November Clean-Up
Sunday 30th (St. Andrew's Day) was another glorious Autumn day - especially welcome after the very wet day before. There wasn't a lot of paper litter but there was a lot of broken glass and of course dog crap. We are trying to clear space around the trees so that the rain can get into the root systems. The ground, despite all the rain we had had on Saturday, was still incredibly hard and obviously very little rain had soaked in. Anyway, we (the Friends) now have our own spade and hoe for the work around the trees and hopefully we will make a difference to the well-being of the trees.


Bulb Planting
The Council has planted 10,000 daffodil bulbs along the railing adjacent to the Huntingdon Place development; 2,000 each of Professor Einstein, Mount Hood, Golden Harvest, Barrett Browning and Magnet; 12,000 snowdrop bubs will be planted in the centre of the Garden - 6,000 each of Galanthus and Nivalis. Children from Broughton PS and Leith Walk PS helped local residents to plant 12,000 snowdrop bulbs on 26th November. We had great fun with the children who thoroughly enjoyed themselves planting bulbs and playing with the mounds of leaves - and the huge crane moving over Hopetoun Crescent was another attraction. It was a pity that St. Mary's PS weren't able to come this year but hopefully next year we'll see them. Two hours and 12,000 bulbs later, 7 of us then enjoyed a cup of coffee at the Hopetoun Inn.




Our second Newsletter
was sent out on the 14/15 November and we have already had a response to the plea for identification of the fungus (see also The Garden web page). Thanks to Gordon Rutter of Drummond CHS for letting us know it is a giant polypore (Meripilus giganteus).

The Management Committee met for the second time on November 6th. Future plans for the Garden were discussed and possibilities of sponsorship from large local businesses and developers for a proposed leaflet are to be chased up. The state of the gable wall of Kwik Fit was also talked about - does anyone know a local 'mural' artist? Clean-Up Sunday took place on Sunday 26th October at 12 noon. We had glorious weather - a beautiful autumn day. The main priority was to clear vegetation for a yard radius under the trees - so that rain water can get into the roots. A lot of glass was picked up and the ubiquitous dog crap but there does seem to be less litter overall than when we started the monthly clean-ups last March. This may be accounted for by people picking up litter as they walk through the Garden - and long may this practice continue. The first Management Committee meeting for 2003/4 took place on Thursday 9th October 2003 at Annandale Street Mosque at 7.pm. Seven of us were there and we went over the points raised at the AGM. As soon as we have a date for the Autumn planting we will be sending out a Newsletter to all members. Our next committee meeting is on 6th November 2003.

Bill Jeannie Julie Mitchell Eileen Jane Irene Evelyn Andrew Barbara's photo still to come!

The first AGM – SEPTEMBER 2003
of the Friends of Hopetoun Crescent Garden took place on 11th September at 7.30 pm in the Annandale Street Mosque. Around 20 people attended and although most of the official normal AGM Agenda business was moved through swiftly there were three items about which everyone got very animated.

Dog Crap: There was general agreement that it was only a small minority of dog owners who were totally irresponsible and spoiled the Garden for everyone; there was some support for the suggestion that dogs should be kept on a leash; and also for pursuing the idea of getting dogs banned from the Garden altogether. To balance this there was also support for the idea of educating dog owners- maybe the 'good' owners could speak to the owners who don't pick up their dog crap?

The Setts: Bryants have offered to pay for six new benches in the Garden to replace the present trestle-style seats, and the Parks Department have offered Caithness Stone for the bases – as we cannot keep the setts ‘for Health & Safety’ reasons.

The Garden: There were reports from three members of the committee: the Tree Lady (Julie Johnston of Gayfield Square); the Bird Man (Mitchell Manson of Huntingdon Place) and maybe most interesting of all the Bug Lady (Jane Ellis of Annandale Street). Jane reported that two bugs (yellow leafhoppers) have made their home in the Garden which is the ONLY KNOWN site for these bugs in the Lothians – and one of them is rare in north Britain.

The ‘fun’ side of the evening was provided by Alan Bennell from the Botanics. Alan gave an enthralling talk, illustrated by slides, of how the Leith Walk Garden came about and its move to the Inverleith site. Not only fun but we learned a tremendous amount of history too!

Further information please contact Mitchell Manson (Secretary) on 557 1933

Links with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (affectionately known as 'The Botanics').

Fruitful links have been established over the past year with the Botanics and the Regius Keeper Professor Steve Blackmore, his Director of Horticulture Dr. David Rae and Alan Bennell Depute Director of the Public Programmes Division met with some of the Committee and made joint plans for the future such as help with Identification labels for the trees with the Latin name, the Botanical name and the Common name. And there is a plan for the Botanics to present the Garden with a ‘specimen’ with some sort of historic link with the original Leith Walk Garden - maybe to be planted by the Regius Keeper himself.

Clean-Up Sundays 2003

In March we had the first of our monthly clean-ups; the last Sunday of every month, starting at 12 noon, has seen a group of Friends clearing up the Garden - picking up litter, glass and cigarette butts; digging up docks and dockens; clearing around the base of trees; painting the litter bins while we negotiate more suitable new ones,

and the worst job of all - picking up dog crap. In June, Friends picked up over 4.5 lbs of dog crap so as you can imagine, there is a groundswell of opinion against dogs being allowed into the Garden. Most dog owners are responsible and pick up their dog’s waste but those that don’t spoil the Garden for everyone else who wants to enjoy it. Dog crap whether on the path or in the grasses really discourages people letting their children run around and is pretty unpleasant for adults too. People come first in Hopetoun Crescent Garden.

The August clean-up
took place on Sunday 31st August; and on Sunday 28th September, the clean-up took place with special emphasis being given to clearing grasses from around the bases of some of the trees. If there isn't a clear space the roots don't get enough water; there has been some watering of the young trees by members during the long hot summer - and this has helped.

Picnic in the Park On July 27th we had a successful community picnic; despite the threat of rain and even the occasional drop a good few people came with their lunches and liquid refreshment; More people would have been a bonus but all there definitely felt it was a quality event.

Interpretation & Notice Boards
Jeannie Harper, our Treasurer, has spent a great deal of time researching into the design and cost of Interpretation Boards for the Garden and small notice boards for the gates. We are applying for a grant from the Local Development Committee to cover the cost of these.

Tree planting
3 new trees were planted: Quercus rubra (red oak); Picea breweriana (Weeping Pine); Davidia involucrata (Handkerchief tree). Unfortunately, the red oak suffered from the drought, died and had to be removed - but another tree will be planted in its place.

Bulb Planting Last November (2002) our local primaries and some local adults helped out again by planting 2,000 daffodil bulbs to add to the 8,000 planted by the Council. The varieties were February Gold, Thalia, Jacksnipe, Suzie and Jet