About 35 volunteers with wellies and spades planted thousands of crocuses on the Stray at West Park in Harrogate this week.

Some 40,000 crocus bulbs have been added to the Stray over the last couple of years.

The perennials, which flower in late winter and spring, have become synonymous with the 200 acres of parkland around Harrogate. It is believed there are between six and eight million of the flowers on the Stray.

This week’s effort focused on the Otley Road section, which has not been covered in recent planting schemes.

Organised by North Yorkshire Council, which manages the Stray, people from Bilton Conservation Group, Harrogate manufacturer Belzona Polymerics, the charity Open Country and individual volunteers took part in this week’s planting.

This week’s planting.

Crocuses flowering in spring this year on West Park Stray.

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It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. The third in our series of networking events in association with The Coach and Horses in Harrogate is a lunch event on March 30 from 12.30pm.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

The Yorkshire School of Garden Design is to offer a new Diploma in Planting Design.

The year-long Diploma will be launched at the school’s Spring Open Day this Saturday and is an opportunity for those with a passion for plants to explore a career in garden design.

The school at Harewood House was launched less than a year ago and specialises in teaching professionals the art of garden design.

The course will cover topics ranging from plant taxonomy, through the history of horticulture in design, to the art and science of designing plants in a wide range of settings.

Yorkshire School of Garden Design founder Alistair Baldwin said:

“Our new diploma is the perfect opportunity for budding designers, amateur gardeners, professionals and all those passionate about the fundamentals of planting design.”

“The course will provide a careful blend of creativity, design principles, botany and taxonomy, the sociability of plants in sustainable communities, and insights into the work of the world’s leading practitioners in the world of planting design.

“Our proximity to many of Yorkshire’s finest gardens, landscapes and plant collections, not to mention the glorious gardens at Harewood, will also provide unrivalled opportunities to expand the learning process. Throughout the twelve months, our students will be encouraged to explore and gain first hand insight from our surroundings in the company of experts, supplemented by trips out to first class regional gardens and a study tour in the south of England.”

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A partner at Jones Myers has been named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Northern Powerhouse Awards.

Kate Banerjee won the award in the Private Client category.  Judges selected Kate, who heads the Harrogate firm’s internationally renowned children’s department, from a shortlist of eleven lawyers across the North of England.

With almost three decades of experience in children law, Kate has expertise in international child abduction. Her specialisms include contact, residence, and adoption.

Kate said:

“I am proud and honoured to receive this prestigious recognition which is attributable to the commitment of our highly experienced and respected team.

“An enormous and heartfelt ‘thank you’ to my colleagues who consistently provide the best bespoke solutions for our valued clients.”      

Kate Banerjee, partner at Jones Myers Solicitors, with her award 

Junior soldiers in Harrogate will plant 10,000 crocuses on the Stray on Saturday.

The flowers will enhance the line of trees known as Peace Avenue close to the Empress Roundabout — adjacent to Skipton Road.

The Peace Avenue, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Harrogate in 2014, was originally planted by school children from across Harrogate to commemorate the soldiers who died in the First World War.

The junior soldiers from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College will add to their efforts by planting 10,000 Jeanne d’Arc white crocuses on the weekend after Remembrance Sunday.

Lt Daniel Curry, commanding officer at AFC Harrogate, said:

“It will be a privilege to aid in the planting of the white crocuses alongside the Rotary Club of Harrogate.

“Both the club and college have given the junior soldiers the opportunity to help the local community complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award and being so close to Remembrance Sunday, remember those who served before them and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

Harrogate borough mayor, Cllr Victoria Oldham, is due to attend the event.

Read more:

• Bilton Conservation Group plant crocuses on West Park Stray
• Anger at decision to seal off part of Harrogate’s Valley Gardens

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal. 

Farmers and landowners are being offered free advice and grants to help boost woodland creation in Nidderdale.

A partnership between the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Skell Valley Project Team aims to create new areas of woodland this winter.

Anyone with a small area of land – just over an acre or less – can access grants covering 100% of the planting costs.

Alice Crosby, woodland creation project officer at Nidderdale AONB, said:

“It might be a field corner, a shelterbelt or something bigger, it is more about making trees work for you and your farm.

“Grants can be tailored and could include new fencing, gates, buying and planting trees, tree protection, and money for ten years of maintenance, to ensure that your new woodland gets off to the best start.”

Funds are available to people living in the Skell Valley catchment area for projects this winter. The AONB is also keen to speak to people in other parts of the district who might be interested in planting next winter and beyond.

More than 400 farmers live in Nidderdale AONB, which covers more than half of the Harrogate district.

Currently 8% of the AONB is woodland, including 1,245 hectares of ancient woodland. An area of 1,872 ha is planted conifer woodland, 187 ha is mixed woodland and 2,527 ha is broadleaf.

Ms Crosby said:

“As landowners will know, trees can help improve soil health, boost animal welfare, manage water flow, cut pollution and improve energy efficiency. They are also a lifeline for wildlife.”

She added:

“It’s important to increase the number of trees planted in the AONB, but we want to emphasise quality planting, as 50% of the land in the AONB is not suitable for woodland creation. We can help identify priority areas for future planting sites, as well as help safeguard ancient woodland and other special habitats.

“It’s counter-intuitive but trees can have a negative impact on wildlife if they aren’t planted in the right spot. For some species, like wading birds and adders, woodland can be damaging. So, it is important to get advice.”

To find out more, email nidderdaleAONB@harrogate.gov.uk.

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Fencing company in two-year sponsorship deal with football team

A Harrogate fencing company has signed a two-year sponsorship deal with a local junior football club.

Adam Healy at Harrogate Premier Fencing has provided a new team strip and training tops for Pannal Ash Whites Under 12s, who play in the Garforth junior league.

Andy Pears, from the club, said:

“We have 15 boys signed up for this season. We have won all our games, and are unbeaten in the league, currently into round three of the Leeds & District cup – we got to the final last year.

“We are also in the West Riding County Cup and are into the divisional league cup third round. So overall a really successful start to the new season.”

The team is set to move to the new training facilities at St Aidan’s on a Tuesday night after half term. The boys also play on a Sunday morning at the Pannal Ash Juniors club at Almsford Playing Field, next to Oatlands Junior School.

A new woodland in Bilton will be planted next month with trees dedicated to lives lost during the covid pandemic.

Around 500 trees will be planted by Bilton Conservation Group volunteers in Bilton Fields close to the viaduct.

It will be called Victory Wood, as it was originally intended to mark VE Day, with the trees planted in the shape of a V.

However, covid has delayed the planting by several years. Keith Wilkinson, chair of the group, said planters can dedicate a tree to a friend or family member that has died from the virus.

The dedication will be private as trees will not be identified with a plaque.

Read more:

• ‘Devastating news’ as 500 trees to be chopped down in Nidd Gorge
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Planting will take place on Saturday May 21 from 10.00am.

Twelve species will be planted, including oak, cherry and hazel trees.

If you’d like to plant a tree and make a dedication, contact Mr Wilkinson: niddgorge2016@icloud.com

The woodland has been sponsored by the Harrogate Lions.

A woman in Bilton says thousands of trees that are being planted in fields close to Nidd Gorge will spoil a wildlife meadow and treasured open space.

Harrogate Borough Council is currently planting the trees in Bilton Fields as well as at Upper Horse Shoe Fields in Knaresborough.

The planting is part of the government’s White Rose Forest initiative to create 10 community forests in England. Oak, hornbeam, hazel, alder, cherry, crab apple and other native trees will be planted.

Rowen Hardcastle, who owns a dog walking business in Bilton, was brought up in the Harrogate suburb and said she has spent over 40 years enjoying the fields. Her husband even proposed to her in the fields because he knew how much she liked spending time there.

Ms Hardcastle said she is in favour of more trees being planted in the district to improve the environment, but the location means it will spoil one of the few open spaces in the area. In the summer, it is a popular spot for games of football and family picnics.

She said:

“It’s not the trees at all, it’s the positioning. It was a beautiful wild flower meadow with kids running around it.

“But they’ve gone right across the kids’ playing pitch. Now they can’t have a kickabout without damaging the trees.”

A map of where the trees will go. Credit – HBC

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The new woodland will have footpaths and some open areas but Ms Hardcastle said many people, particularly women, like to walk in the open fields as they feel safe.

She believes the planting should have been done in a more sympathetic way that retained more open space.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of elderly ladies. They’ve walked around there for last 60 years because it’s safe, but future generations won’t have this vast open space.”

A council spokesperson said:

“The White Rose Forest is the community forest for North and West Yorkshire that works in partnership with local authorities, landowners, businesses and communities to plant more trees across the region, improve our natural environment, combat climate change, create jobs and provide happier and healthier places for us all to live, work in and enjoy.

“The scheme has been well received since it was first adopted by the council. And has been publicised widely in the local media – including on the Stray Ferret in both December 2020 and October 2021 – along with the council’s Residents’ News and on social media.

“The planting of the trees reflects what the Royal Forest of Knaresborough would have originally looked like and will complement the surrounding area, create open areas and natural footpaths through the existing fields.

“More than 40% of the site will remain as ‘open space’ and wildflower meadows will be established and managed to further encourage biodiversity, help address the climate situation and deliver carbon reduction initiatives throughout the Harrogate district.

“Funding for the White Rose Forest project has come from the government’s Trees for Climate Fund. The funding covers planting, establishment and management of the woodland for 15 years.”

As temperatures finally start to reach double figures and we get a glimpse of sunny days ahead, our focus starts to turn towards the garden.

You can’t fail to be inspired by the bursts of colourful crocuses on the Stray and it won’t be long before we see Harrogate’s famous pink cherry blossoms appearing too.

This is usually the time of year I tentatively step out of the back door, have a look at the dire state of the barren landscape before me and then retreat back to the house. ‘I’ll tackle it later’, I tell myself as I metaphorically bury my head in the kids’ waterlogged sandpit.

Therapeutic

I actually really enjoy gardening once I get into the swing of things. I find it really therapeutic. But I usually have no idea where to start and can sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming.

So I turned to the experts from two horticultural charities to get their tips on how to tackle the garden now spring has finally sprung.

Horticap

Phil Airey, manager of Harrogate gardening charity Horticap, on Otley Road, said:

“It’s March and the garden is coming alive. The bulbs are ready to shine, with snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses and tulips to follow.

“Perennials are just starting to grow, so this is your time to cut away all the old growth from winter. Before you do, just check for wildlife. They might have been using the old foliage as cover, so just check before you remove it.”

Phil said it was now time to cut down any dogwood, also known as Cornus, which are deciduous trees and shrubs.

Vibrant stems

He said:

“Cut it down to one or two buds from the ground so you will leave it stumpy. This will help it grow vigorous shoots, leaving you with the vibrant coloured stems for next winter.”

After being battered by three storms, Phil said it was worth making sure any ripped branches in damaged trees had “clean cuts”.

He said:

“Just use any saw to make a clean cut and this will help protect the tree from infections. This is for small trees, as larger ones must be carried out by a trained tree surgeon.”

I was surprised at Phil’s next tip, as I would usually wait a bit longer to start tackling the grass, but if it helps get rid of messy old leaves, I’m all for it.

He said:

“Have you had your mower serviced? Because you can start cutting your grass. Cut it at your highest setting, don’t cut it too low just yet.

“Doing this will act like a vacuum, sucking up old leaves and twigs. Leaving the lawn looking tidy and free of debris.”

Phil said it was now “all go” at Horticap, which provides training in horticulture and rural skills to adults with learning and other disabilities.

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No better sight

He said:

“The summer bedding is here and there is no better sight than a tiny geranium (pelargonium) starting to grow.

“The students are busy getting labels ready and clearing the beds. We are also sowing the veg in the greenhouse, but you can start sowing peas and broad beans directly into prepared beds and pots.

“It’s also time to start “chitting” your seed potatoes. It is a simple process of forcing seed potatoes into growth before they are planted out. You can place them on a window sill or glasshouse.

“It’s getting very busy at Horticap, and that means only one thing. People want to be out in the gardens so this weekend is a great time to start. Spring has definitely sprung.”

RHS Harlow Carr

Over the road at RHS Harlow Carr, which is run by the UK’s leading gardening charity, horticulturists Malcom Dewar and Philip Keesing said it was time to “sit back and enjoy the display of all the spring-flowering bulbs as they start to pop”.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr.

This is something I think most of us are particularly looking forward to after what feels like an eternal winter.

Top tips

They offered the following top tips:

• Finish cutting back grasses and perennials if you haven’t already done so, to make way for this year’s growth.
• Trim winter-flowering heathers as they finish flowering, to prevent them from becoming leggy.
• Deadhead winter pansies and violas to encourage them to keep on blooming into the spring.
• Deadhead daffodils as they finish flowering and let the foliage die back naturally.
• Sow some seeds.
• Trim up overgrown hedges and ivies before the bird nesting season.
• Carry on cutting back herbaceous perennials, weeding and tidying flower beds as you go.
• Repair any paving or hard surfaces in the garden that may have been damaged from snow and ice.

The main borders at RHS garden Harlow Carr.

Tree planting has begun across the Harrogate district to mark the queen’s platinum jubilee next year.

About 100 elm, oak, hornbeam, sycamore and lime trees will be planted in the district as part of a nationwide initiative called The Queen’s Green Canopy, which invites people from across the United Kingdom to ‘plant a tree for the jubilee’.

The trees will be planted on Harrogate’s Wetherby Road, Jacob Smiths Park in Knaresborough, High Cleugh in Ripon, Pateley Bridge recreation ground and Boroughbridge recreation ground.

One tree from each location will be saved to plant on February 6, the queen’s accession day.

Harrogate Borough Council is organising the project and hopes the initiative will also help it achieve its carbon reduction initiatives. It is encouraging everyone, including individuals, community groups, businesses and landowners to also plant a tree.

Councillor Andy Paraskos, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“The Queen’s Green Canopy is a wonderful opportunity for us to not only honour Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee but also help address the climate situation and deliver carbon reduction initiatives throughout the Harrogate district.”

The Queen’s Green Canopy will coincide with the borough council’s plans to plant thousands of trees in Bilton Beck Wood and Willow Wood, Harrogate and Upper Horse Shoe Fields, Knaresborough as part of the White Rose Forest partnership.

To get involved and plant a tree, people can pin it to the Queen’s Green Canopy map. It will then count towards Harrogate’s total.

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Harrogate Borough Council will be planting 5,500 wildflowers on the Stray in the coming weeks. It is working with Bilton Conservation Group to create groups of six volunteers to work over two weekends.

The young wildflowers called “plugs” are coming from Cumbria and will be around 5″ tall.

They are to be planted between the Empress Roundabout and the Prince of Wales Roundabout, where 60,000 crocuses were planted last year. More plugs are also planned to be planted in a small meadow by the railway line.

Planting was due to have started in April, but was delayed due to poor weather conditions.

Keith Wilkinson MBE of the Bilton Conservation Group says the wildflowers are “very welcome”.

“Harrogate Stray looks great in spring with its cherry blossom – but then there’s a lull. These wild flowers will make it look spectacular through the summer and come back year after year.

“Bilton Conservation Group is always happy to make the town green. We’ll always help with green initiatives.”

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The Bilton Conservation Group planting crocuses on the corner of West Park Stray in October last year.

The news will come as a delight to the over 600 people who signed a Green Party petition last October urging the council to plant wildflowers on the Stray.

Tulips are perfect for containers and indeed most bedding types flower at their best the first year they are planted. The varieties we are using this year are: ‘Paul Scherer’, ‘Slawa’, ‘Queen of the Night’, ‘Recreado’, ‘Princess Irene’ and ‘Purple Prince’. A mixture of orange and purple shades that really pull a punch when they are in full flower.

Fiona plants the tulip bulbs

After that, it’s simply a case of finding a sheltered, sunny position to locate your pot. Of course, you could store the pot until you are ready to place it into its final position or you could just place it where you want it to flower and enjoy watching them develop over the winter and early spring. Don’t forget to check the pots for water as they can dry out very easily, especially if we get a dry spring.

The tulips at Rudding Park

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