Victoria Park in 2024 - Welcome To
Spring
w/e 03 March 2024
All of this week's
pictures were taken with a Nikon D3300
A month by month look at Ilkeston's
Victoria Park in 2024 - Part 03 March.
It was March 1st, the first day of meteorological spring and
St David's Day, the patron saint of Wales, when we returned to
Victoria Park. Daffodils of course, are closely associated with
St David's Day but these just off the car park seem a little
reluctant to open their buds but that's hardly surprising given
the wet weather we've experienced in February.
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It may have been the first day of spring but under leaden skies,
the green flag, a national award as a symbol of excellence drooped
forlornly near the children's play area.
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Signs of spring however, were evident in the blossom on some
of the trees.
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Last month we met a friendly big dog in the park and this time
we encountered an equally friendly, but much smaller canine,
who goes by the name of Princess.
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Another dog was running about on the grass but with the state
of the ground it was much more advisable to keep to the paths.
It's now been confirmed that February was the wettest month on
record and also that this winter has been one of mildest - although
it still feels cold to me. To be fair though, there haven't been
many frosty mornings but I don't imagine the park benches have
had much use.
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We continued - keeping to the paths - and walked through the
pergola to the crocus filled Bristol Road side of the park. The
weather has also had an impact here and the crocuses have suffered
as a result. There have been far better displays in previous
years.
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A closer view of some of the crocuses shows how the flowers have
suffered.
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The same can be said of the central beds which is not only disheartening
for the Council's Green Space Team who maintain the park but
also for the general public who enjoy the results of their work.
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One bright spot was the colourful display of primulas in this
planter at the entrance to the bowling green.
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We can only hope that an improvement in
the weather will enable the park to recover in time for the "In
Bloom" judges later in the year and also that sufficient
allowance by those responsible for awarding the Green Flag is
made to enable the coveted status to continue. But as we made
our way back to the car park, it started to rain again and there
was even some hail in with it. And the temperature dropped again
- welcome to spring!
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