SCAS member Jenny Westmoreland wrote this piece for our newsletter in July 2011. We thought it was worth publishing again on the website, because it highlights another interesting aspect of the Stoneygate area. It is also as relevant now as it was then – if not more so. The trend for making changes to our homes through building extensions or paving over gardens is greater now. Works inadvertantly see the removal of rare plants and trees. Once gone, they will be difficult to replace. A little thought and care in planning changes to our home could make a huge difference.
Jenny Westmoreland wrote in 2011;
A friend recently pointed out an unusual lily in my garden. She told me that it is actually a wild variety called the martagon lily. I have always had them so I‘ll never know how they got here, but it did make me think about plant hunting.
The Victorians were keen plant hunters and I wonder if members‘ gardens contain any evidence of it? When Victorian businessmen built their grand houses in Stoneygate and laid out their gardens, did they seek out rare and exotic species? And if they did, are any specimens still in existence? It would be fascinating to see photographs, if members have them. While most of the older established landscaped gardens have been lost or much reduced, it‘s possible that fragments of them may have survived.
There used to be a very healthy medlar tree (see photo below) in a front garden on London Road, for instance, before it fell victim to the now discredited fashion for `total‘ hard landscaping. Are there any other rare varieties of fruit tree thriving in our gardens, I wonder? What we can buy in the shops is now so limited that perhaps few of us would recognise it if we saw it but it‘s worth taking a second look. And if you do find anything, please let us know!
