Pines Garden
| Pines Garden | |
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The Pines garden
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| Location | St Margaret's at Cliffe, near Dover, UK |
| Coordinates | 51°17′01″N 0°47′09″E / 51.2836°N 0.7857°ECoordinates: 51°17′01″N 0°47′09″E / 51.2836°N 0.7857°E |
| Area | 6 acres (24,000 m2) |
| Opened | 1960 |
| Owned by | The Bay Trust |
| Operated by | The Bay Trust |
| Status | open daily, 10am - 5pm |
| Collections | Arboretum, exotic shrubs, rose garden, |
| Website | Pines Garden website |
Pines Garden is a house and large garden, located on the winding beach road from St Margaret's at Cliffe village down to St Margeret's Bay (beach).
Frederick Ernest Cleary (1905-1984) CBE, who was originally a Chartered Surveyor from Crouch End, London. Later, he formed a very successful company ‘Haslemere Estates’, who refurbished many of the City of London’s fine old buildings during the 70's and 80's. In 1970, he formed the Bay Trust to 'preserving the natural environment in the proximity of St. Margaret’s Bay and undertaking related environmental education initiatives'. This was due to his work in inner London, where he created green and restful spaces in the City, often on the site of bomb damaged sites. His philanthropic activities and his writing of two books ‘Beauty and the Borough’ and ‘The Flowering City’, resulting in him earning the nickname ‘Flowering Fred’. In 1975 Fred purchased and refurbished an old rectory building ('Ripple Down House') in Ringwould. This became an environmental education centre for children.
'Alistair Gould', the founder’s grandson is on the current trust.
The Bay Trust bought the house and the gardens in 1960s. Edda Jones, an artist, was staying in the house, while the Trust added to the garden before they opened it to the public But later the cottage would be demolished as it was not energy inefficient and could not be converted. The trust then opened the garden to the public.
The garden has many features including a waterfall and adjoining lake, a grass labyrinth and an organic kitchen garden with around 40 different species of fruit and vegetables.
The garden has been run organically since 2002. Due to the ethos of the Trust management, who wish to work in harmony with nature and this includes recycling, composting and uses natural predators to control pests
The garden also has a statue of Winston Churchill by Oscar Nemon.
The garden also hosts many projects by contemporary artists.
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Wikipedia