Chester Zoo Chester - changes & demolition

[SMR]

No it wasn`t but just so people know just the plants in the beds cost the zoo between 40-50 thousand a year...

And do you know why that is? Where once the zoo saved their bulbs, tubers and corms, and where once they grew hundreds of thousands of plants from seed and cuttings on-site in their own greenhouses using many sustainable resources (up to 80,000), in recent years they have bought most of their plants from a local garden centre, the owner of which I happen to know quite well. Then, at the end of every season, almost all of those plants are turned into compost when many could be saved and replanted.

 

[redpanda]

But it doesn't have to be this way. In the wild, including in the British countryside, there are huge displays of completely natural flowering plants. Beds similar to those at Chester could be created as an exhibit, one that highlighted naturally occurring spectacles of a similar type. I don't suppose you visited Ness Botanical Gardens in 2008? They had vast areas of British wild flower meadows that rivalled Chester's formal beds in every way. They cost nothing to up-keep, weren't watered and proved to be an excellent educational, conservation feature, something that acres of lawn are not.

The idea that flowers have to be formal and structured demonstrates a lack of horticultural understanding and a lack of imagination.

And since you mentioned water conservation, do you know how much rainwater the zoo saves every year?

No I didn't visit the botanic gardens last year, but what you are describing to me is not what we are discussing! Chester's formal bedding was good for one thing, it was aesthetically pleasing but it was not an educational feature and did not demonstrate the vibrance of our native plant life. You have to have very good imagination to think that was what the bedding was supposed to be displaying! I already said that I liked gardens like the one you are describing, my point was that I saw the formal bedding at chester to be out-dated and not inkeeping with the rest of the zoo.

I have no idea how much rainwater the zoo saves, but having a water butt does not make leaving a tap on all day acceptable, especially when the tap is in the house of someone who preaches about how environmentally friendly they are for having a water butt!

 

[SMR]

I think we're talking at cross purposes a little. I'm not arguing for a specific type of planting, formal rose beds for example, but in favour of gardens in general and against nothing (or grass) in their place. The point being, with a little imagination Chester could still create a garden with all the vibrancy, colour and impact of the formal beds, but in an educational and low-cost way. They had the opportunity to set an example as a zoo known for their gardens, instead of simply capitulating.

I have no idea how much rainwater the zoo saves, but having a water butt does not make leaving a tap on all day acceptable, especially when the tap is in the house of someone who preaches about how environmentally friendly they are for having a water butt!

Modern horticultural practices and the continuing development of plant species both mean you don't have to water flowers if they are chosen carefully. Heck, even common species such as nicotiana, cleome, eremurus and others don't need any water. Such plantings could even become a themed exhibit to demonstrate how drought tolerant gardens could be created, something that surely will impact us all at some point.

 

[redpanda]

I think we're talking at cross purposes a little. I'm not arguing for a specific type of planting, formal rose beds for example, but in favour of gardens in general and against nothing (or grass) in their place. The point being, with a little imagination Chester could still create a garden with all the vibrancy, colour and impact of the formal beds, but in an educational and low-cost way. They had the opportunity to set an example as a zoo known for their gardens, instead of simply capitulating.

What you are describing does sound like an interesting concept for the zoo to have pursued, however, I think as we have diverged rather a lot from the original topic that I shall leave this here.