Upper and Lower Dicker Village News

THURSDAY COFFEE MORNINGS for Upper Dicker are held at The Plough, Coldharbour Road, just beyond Bedes and are open to anyone who would like to join other villagers for a coffee and chat. Meet from 10.30am.

 THE BLUEBELL TRAIL and farm history continues as relayed by owner, John McCutchan MBE: About 60 years ago we needed extra soil to level the floors of the farm buildings. Where the Lower Pond is situated, I noticed the soil was sandy, so with the help of a bulldozer I dug out the many loads required. Afterwards I noticed that water lay in the bottom of the hole and realized this was because it had a clay base, so I thought: why not create a pond, as there were none in the Wood? Modern machinery quickly created one, but it had to be filled by surface water as there was no spring. We sloped the sides, created a reasonably sized island by digging a channel, and removed any overhanging trees. We added waterlilies, rushes, six goldfish for each member of my family, and seating, which has created an asset that is visually pleasant to look at and an important watering hole for many species of wildlife. It is deep enough that it has never dried out, even this year! A bonus is that kingfishers have nested in the deep bank of the island for the past few years.

Some years later we needed more soil, so the Upper Pond was created, by choosing an area where the lie of the land meant surface water would flow into it. We felled the hornbeam, pushed the roots to one side and extracted what soil we needed, then moved the roots into the centre of the hole to create a small island. It is not as deep as the Lower Pond and this time we added nothing, so any plants or invertebrates you see are by nature’s colonization.

The storm of 1987 caused many trees to be uprooted, so we launched a Hurricane Appeal to help mitigate the costs of clearance. The timing was fortuitous, as we had just finished raising £41K towards the building of the new Arlington Village Hall. Tree surgeons were in much demand, so we waited our turn and tried to reduce costs by leaving the further end of the Wood untouched, to see how nature coped with the fallen timber, so any fallen trees alongside and beyond the Lower Pond are 39 years old. More next week.

 BATES GREEN GARDEN NEWS from Head Gardener, Emma Reece. She says: We have certainly had some beautiful weather here during the month of October, an Indian summer indeed. I had wondered whether the summer drought would mean a lack of colourful autumn leaves, but I need not have worried, as the Garden is now decked out in its autumnal finery. The mature trees and shrubs in the Front Garden are particularly glorious, and the colourful Middle Garden is experiencing a second autumnal spring. Perennials that were showing signs of heat stress were cut back and have now emerged green and lush. Sarah led one of her fascinating Woodland Fungi walks at the beginning of October. The sun shone and it could not have been a better day to walk in Beatons Wood. The group were very happy indeed as they set off, and they returned full of fascinating fungal facts. We plan to offer another interesting selection of similar Woodland Walks in 2027, so watch this space. Sarah is an absolute font of knowledge and we are fortunate to have her expertise here

Our “Edimental” themed containers have not only looked gorgeous but have also provided us with vegetables and salad throughout the summer. The pots that were looking tired have been replaced with oriental salad leaves such as mizuna, mibuna and mustard greens. These add a spicy kick to a salad bowl and are also beautiful in their own right, with their contrasting leaf shapes and textures.

We have now closed for the season. I will keep you posted regarding our winter activities and projects. In the meantime, enjoy your parks, gardens and open spaces.

 THE MILLENNIUM AVENUE has been seeded, thankfully before the strong winds, with the native wildflower mix. They used a nifty little gadget to spread the seed evenly across the area that had to be raked once more beforehand.

A mix of Cow Parsley, Red Campion and Corncockle was used plus they will be adding some Aquilegia seeds from Bates Green Garden. It is going to look so pretty.