots of positive reaction with people coming up to me and saying it brightens up their mood and their kids always look forward to seeing it.”

Mr. Ivison has more than 200 toys on display and for sale with more being added every day.

The Christmas display will be up until January 9. Donations can be made here.

Children at Springwater School in Starbeck have been busy planting fruit trees, edible herbs and wildflowers in a new community garden.

The special needs school on Starbeck High Street offers a modified curriculum for young people aged two to 19 with special needs.

The community garden was the brainchild of Life Destiny Church and Starbeck Community Group, which wanted to collaborate on a new green space in Starbeck where produce can be enjoyed by the local community.

The herbs and fruit trees that were planted will be used in the school’s curriculum cooking sessions. Food will also be donated to the food bank that takes place at the church.

Around 80 students spent a day working on the area last week along with Andrew Hart from Starbeck Community Group and Jeremy Fennings from the church.

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Kelly Tomlinson, RE lead at Springwater School, said:

“It will create a wonderful area of greenery in Starbeck that can be enjoyed into the future. All students shared the common goal of supporting the community in a project that cares for our planet.

“Andrew and Jeremy were fantastic at guiding students throughout the day and we continue to work with them, developing the area further. “

Andrew Hart added:

“A smaller group of Springwater students are now attending the garden weekly with Life Destiny Church and Starbeck Community Group to bring this garden to fruition. The produce will all go to Springwater School and the vulnerable in the community. It’s another great example of the community working together in Starbeck.”

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has given his landmark garden a Ukraine-themed makeover to raise money for the Disaster Emergency Fund.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace for over 15 years and likes to decorate his garden with different themes.

When the Stray Ferret visited last summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden to raise money for Mind.

For winter, he created a ‘Toytropolis’ with toys to make children and their parents smile.

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This time he wants to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and also pay tribute to Poland for housing two million refugees.

During the 1990s, Mr Ivison was the manager of LGBT magazine, Now UK, and he is also displaying photos he took of celebrities including Graham Norton, Lily Savage and Ian McKellen.

The garden is open to visitors seven days a week and all of the toys are for sale. It’s been sponsored by the sweets supplier Maltese Connections. Some pictures are below:

To donate to his fundraiser visit here.

A sensory garden has been planted in Harrogate town centre for visually impaired people.

Spenceley Gardens, which is opposite Waitrose on Station Parade, has been transformed as part of a joint initiative between Vision Support Harrogate District, RHS Harlow Carr and Harrogate Borough Council.

The garden encourages people with visual impairments to develop their sense of smell and touch and provides an area of relaxation for everyone.

The area has already been planted and is set to be in full bloom in time for an opening ceremony at the end of this month.

Ann Routledge, a volunteer at Vision Support, said lots of herbs and textured plants had been planted to allow the visually impaired to explore their other senses.

She said:

“The aim is to encourage wildlife, even though it’s next to a busy road, and give people a space to sit and reflect. Our members are very excited to use the space. I just think it’ll be great to have a space like this in the centre of town.”

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The charity, which has 400 members in the Harrogate district, offers support to anyone with a visual impairment.

It also hopes that having a garden in such a prominent location will raise awareness of the charity.

The area has been previously designated as a sensory garden but those involved in the project this time hope it will become more popular.

Two potential plans for housing at Harlow Nurseries in Harrogate have emerged.

The site next to the Pinewoods is owned by Harrogate Borough Council and sells plants, pots and compost to the public.

However, the council’s Harrogate district Local Plan 2014-35, which outlines where development can take place, says 40 homes can be built there. The nursery will relocate if a development goes ahead.

Two options for how it could look were displayed at Pinewoods Conservation Group‘s annual general meeting on Monday by the charity’s chair Neil Hind. Both contain more than 40 homes.

The plans were drawn up by consultants on behalf of the council.

The first option includes 57 homes that are a mix of family homes and apartments.

The second option includes 62 homes and apartments and has less garden space than option one.

Both options include 30% ‘affordable’ homes. The two plans also say the development could achieve net-zero emissions, but don’t give further details on how this might be achieved.

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In September 2020, the council appointed three external consultants to draw up plans for the nurseries, as well as for two other brownfield sites in Harrogate.

The consultants will be paid with funding secured by the council in 2018.

The council received £200,000 from the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool and £36,000 from the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Impact on Pinewoods

The plans could still change before the final report is published in May.

It would need to be rubber-stamped by councillors before moving to the next stage, which could involve the sale of the site to a developer.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Hind said:

“My view is there is no point objecting, it’s in the Local Plan, it’s a brownfield site and it’s going to happen. Our role is to ensure it has as little impact on the Pinewoods as it can have.”

Pinewoods Conservation Group’s AGM on Monday evening.

Harrogate Spring Water

The AGM was attended by around 25 people. Also on the agenda was Harrogate Spring Water’s hopes to expand its bottling plant on Harlow Moor Road.

The Stray Ferret reported this week that Harrogate Borough Council has said it would consider selling Rotary Wood to the company, which is preparing to submit a new planning application.

Mr Hind told the meeting that Pinewoods Conservation Group had lawyers on hand to ensure due process on any sale was followed.

Harrogate man Paul Ivison has created “Toytropolis” — a garden resplendent with 200 toys, including Scooby-Doo, Batman and Peppa Pig.

Mr Ivison has lived in his house on Mayfield Terrace for 15 years and each year decorates his garden with different themes. When the Stray Ferret visited in the summer, he had created a loud and proud mental health-themed garden, which raised £137 for Mind.

For winter, he’s been bargain hunting on Facebook marketplace to buy toys to make children and their parents smile.

He hopes to raise £500 for North Yorkshire Horizons, a county-wide drug and alcohol addiction service that he has previously worked for. Visitors can leave donations in a box by the gate.

Mr Ivison said:

“Things snowballed and I was buying up toys left right and centre. I got three Bat caves for a tenner.

“It’s my usual problem though — I don’t stop!”

He said the response from children and parents makes him feel good and helps with his own mental health.

“A couple of children saw Peppa Pig and were ecstatic.”

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He’s had a problem with thieves visiting the garden. One tried to pinch a toy elephant, but thankfully its feet were attached to the ground with super-strength glue.

Mr Ivision will soon be adding six Christmas trees to the garden and Toytropolis will stay until the second week of January.

He added:

“Someone asked me, what are you going to do to top this? But I’m sure I’ll think of something!”

You can visit Toytropolis on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Mayfield Terrace.

Royal biographer Elisabeth Basford will be at Goldsborough Hall on Sunday when the stately hall opens its gardens to the public.

The hall, near Knaresborough, was once home to Princess Mary, the Queen’s aunt, in the 1920s. It will be open from 11am to 5pm on Sunday as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Ms Basford has just published the biography Princess Mary, The First Modern Princess. She will bring various objects connected with the princess to talk about as well as signing copies of her book.

She said she was delighted to be returning to the hall, adding:

“Goldsborough Hall is now as spectacular as it was in the time of Princess Mary.”

Clare Oglesby, the owner of Goldsborough Hall, said:

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our garden visitors to learn more about the princess – and especially in the very place where she lived!”

Tickets will be £5 for adults and free for children. Refreshments and plants are also available for sale with all proceeds going to the charities that NGS support.

To ensure the event is covid safe, all activities will take place outside and a timed ticket system has been adopted to prevent too many people arriving at the same time.

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The open gardens at Goldsborough Hall

The gardens, which will be open to explore, have a tribute to Princess Mary in the form of a wall of Yorkshire Princess roses that were named after her.

Tickets cost £5 for adults. Entry is free for children.

Further information is available here. 

Horticultural enthusiasts in Birstwith are opening their beautiful gardens for visitors tomorrow in support of two local charities.

The event will run from 10.30am to 4pm and will include directions to a new community garden that has been created at Birstwith Mill, where the Birstwith Show takes place.

Ruth Fisher, one of the organisers, says visitors can buy a map of the 10 gardens for £5, which doubles up as a ticket, from St James’ Church.

A community garden will be opened at Birstwith Mill, which hosts the Birstwith Show

Ms Fisher said participants were looking forward to welcoming visitors after being stuck inside during lockdown:

“We are really excited to be able to offer this event in the village, and everyone has worked really hard to make sure that their gardens are in the best state they can be!”

Plants grown by the residents themselves will be on sale at the church, alongside a cake stall. All stallholders will be accepting cash only.

All proceeds from the event will be shared between two organisations: Birstwith in Bloom, a voluntary organisation that “promotes responsible care of the environment and horticultural excellence in the town”, and Birstwith Horticultural Society, the charity behind community fundraising for the Birstwith Show.

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There will be refreshments at the church and in each of the gardens.

A previous open garden event at Birstwith Hall, in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme, raised £2,000 for Marie Curie.

A new bridge will be unveiled at RHS Garden Harlow Carr on Monday.

The bridge, which was built by Harrogate dry stone waller Neil Beasley in four months over lockdown, has been named the Friendship Bridge.

The name is in recognition of a £10,000 donation from the Friends of Harlow Carr, which paid for half of the £20,000 costs.

The Royal Horticultural Society, which is the gardening charity that owns RHS Garden Harlow Carr, paid for the other half.

The centerpiece of the design, which was drawn up by Leeds master craftsman David Griffiths, represents the head of a flower, with stone petals surrounding a central stonework arch,

The Geoffrey Smith memorial stone is positioned at one end of the bridge wall as a lasting testament to the former garden curator, who died in 2009.

Paul Cook, curator at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, said: 

“We now have a beautiful new piece of artwork, which has been handcrafted in Yorkshire stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques.

“As well as being a thing of beauty in itself, the work will help to alleviate surface flooding problems.”

The new bridge was built with freshly quarried Yorkshire stone along with stone from the structure that it replaced.

Mr Beasley previously created Harlow Carr’s garden entrance feature and monoliths on the corner of Crag Lane and Otley Road, which were also designed by David Griffiths. 

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