edible component and are both attractive and useful. Animals In the early 19th century, the gardens included a menagerie. Henry Baines' daughter, Fanny, recalled 70 years later that in this period the menageries contained a bear, a golden eagle, and several monkeys, amongst other animals. In 1831, a bear from the menagerie got loose in the gardens and reportedly chased the Keeper of the Yorkshire Museum, John Phillips, and Reverend Harcourt into an outbuilding. The bear was subsequently sent to London Zoo. The gardens are home to a population of semi-tame grey squirrels and many species of birds. A 1970 report covering the period 1965–1969 listed the vertebrates resident in the gardens at that time: Common wood pigeon, Tawny owl, Blue tit, Eurasian Wren, Dunnock, European Robin, European greenfinch, Mistle thrush, Song thrush, Blackbird, and House sparrow, Common shrew, Wood mouse, and Brown rat. Until 2006 a family of peacocks had been in residence for at least 70 years. In 2012 the gardens was one of the release sites for a new population of the endangered Tansy beetle and, as of 2015, is one of the best places to see them in the wild. In 2018 a leaf-mining fly, Phytomyza scotina, was discovered mining the leaves of sage plants in the gardens – it was subsequently described as a new species for Britain. Geology There is a geological oddity close to the main gates, consisting of a large boulder of pink granite that was discovered during construction of the city's railway station. Since this type of stone is not local it was determined as having been transported there from Shap in Cumbria by glacial action during the last ice age. In 2015, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of the geological map of Britain by William Smith, a mosaic map was commissioned for the Gardens from artist Janette Ireland which shows the geological strata of Yorkshire in pebbles of the corresponding stone. Events As well as being a popular recreational space for both residents and visitors, the gardens are the venue for special events such as open-air theatre and music performances. In 1970, bands including Roxy Music, Hawkwind and Pink Fairies staged concerts here. During the 20th-century revival of the York Mystery Plays, performances were held on a fixed stage in the gardens among the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. In the 1950s, York actress Dame Judi Dench