CHEERY flower beds, wispy ornamental grasses and wildlife areas are among the uplifting sights that greet anyone walking along Ilkley Riverside Memorial Park.
The park has been transformed through a project involving a dedicated group of residents and a local landscape and garden designer.
In 2017, after a series of public meetings about the poor condition of the park, a group of residents set up a charity Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks - which covers three park areas beside the River Wharfe. One aim was to raise funds to improve Riverside Memorial Park’s infrastructure, create wild areas and new planting beds.
“Realising our own planting design expertise was limited we contacted Helen Taylor a local landscape and garden designer, to see if she would support the project,” says the groups’ chairman Ed Duguid. “Helen agreed to help with the design of the park and to bring in additional support with other garden designers and contractors to help.”
Rather than looking at individual planting projects in isolation, Helen advised starting with a master plan to give an overview of the ideas for whole park.
Following improvements to the Second World War memorial in Riverside Gardens, the FOIRP trustees decided that the area needed new flower beds to enhance the east end of the park. In addition, the steep embankment above the memorial needed a complete overhaul and replanting as it was full of brambles, weeds and overgrown old shrubs.
It was a huge undertaking to clear the embankment. “It’s been a great boost to involve volunteers from Virgin O2 and local landscape contractor Stuart Bonner this summer to help our loyal team of volunteers finally get it cleared and ready for autumn planting.”
While preparatory works were underway on the embankment, work started on creating a new planting bed around the memorial which provides a new garden and a sheltered place to sit.
The main challenge was the very limited budget. FOIRP volunteers carried out the turf removal creating the large oval bed around the war memorial. Helen was able to supply many perennials from a client’s garden and other donations.
Digging out the plants in the middle of winter, it was difficult to know exactly what some of the plants were and which would survive. The bed was planted in April 2021 by Helen, Rachel Forbes, Linda Taylor and other volunteers using mixed flowering perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs for winter structure.
Being able to plant the new Memorial Garden over lockdown was a chance to really brighten up the park for residents and visitors. The feedback from local and visitors has been so positive and appreciative.
Says Helen: “The use of permanent perennial planting around the Memorial Garden is a more sustainable planting approach than traditional temporary park bedding using annuals. The aim is to achieve maximum ground coverage to minimise water loss and weeding. Many of the plants are long flowering, attractive to pollinators and provide interest and colour throughout the year. Even in the winter, there is interest with seed heads and structure from the shrubs.”
The next planting project on the embankment will require different types of plants due to the sloping terrain, existing trees, and light conditions.
“Now the old shrubs and brambles have been cleared, we want to retain the lovely views which have been opened up to the river from New Brook Street,” says Helen. “We’ve planned a colourful edge of perennials behind the existing railings to enjoy from the public path. These will include long flowering sedums and geums with ornamental grasses and heucheras. In the dry shade of the existing trees at the top of embankment we have planned low carpeting plants with spring bulbs. These will include useful spreading hardy geraniums, vincas, cyclamens with pockets of brunnera and hellebores and masses of spring bulbs.”
On the slope of the embankment, they require plants to help to stabilise the soil and will plant ornamental shrubs in the gaps between the rocks and under plant with ground covers. Starting in the spring there will be flowering viburnums and magnolias, followed by rhododendrons and azaleas. Then in the summer, a succession of flowering interest from ceanothus, shrubs roses and hydrangeas. Autumn foliage colour will be provided by Japanese maples, cotinus varieties and viburnums, with evergreen structure from skimmias, sarcococcas and hellebores.
“At the bottom of the embankment the conditions are open and sunny, and we can continue using some of the perennials and grasses that have established so well in the Memorial Garden to extend this planting character,” says Helen. “We intend to split the catmint in the memorial garden to provide a permanent edging at the base of the embankment and plant a generous perennial bed behind with a succession of flowering perennials to provide colour and interest through the year provided with geums, persicaria, achillea, lychnis, echinacea and rudbeckias.”
Says FOIRP member Pauline Munro says: ‘We’re very grateful to Helen and her team for their expertise and support’.
*FOIRP was able to raise the funds required through the Coop Community Fund, with the help of local Coop shoppers.
Bed preparation and planting maintenance was carried out by Ed Duguid, Doug and Glynis Mowat, George Peters, Claire Smith with community involvement from Virgin /O2 volunteers.
Help came from local businesses Joe Bonner Building Contractors and Stuart Bonner landscape contractor.
Strulch supplies: Jackie Whiteley.
Planting design and planting: Helen Taylor, Ian Campbell, Joanne Hartley, Rachel Forbes, Linda Taylor and Anne Eldred.
Donation of plants from Old Bridge Nursery in Ilkley.
New signs were made by Dotty Print
*FOIRP has announcd an opportunity for local people to donate plants for the embankment, with types recommended by Helen and her team. If you wish to make any suitable plant donations/ or financial contributions to this next planting project, please contact FOIRP chairman Ed Duguid on foirp2@gmail.com
Plants that are required: 9 Cornus Midwinter Fire, 9 Cotoneaster dammeri, 18 Euonymus Emerald Gaiety, 9 Prunus lusitanica, 25 Vinca minor Colada (white), 1 Acer palmatum, three Ceanothus thry repens, 3 Choisya White Dazzleri, 1 Hamameliis moliis, 3 Hydrangea macrophylla Shakira (white), 3 Hydrangea paniculata Vanille Fraise, 3 Hydrangea pinky winky, 1 Magnolia stella, 9 Rhododendron snow lady (white/ dwarf), 9 Rhododendron Mountain Hybrid (purple/ dwarf), 9 Shrub roses, 1 Viburnum Bodnatense, 3 Viburnum eskimo, 3 Viburnum plicatum mariesii, 3, Viburnum tinus, 25 Anemone x hybrida in variety, 25 Geranium Rozanne, 25 ferns in variety, 25 Astrantia variety, 25, Vinca minor Bowles, 50 , Sedum Autumn Joy, 50 Sedum Matrona, 25 Carex Prairie Fire, 25 Heuchera Cherry Cola, 50 Geum Pink Petticoats, 9 Bergenia Bressinghams white, 9 Pachysandra terminalis, 18 Brunnera Jack Frost, 9 Carex ice Dance, 9 Helleborus Ballardine Jokerm 9 Helleborus niger Jacob Classic, 18 Liriope muscari, 36 Pulmonaria White/blue, 36 Tiarella white, 25 Echinacea purpurea, 25 Geum Mrs Bradshaw, 5 Persicaria variety, 25 Achillea Saucy Seduction, 25 Lychnis coronaria, 15 Stipa Ponytails, 6 Hostas in variety, 9 ,Geum Totally Tangerine, 9 Echinacea yellow and white, 9 Stipa ponytail, 9 Heuchera Cherry Cola, 200 Crocus in variety, 500 Narcissus – white, 150 Tulipa pink perfection.
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