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| 2006 SUMMER PICNIC | 
|
on June 25th
The weather on Sunday June 25th was really good: warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze. Ideal weather for a picnic. And the group of Friends and their friends and families who gathered thoroughly enjoyed the crac and the picnic sharing. We were delighted to welcome Mrs. Ann Hope who has been a constant Friend to the Garden (one of her late husband's ancestors was the Dr. John Hope who founded this, the Leith Walk Botanic Garden).
Ann Hope enjoys meeting with Friends again 
And from the oldest Friend to our youngest - everyone has a great time!
JUNE CLEAN-UP
The June clean-up took place the hour before the Picnic.
There have been monthly Clean-ups on the last Sunday of each month and we have to thank the small constant group of people who turn up every month, hail, rain or shine, to pick up litter; pick up the ubiquitous dog crap; pick up the broken glass. We also do the more pleasant tasks of looking after the planting done by the RBGE and keeping the area around the trees free of weeds, whilst Bill is in charge of protecting the mushrooms with regular treatment with linseed oil.
BOTANICAL GIFTS FROM THE RBGE
17th May 2006
On 17th May, staff from the Botanics arrived to continue the promised planting of plants that have some connection either with the original Botanic Garden or with Dr. John Hope. We now have 3 new trees: a Rowan (Sorbus himalaica), a Maple (Acer davidii) and a Crab Apple (Malus yunnanensis). Of special interest is the rhubarb plant (Rheum palmatum) planted near the middle gate. This comes from the National Rhubarb collection and is a reminder of the large area of many different rhubarb plants planted by John Hope (at the McDonald Road end) for medicinal purposes. To complete the plantings there are some Buddleia plants and a Flaviramea (Cornus Stolonifera) which should encourage a few more butterflies into the Garden.
EDINBURGH PARK & GARDEN OPEN DAY
6th May 2006
A great new scheme by the Council! Hopetoun Crescent Garden was included in the list of Edinburgh Parks well worth a visit and many private gardens and back greens threw their gates open to the public. A small group of Friends were in the Garden throughout the day to speak to the visitors and give them a copy of our HCG Leaflet; and the Committee is investigating the possibility of obtaining the brown direction signs to help visitors find the Garden.
SCOTTISH WILDLIFE TRUST
April 2006
To complement and supplement the thousands of wildflowers planted between 1999 and 2001, a special patch (near the McDonald Road gate) has been planted with a variety of plants including cowslip and corn poppies by the SWT. It will be interesting to watch their progress.
BIRD BOXES IN THE SCHOOLS
23rd February 2006
This was a dreich day! Not the sort of day to be out putting bird boxes in the trees but that's exactly what the Friends - ably helped by the Birders of St. Mary's - did. Because of the weather we just concentrated on putting some of the bird boxes in suitable sites in St. Mary's playground. Others were later placed in the Garden and Gayfield Square.
BIRD BOXES in the LIBRARY
3rd February 2006
Julie (Johnston) and Bill (Chalmers) have been particularly busy in the bird department. Julie has spent a lot of time liaising with Mike Betts from the RSPB and the primary schools and being the power behind the throne with our Boxing in the Park project. On February 3rd a group of children from St. Mary's PS joined Friends in McDonald Road Library to assemble the bird boxes which Bill had spent many a happy hour making ready (flat-pack style) for the children to assemble. Great fun was had by all as the Nelson Hall became a hive of activity and by the end of the session (which included a question and answer time with Mike Betts), 8 bird boxes were made, signed by their makers and ready for erecting in the trees.
SCOTLAND IN BLOOM MERIT CERTIFICATE
October 2005
Julie Johnston represented the Friends in the Assembly Rooms in October where she accepted the Merit Certificate on behalf of the Friends. This is recognition of the hard work the local community put into keeping the Hopetoun Crescent Garden such a welcoming green space.