All hands on decking

Westcombe Park has more than its fair share of

gardens on sloping sites. Some gardeners see

gradients as a problem, others see it as an

opportunity, but we all like to see how different

they can be.

Last June some of you may have visited a

garden in Mycenae Road. It was opened to the

public for one day as part of the National

Gardens Scheme, the proceeds going to charity.

The garden is 60 foot square save for a corner

taken by the house, and looking out back the

ground slopes upwards. If you were one of these

people on that sunny day, you may recall the

expanse of decking, the lawn and of course the

impressive planting. One year on it looks very

different. The house itself was built many years

ago for the owners of the nearby Halstead

Garage, who lived there right up until 1991

when the present owners moved in. This is the

second radical landscape change in less than

eight years.

Except for a small stretch by the kitchen, the

decking is gone and there is not a blade of grass

in sight. In a period of just the past six weeks

the timber and lawn has yielded to tasteful

paving slabs with gravel in between to allow

plants to eventually meander.

Why the dramatic change? Some of you may

have Blackheath gravel, others Charlton sand,

but the soil here is heavy clay, and whilst the

decking worked, the lawn became cracked in

the drought and a soggy mess in the wet...so it

had to go! And what a difference it makes. The

several levels are still there, and replacing the

lawn has created a second spacious seating area,

the original one still accessed by the

half-timbered steps. Down by the garage there

is now a gravel bed to deal with the drainage

problem that existed in the sump.

As for the plants, the bonus of the clay is that,

once they get going, plants can really take off

as testified by the Cotinus. Many plants had to

be moved, but the don’t seem to have objected.

The air is heavy with the scent of jasmine, which

surrounds the walls. On the back wall alone

there are no less than ten varieties of clematis

flowering at different times of the year, and

there are yet more varieties dotted around, as

well as six sorts of climbing rose, some already

in bloom. In all, there are about 500 plants

thriving here due to the much improved soil in

the borders.

Because of the upheaval the garden was not

ready to be entered in this years’ Yellow Book,

but it will be open for the afternoon on Sunday

20th June from 2-5pm. For details call 858

5201. You won’t be disappointed.

Leslie Eastwood

Tree Survey 2000

With help from Westcombe News readers who

have filled in gaps, it has been possible to set

out a current plan of the Westcombe area,

showing buildings and roads to a scale of

1:1250 - adequate in that it shows enough detail

but so far only a rough massing of tree positions

provided by the aerial views. The next step is to

decide whether enough time can be found to

record tree positions, size and species so that

they can be added to the drawing by the

beginning of the year 2000. Before then,

Greenwich Council will have completed its

own survey of trees in streets throughout the

borough and this can be consulted together with

existing records of Tree Preservation Orders.

However, that will cover only a fraction of all

the trees in the Westcombe area. Ideally we

would like to identify and record them all but it

could take thousands of hours and some places,

such as the steeply sloping woodland south-east

of Maze Hill station, will have to be left in

outline. In any case, there are several options:

the record position and size but not the species

seems half-hearted, to include the species we

have to decide how far to go - just the English

name can be stated (oak, ash, sycamore, lime)

or sub-divisions of this (common lime, broad

leaved lime and so on) and to be complete , its

botanical name should also be given (Tilia

vulgaris). Some owners have already offered

access to garden spaces but as there are roughly

three thousand spaces, large and small, with

trees in them it would be helpful to get more

comments from readers. Please send your

suggestions to We would be particularly

interested to know if any teachers would be

willing and able to use part of this tree survey

as a field project.

Well Bean plants trees for well being

Well Bean, the health food shop in Old Dover

Road has joined forces with Bioforce,

manufacturers and suppliers of fresh herb

tinctures and the Tree Council to raise money

locally to fund the planting of medicinal trees

such as horse chestnut, willow and hawthorn in

the Thames Chase Community Forest. Well

Bean have been presented with a specially

engraved plaque to mark their contribution to

the fundraising efforts.

The Tree Council, a national charity, works to

create greater awareness of the importance of

trees in our environment. Bioforce agree that as

well as providing the air we breath, a habitat for

wildlife and food trees also supply a wide

variety of our natural medicines and they must

be safeguarded for future generations.

The fundraising was done through the sale of a

unique classical CD compilation, Classic

Harmony. 1 will be donated to the Tree Council

for every copy sold. There are still a limited

number available. Call Bioforce on 01294

204713 for details.