Jim's Mowing - For All Your Garden Works

I used this company recently to get trees and shrubs planted. I don't usually look for help but (a) I was working long hours and (b) some of the planting required a great deal of muscle power. They planted yew trees and shrubs, Cherry trees and Aspen trees for me.

This company operates under a franchise agreement. They are a terrific bunch of guys. Good humoured, neat and tidy and no job too difficult. I don't have a regular garden with swathes of lawn but if you are in need of garden services of any kind, I recommend this company.

From their web site. http://www.jimsmowing.co.uk/

Jim's Mowing was started in 1982 (in Melbourne, Australia) by Jim Penman - one man with a lawn mower and an urgent need to pay the rent.

With his unwavering dedication to providing excellent customer service, Jim's business quickly outgrew what one man could handle. Trying to service his customers without compromising the quality of his work proved quite a challenge, and after trying a number of ideas, he launched the Jim's Mowing franchise system in 1989.

Jim believed that by offering training and support to others, combined with clearly defined standards of customer service, he could build a strong reputation while attracting both clients and franchisees. The business has been so successful that there are now 2000 Jim's Mowing franchisees worldwide, servicing over ten thousand customers every day.

We are very excited about our expansion into the United Kingdom. Research suggests the UK is the biggest market we have yet entered and we are determined to deliver the same reliable, friendly and professional service that has made Jim's Mowing a household name in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Breezy Start To 2012

Last year is now old and I can't say 2011 will be memorable for its sunny weather. I have less garden or woodland photos than usual from the year but here are a couple of interesting shots for the record.

2011 was dominated by our second renovation of the water tower after the damage caused by a burst pipe. All is going well and works are very nearly complete. A company called "Jims Mowing" planted 2 large Yew trees at the door of the tower as well as a yew hedge at the back and trees in the woodland.

The yew trees were an effort to fit into the ground but with the uplighting and a chance to settle I think they will look good for many years to come.

The start of the year though will for ever more be marked by tales of damage caused by windy weather. At the water tower the damage was not too bad but we didn't escape either.

The wind speed was over 100 mph at times and our outdoor xmas tree blew over along with small items I never knew I had tucked away. Then all the lights went out! we had our power cut off.

The storm damage around us was quite striking with large trees and branches falling onto local power lines and one large tree lying across the now less-than-straight Eskbank sewer pipe. That will be an interesting repair I’m sure for Midlothian Council.

With a house that was shoe horned in between 3 large trees we were rightly concerned. My favourite of the 3 is the Beech and this type of tree is known to be at risk for limb loss. We had it surveyed pre build and crown lifted to take the weight off. All was good. The other 2 are Sycamore and again pruning works have lightened the top load and no damage ensued. Not so good for our direct neighbour when a tree from the tennis club lost a large limb and it fell inches from their car and onto their front gate and pillars.

 The calm after the storm now prevails and we took stock of any damage to our trees. A very very large Beech tree had snapped about 2 feet off the ground revealing an inner core of dark brown crumbling decay. The tree was lying near the edge to the steep drop to the river below, quite a distance from our house and in a little used area of the woodland.

Yesterday with the help of some expert chain saw users G and I managed to clear the ground and cut up the large limbs from the fallen tree to make the area safe although there's more to do. The main trunk is now lying safely at the edge. It looks stunning against the backdrop and it has created a long sitting out area with a lovely view.

Need a name for this new patch. Think I call it "The Beech".

The surrounding trees and the view beyond at this time of the year.

Water Tower and Cottage Pre Conversion

Lots of folks have been commenting on the water tower and cottage conversion of 20 + years ago. Here are the buildings when we purchased them in 1989. Isn't the flat roof box extension on the cottage truly awful. The boarded up windows on the cottage didn't do a lot for the state of the building at the time. Add in paraffin heaters, chip board covers on the original interior doors and external asphalt paving covering the damp proof course layer and its a wonder this cottage survived.

Harry Potter Steps

These steps were created on the steep slope this last year. It has taken me 'til now to work out how to attach this photo because it was taken by a professional photographer called Nigel Rigden. I'm sure he won't mind having this picture used on this blog site. Are these steps not truly something out of a Harry Potter scene? I walk them most days and it kinda compensates for not walking up and down the water tower steps these days!

The steps link to the access steps created previously down to the top of the very steep edge. It was a mammoth task to create the access (thanks to Mick and Niall) but now we have safe and secure access for planting. In this last month, 6 more quite large Cherry trees have been planted and 6 new small Aspen. Now Aspen is native although not that common. It has been planted some distance away at the most precarious section at the base of the "run off" area. I reclaimed the ground here by shovelling the loose soil from the slope to create a flattened section capable of holding plants. I gather Aspen will proliferate by runners and some tell me it will take over. If it sends out a lot of root growth then that will be good for the bank. If this blog is being read by the next owner of the woodland then I apologise if you are thinking of tree surgery now because this has been a mistake. I'm hoping the beauty of the Aspen bark will compensate for any take over, and surely in my lifetime it will create a lovely screen of trees to the park below. If the Midlothian Council tree officer is reading this then be prepared.

Now when I was in Florida I came across this. I wonder where the inspiration for the access steps came from?

Published in SWOG

http://www.swog.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/NL-Nov2011-final.pdf

SWOG the Small Woodland Owners' Group have published the first of 2 articles that I prepared. I'm not sure its my best prose but I am keen to get my message out to woodland owners who might have issues with planning permission.

This monthly newsletter is very interesting apart from my own contribution. All woodland and wildlife lovers will find something interesting I'm sure.

27th Dec 2011
Susan

Levenson - my view. With Rights Come Responsibilities

It’s Sunday and I am reading about the Levenson enquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the media.

I am struck by 2 comments in the stories in the Sunday Times. The first relates to “long lenses” and the second relates to phone calls made to a witness asking what trees were being planted in some-ones grounds because of a related story on non-native planting in Scotland.

Well I’m no celebrity nor have I suffered thank goodness from any press intrusion in my life but these comments struck a chord.

Last year, and again recently, our sitting out area in our woodland garden was photographed using long lenses. Our house was also photographed and our woodland, which we own. Everyone has a right to a photograph and I have never complained or questioned anyone taking photographs of our water tower or our grounds. The tower is a land mark and the associated grounds are the back drop to Ironmills park. But when long lenses are used to try to sway judgement of a planning application, even when the house had permission, well that’s intrusion. Not by the press but by the public. Members of the public went on to lobby Midlothian Council elected representatives and some were swayed with the evidence put before them - even with the evidence provided by using "long lenses". That was shameful. Especially when elected representatives chose not to visit nor to check facts and detail.

What about non-native planting? I’m acutely aware of this issue having been accused of so called non-native planting by some who know a lot less than I do as to what’s native and, more importantly, what’s acceptable and why in the woodland. It’s partly why I have this blog. I am an avid reader of all things “woodland” and my understanding of what is native and how to manage woodlands is my passion.

But back to the enquiry and the fact it struck a chord with me this morning. I might be no celebrity but I guess Gerry has made the press with his Masterchef achievement. This must be why a member of the public and ex justice of the peace, Mrs Kate Duthie, thought she had a right to ask that Gerry be “researched on the internet” during our appeal process. I still can’t quite get over that request, made to the Reporter during his site visit. At least it was made in our face so we know what was being said. Behind the scenes – god only knows what was said. In this country if you want to report someone to an authority then there is a whistle blowers charter that allows that report to be heard and judged. No matter the outcome. But if you cry wolf and your complaint is not upheld because you have invented a story to augment your own beliefs and with no factual evidence, why are you not held accountable for wrongful activities?

I think this is where the Levenson enquiry should go. I appreciate the press for their forensic auditing of mal-practice and wouldn’t want to see that practice curtailed by legal process arising from the actions of less scrupulous reporters. Let’s just make the perpetrators of less scrupulous activities responsible for their actions and bring the weight of the legal process on their shoulders. Then they might think twice before using long lenses and reporting irrelevant and wrong information in the interests of a story; twisted and adjusted just to sell newspapers, or to attempt to mark the character of any individual.

On a happy note - Its Movember and I found this picture of Gerry with his contribution in years gone by. This was Long Island in 2004, the start of our year out trip when we cooked our way all over the USA.

Water Tower Works

Since woodland works have taken a bit of a back seat recently it seems like a good idea to report on the water tower, as it is being renovated for the second time. The interior will benefit from modern technology, in the form of lighting and plumbing. Sad to have to replace a 3 month old boiler but if water damage makes something unsafe then there’s no choice.

The replacement kitchen is the only major item still to complete, everything else is on a snagging list or pending delivery. The old water tank (not the very original but a domestic one) has been removed. It's really nice to see the external lights back on again and now that we have LED, isn’t life so much better, not to mention more cost effective. Paintwork on the outside wasn't affected by the flood and much of the external paintwork had been re done a couple of years ago. The front door though - that was always a problem and no matter what we did the oak wood always looked horribly stained. It now has a new coat of paint instead of varnish and what a transformation.

I’ll post pictures once completed but in the meantime, here is an extract of the history of the tower as written by David Smith ex provost of Midlothian Council and local historian.

THE WATER TOWER - DALKEITH

1.HISTORY

The Water Tower at Dalkeith is thought to be the oldest building of its kind in Scotland. It was built in 1879 at a cost of £1,330 on land acquired from the Duke of Buccleuch. The construction was carried out by an engineer , Mr. James A Leslie. Contractswere placed with Messrs James Thorburn & Sons , and Messrs. Hanna , Donald and Wilson for the building and the erection of the iron tank respectively. The 80 foot high tower served as a “cistern” for around 18,000 gallons of water which was then fed by gravity to the towns of Dalkeith and Eskbank. The construction is brick with stone facings and the 18 foot high tank, now removed , took up the entire space of the “house” section which is clad in wood.

Water was pumped to the tower from various sources throughout its working life. One of the early principle sources was from a bore tapping into an artesian wellat Bridgend .This supplied up to 200,000 gallons of water per day to the tower.

In 1910 searches for further supplies led to Ironmills Park. A mill wheel was in working order and this was used to pump water from a bore sunk in the flour mill (previously an ironmill ). Water was pumped into a tank with a capacity of 10,000 gallons then conveyed to the tower to be mixed with other supplies.

2. CLOSURE AND CONVERSION

Eventually the water tower was not able to meet the demands for water supply , and it was closed around 1950. In 1975 the local council gifted the building to the Dalkeith Community Council who had hoped to convert the building into a camera obscura or museum. However the question of public safety and costs were to restrict the Community Council plans and instead the tower was offered for sale to the public. It was purchased at a cost of £6,013 by Gerry and Susan Goldwyre in 1988.

Renovation of the grade B listed tower began after 6 months of planning. The local authority were sympathetic when considering the submission for conversion and the local people of Dalkeith and Eskbank were in favour of the conversion of a much loved land mark. The tower now has 7 floors with stunning views across Midlothian , Fife and Edinburgh. The only major change to the tower was the addition of a balcony which has enhanced its appearance. The tower features regularly in books and magazines . The conversion won many awards and created substantial press and public interest.

Extracted from “ A History Of Dalkeith’s Water Supply “ by David R Smith. 1996 Local Historian

3. AWARDS. 1990

·        ·Sunday Times “ Best Conversion Of Industrial Building “

·        ·Independent television programme“ Through The Keyhole” featured the owner for the most innovative house in Britain.

·        ·The Sunday Times SCOTLAND Morton Fraser Milligan Heritage Award for the best architectural Conversion .

·        ·The Sunday Times SCOTLAND Morton Fraser Milligan Heritage Award for the architect of the tower , Gerry Goldwyre.

·        ·National Trust Conversion Award.