The recreation of a Victorian Garden was part of a Cultivar art experiment created by 100 people including local people, architects, building contractors, light experts, growers and horticultural scientists. The idea was to grow Victorian 'family trees' in small city gardens using debris recycled from Bishopsgate Goodsyard dating back to 1840.

Large amounts of public and European funds were used to regenerate the Bishopsgate Goodsyard for community uses and art projects. But there is little evidence of this apart from token gestures including the decaying apple orchard project. Community or artistic projects that get in the way of promoting and benefiting the concerns of corporate industry are constantly being shelved at the expense of the community.

Institutions such as Cityside Partnership, extension of the Corporation of London, European funds and City Fringe are using regeneration funds with no real commitment to community and art projects. These sites only seem to exist until which time developers and corporations can exploit such property for nothing other than commercial gain.

Prince Charles is opposed to the demolition of Bishopsgate Goodsyard but has since been accused of being a traditionalist by the city’s own local authority - the secretive and unaccountable Corporation of London. This thinly veiled attack aims to pave the way for huge office developments in poor neighbouring boroughs at any cost.

The apple trees, which bear no less than three different fruit from early mid to late season, would have matured over ten years if their life had not been cut dramatically short due to the removal of grow lights in the tunnel environment of their railway arch home. The self-sustaining project had used an underground irrigation system, an agricultural nutrient and reproduced natural growing conditions via 300x400watt lights to imitate sunlight for the nine dying apple trees.

Ironically, further down the Goodsyard fluorescent lights can be found lighting concrete steps with little or no explanation as to why an urban garden has been left to wither.

Poor neighbour Tower Hamlets is currently falling prey to the pressures foisted upon the area by names such as Judith Mayhew at the Corporation of London who is also personal advisor to mayor Ken Livingstone.

The City’s pressure to build office blocks using heartless developers and stakeholders in the City of London is beginning to show how much impoverished communities face total disregard in sharp contrast to the special treatment granted to the rich and already privileged. New Labour could not have given a clearer example of the growing gap between rich and poor.

Tower Hamlets Council has until now been totally ineffective at representing and protecting the interests of its local people but people must demand justice not only for the trees but for the community by demanding an urban plan for the City fringe area.

Contact the artists to find out why the trees are dying?
The website address for the artists is below:
 http://www.rsa.org.uk/afa/details/details_ID=77.html