Meet the Leeds gardener behind the 50-year-old flowers that fill Woodhouse Moor with colour
Leeds weather is rarely predictable as we head into springtime, but there has always been one constant in the city.
Be it the sudden warmth of the summer months ahead or the showers that permeate March, one specific sight never fails to put a smile on the faces of those who call Hyde Park their home. It is a landmark moment for anyone making their weekday commute.
Those bursts of purple and yellow from the crocuses and daffodils are not only a visual welcome to Leeds, but an early indication that spring has - or at least, shortly will - sprung.
While these flowers appear like clockwork, they are the result of a vision formed half a century ago by John Egan MBE, a man who spent 35 years as the guardian of Woodhouse Moor, whose hands-on legacy is currently celebrating its golden anniversary.
"We had about 12 or 14 people over two days, including the teachers and the children,” John explained to the Yorkshire Evening Post. “I think it was about two to two and a half days, the whole lot was put in. It was October 1975.
Then of course they came out in ’76, so coming up to the 50 years of course".
From Roscommon to the ‘Lungs of the City’
Born in Ireland before moving to England in the 1960s, John started his career at Meanwood Park before accepting the head guardianship at Woodhouse Moor.
During his three decades overseeing the park, he saw it as his mission to bring colour to what was once known as the ‘lungs of the city’ due to its industrial surroundings, akin to the industrious landscape of Sheffield with “bellows of chimneys and smoke across the city,” by John’s recollection.
The decision to plant thousands of bulbs was a conscious effort to counteract that grey, industrial backdrop. John remembers the park as a vital escape for a city that was then a "big industrial area".
While the initial idea for the specific flower arrangements came from an area manager who had seen similar displays on the East Coast, John was the one who saw the potential for Woodhouse Moor to become a "visual welcome" for the entire city.
For John, getting involved was also about stewardship and respect for the past.
“When I came here, of course, we were carrying on the job that people before us had done," he explains, noting that his work with the flowers was simply an extension of the tree-planting efforts from the 1930s.
He saw himself as part of a long lineage of gardeners tasked with maintaining the health and beauty of the Moor for the local community and the thousands of students who pass through it every year.
John’s motivation was rooted in the park’s historical identity as a sanctuary: "Of course, with this park being one of the closest to the city centre, it was called the 'lungs of the city' many years ago."
Because Leeds was then a heavy industrial hub, he felt a responsibility to provide as much natural relief as possible, noting that "all these trees were planted in the 1930s, and that all added to getting as much colour in as we possibly could".
A kindred bond with the King
John’s lifelong dedication to the Moor was formally recognised in 2009, though the news originally came as a shock.
"The local neighbourhood people... they were looking to maybe when they found out I was coming to retirement age... and I was thinking, well, I might get a bottle of Irish whiskey or something like that," John laughs.
"But the next thing, I received this letter through the post from the Cabinet Office to say you’ve been awarded an MBE. So I was really, really pleased".
The ceremony at Buckingham Palace provided a rare moment for the gardener to discuss his work with royalty, and John found a kindred spirit in the King, a fellow environmentalist who was genuinely interested in the scale of the Leeds landmark.
"He wanted to know about how big the park was... and he did follow it up because he’s a really keen tree lover, saying 'Do plant plenty of trees.' So I said, 'We will, sir'".
Now 80, John’s advice for the next generation of Leeds gardeners is as grounded as the bulbs he planted half a century ago.
"It can be hard work," he admits. "But if you stick at it... not only that but also for your health as well, you know, it’s a wonderful job.
You’re almost always on the go because you’re out in the open in all weathers. Just stick with it and just enjoy it".
As for that bottle of whiskey he never received, John isn't too concerned.
While he admits he isn't "all that keen on whiskey," even as an Irishman, he does have a preference for his retirement celebrations: “I do like the odd glass of Guinness, so there we are".
It seems only fitting that if anyone wants to pay homage to the man who helped plant and paint the city, a pint of the black stuff would be the way to do it.