Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 15

Why is Bristol City now Ginkgo City?

We're not sure.

We think it might be because Ginkgos are a Highway Tree Officer's dream: slow growing, compact growth, generally fastigiate habit, and minimal leaf litter. Oh, and they are pretty disease resistant too.

We know this because here's one we planted earlier. In a garden in Redland. In 1986.  See how well it's grown over the last 24 years? Impressive, especially as it's not planted in a pavement, but into good garden soil. Give it another 300 years and it'll really contribute to the street scene.

There is a problem though.

Female Ginkgos may get a bit smelly after 35 years or so (especially their fruits), but they can't be sexed before then.

We waiting with baited breath for the new Ginkgo City fragrance in 35 years.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 14

Look. 

One of Bristol's famous stumps. In Winterstoke Road, South Bristol.

It's a Lime Tree stump, and there is more than one, because Winterstoke Road was an avenue of Lime Trees. There are a couple of London Planes, too, but they're in the open space by the play area.

We've been campaigning for years to have Bristol's stumps replaced with new trees, so it's good that these stumps have been. But we forgot about the law of unintended consequences...

Yes, Ginkgo City Council have re-planted with Ginkgos. In what was an avenue of Lime Trees.

Perfect. 

You can see just how well these Chinese deciduous conifers fit well with the established, remaining Lime trees. Especially in winter.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 13

Easton Way, Bristol.

Or at least the fairly recently re-vamped bit, where the Council removed a bit of road and installed a cycle lane. Which is good (as far as it goes).

Why are we here? Easton Way is a dual carriageway connecting the Parkway (M32) with Barton Hill Roundabout. But why, in Ginkgo Fortnight (maybe month, soon), is this important we hear you all cry?

It's interesting.

Easton Way has a central reservation filled with London Planes. They were planted as whips (very small trees) and have grown very well over the years to become a magnificent line of trees in the centre of - it has to be said - a rather ugly and inappropriate transport corridor in north east central Bristol.

The trouble with large trees is that they (so we are told by the Parks Department) need lots of space. So we'd expect the even wider 'island' created by the new bike path to accommodate some nice large trees.

But no. Sadly, the 'officers' in Bristol City Council saw fit to plant... A Line Of Ginkgos (and a Pine - nice).

Here at BristolStreetGinkgos we rejoice, not in the opportunities missed to protect ourselves and future generations from climate change by planting large trees, no, we rejoice in the planting of Ginkgos, in Ginkgo City.

Ginkgos are Chinese.

And most of what we already consume here in Bristol comes from China.

Ergo, Ginkgos are the future!!!

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 12

Here in Ginkgo City (formerly Bristol) we let visitors know what to expect, just as they enter the city... so just as you can pop into Gordano Services for a piss on your way somewhere else, you can also enter Bristol to check out the Ginkgos.

This is the Portway (A4).

Nice wide central reservation.

Nice long line of Ginkgos, courtesy Bristol City Council Parks Department.

Why is this of any interest? Well apparently Ginkgos are superbly suited to narrow streets, whereas London Planes get a bit big and can be difficult to manage.

So it's nice to see the good officers at the Council making intelligent decisions when deciding how to mark a Gateway to Bristol. Yes, this would be a great place for a line of London Planes.

But Bristol City Council knows better than that. Especially their unelected 'officers'.

Thanks guys.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 11

Kingsdown Parade is full of interesting inhabitants. Some of Bristol's famous movers and shakers.

They'll probably recognise this*:

When I do count the clock that tells the time,

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;

When I behold the violet past prime,

And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white;

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,

Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;

Then of thy beauty do I question make,

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,

And die as fast as they see others grow;

And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence

Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

So it's nice that they've been joined by a new Ginkgo which will take 300 years or so to achieve any real stature.

Thanks Bristol City Council. Very appropriate.

* Shakespeare - Sonnet No. 12.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 10

Ginkgo Madness Episode 10...

We like Ginkgos, we really do. We like all trees.

Ginkgos, however, do not a magnificent Street Tree make.

They take centuries to grow to a decent size, and they never match the stature of, say, a Lime, Beech or Plane. So we give our support to Ginkgos in gardens and parks. Big thumbs up (we're nice).

But they are useless as Street Trees unless the street is really small and narrow (we could name a few streets like this, but Bristol City Council have probably already replanted these with even smaller growing Amelanchiers and Cherries).

Today we feature the "magnificent" Ginkgos outside the City of Bristol College in St George's Road. Big new building, pathetic choice of tree (although they have been in a while, so they've grown. A little).

And it doesn't appear they're going to last... no bark on this one.

This tree will be dead soon - we wonder whether Bristol City Council will replace it.

What species they will choose? We hear Rhus is really fashionable.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 9

Let's think about development. A rare commodity in the current economic climate.

Back in Victorian days it was rife, so when Bristol Temple Meads Station was built in the 1800s the modern, forward thinking Victorians built a new street, straight through an old medieval part of Bristol to provide a direct route from Bristol Bridge to the railway station. A bit like the M32, only less smelly.

It's called Victoria Street.

This road has suffered since, of course, as WW2 and subsequent low quality development took their toll.

But look at the trees. London Planes. Probably planted in the 1970s, maybe earlier. And carefully protected during the recent building works to the new block on the corner of Victoria Street and Counterslip.

Now let's look at Counterslip, also the current scheme of carefully protected trees during the development of the old Courage Brewery site. What trees are these? Well, they are London Planes. Just like the ones in Victoria Street.

This is interesting because it suggests that someone, in the past, decided to define this part of the city and unify its street scheme by planting a single species of tree. One that's known to grow particularly well in Bristol. Probably a landscape architect, or a planner (urban design wasn't a recognised profession when these trees went in).

Anyway, back to Counterslip. The London Planes are on the left. But look, here on the right, what type of tree are these?

Well, they will be... Ginkgos. The trees that blend in anywhere because they are as useless as chocolate teapots in terms of civic scale and gravitas. These are the trees that now define Bristol. These are the trees that illustrate how unaccountable 'officers' of the Council can change the entire urban fabric of the city without even asking.

We think the London Planes in this area are quite nice. Apparently the parks department think they know better.

So there are also Ginkgos on the other corner too, in Temple Street.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 8

Yesterday we mentioned the insensitive and inappropriate replacement of a large Acacia tree with a meaningless Ginkgo in Canowie Road.

Here in Eugene Street, behind the BRI, and in true Bristol City Council fashion, they've done the same again. Look at this aerial view from 2003. A tree with a huge canopy.

Then, of course, Bristol City Council did this:

One more large street tree down, one more Ginkgo in the coffin of Bristol's existing and future generations.

Here at BristolStreetTrees we're all thick, so we don't count, but it would be useful if Bristol City Council could employ people with the correct qualifications when arbitrarily changing our streetscapes.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 7

Here's a tree. Big and nice, but not appreciated by someone in Canowie Road.

So it's been removed by Bristol City Council.

As you can see, this road needs all the help it can get in the tree stakes, so Bristol City Council replace it with...

A Ginkgo.

Thank you. No, really, THANK YOU Bristol City Council. Nice.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 6

Following our abortive attempt to buy a Ginkgo in Broadmead yesterday, we thought we'd look around.

The thing that immediately struck us was the effective use of Norway Maples. These trees fall neatly into the mantra of 'right tree right place' so much loved by many tree and urban realm professionals.

In fact, most of 'old' Broadmead is defined by this species. Which gives it a sense of place. An identity. An image to be built on. A brand.

So it was fantastic to see that all the new trees recently planted are Ginkgos.

Bristol truly is turning into Ginkgo City. Lucky there are very few known viruses for these remnants of the dinosaur age (we mean the trees... of course!).

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 5

As Ginkgo Week begins to turn into Ginkgo Fortnight we ask:

Where do you buy good quality Street Trees trees?

Here at BristolStreetTrees we have no idea.

Broadmead, perhaps?

Look, a Ginkgo, bought and paid for by us through the happy medium of Bristol City Council.

Give this tree another 300 years and it'll win the Tuner Prize all on it's own.

Genius.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 4

Reclaim the road!

Pavement Build-Outs. What are they?

Well, Build-Outs are a modern device to help pedestrians get across our car-dominated streets. They generally take away road space and give it pedestrians. They are an invention of Traffic Engineers.

Traffic Engineers don't like trees near junctions. They like stuff called Traffic. Otherwise they wouldn't be Traffic Engineers. Obviously. So they don't think about trees. Just Traffic.

Bristol City Council Parks Department don't think about Traffic or Build-Outs. Unless they are told by 'the public' that Traffic Engineers are designing Build-Outs. In Bristol. And unless 'the public' suggest to them that they might put trees in the Build-Outs.

But this makes the Parks Department look stupid.

After all, the world is clamouring for joined-up-thinking, but Bristol City Council's Parks Department (who manage trees in streets) can't talk to the Traffic Department (who manage streets with trees). So the Parks Department may look stupid when someone points out an opportunity to plant a new street tree in a new Build-Out. Why hadn't they thought of that? Oops.

Anyway, it takes a while, but eventually it is possible to get a few trees into build-outs. The Parks Department will resist, of course, as it means work, surveys, excuses and consultation. It may even mean looking through books of trees to find the least appropriate species for a chosen spot.

So, they plant...

A Ginkgo.

We are always impressed.