Friday 29 October 2010
Fascicularia bicolor
A plant of note within the gardens, giving a stunning display at the moment, is Fascicularia bicolor. This exotic, unusual looking plant originates from Chile and can be found adjacent to the lake, in an old Holm Oak tree stump, on the Nuffield Lawn. Its brightly coloured foliage and rosette flowers in the centre, draw your eye to it as you pass by, but don't get too close, its foliage is tough and spiny, but still well worth a careful look.
Hot Colours For Winter
The corner border has been ripped out and prepared for planting, so it is time to bring the plants from the nursery and a few structural plants recently purchased.
This years scheme is to provide a hot colour border for the winter and spring, red, yellow and orange. The structural plants, Cornus alba will add height and Photinia fraseri 'Little Red Robin' adds structure at a lower level, whilst the viola's and wallflower create a blanket of cover over the soil.
Chasing Your Tail
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Light Drizzle
In the early morning drizzle, Simon, Joe and Ali begin their day in the Provost's rose garden, cutting back the herbaceous material and lifting another plant that has started to take over. This time, as with the Euphorbia schillingii in the Serpentine Bed, it is the Veronicastrum that has created large robust mounds within the beds, for the worst offenders it is time to be removed.
Friday 22 October 2010
Bulb Forcing
Joe and Ali spent a few hours this morning forcing bulbs; Hyacinth 'Anne Marie'; Fritillaria meleagris; Fritillaria elwesii and Narcissi 'Avalance'.
The reason for forcing some of our bulbs is to make them flower before their natural flowering season allowing us to create a display indoors in the senior common room.
The reason for forcing some of our bulbs is to make them flower before their natural flowering season allowing us to create a display indoors in the senior common room.
Once all the bulbs had been potted up into compost they covered them with a thick layer of sand outside in a coldframe. This will mimick what would happen naturally if they had been planted outside and, once they start to shoot through the sand the pots, will be lifted and then planted in our indoor display planter.
Thursday 21 October 2010
All Change
The team photo was taken yesterday, so Ady and Graham spent the day ripping out the corner border, the annuals taken to the compost heap and plants, needed for next year, taken to the greenhouse for potting up. (The photo above was taken in September when the border was at its best)
Once all the plants have been removed, the area is weeded and levelled ready for the winter bedding to be added next week.
Ali, Simon and Joe spent the morning in the Provost's Yard planting up the oak and lead planters. The main structural plants, Tree Ferns, Holly, Liquid Amber, Eucalyptus and Box balls remain in the planters all year to which other plants are added.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Team Photo
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Euphorbia schillingii
Having planted the Serpentine bed three yeears ago, the Euphorbia schillingii has now taken over, smothering some plants and collapsing. Its vigorous stems shoot up each spring and have created large, robust mounds which now need to be removed.
Friday 15 October 2010
2 Inches
Thursday 14 October 2010
Spiking
In From The Cold
With freezing temperatures due next week, it is time to get the bananas in from the cold, the largest being about 20 foot tall.
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Low Cut, Verticut and Triage
The banks have been scarified but today the flymo has been brought back out and the cutting height reduced to give them a lower cut. The guys spent all day mowing the banks removing even more thatched grass, all that remains is spiking.
Meanwhile, Joss spent the time verticutting the quad lawn, a less harsh process than scarifying. The blades pass through the grass swards cutting off horizontal shoots of stubborn long grasses rather than ripping them out, as with scarifying.
Outside the greenhouse, in the triage area, pots queue up for their Vine Weevil treatment before being allowed in for the winter, we do not want weevil in this house, see blog 11th November Vine Weevil.
Tuesday 12 October 2010
A Third Of A Tonne
Last year our apple picking managed to produce 360 bottles and in the blog entry dated 13th October, Juicing, I gave an explanation behind the process, well this year I have photos!
The team picked 16 trays of apples, cookers and eating, as well as 2 trays of pears.
The team picked 16 trays of apples, cookers and eating, as well as 2 trays of pears.
These trays were taken to Waterperry and tipped into a large crate, total weight a third of a tonne. Chris, the apple expert at Waterperry, labels the crate so there is no mix up with any other fruit.
The next step, these aren't our apples by the way, is to feed them into the juicing machine where they are chopped up into a pulp, under Graham's watchful eye.
Once all the fruit has been chopped and the large container at the bottom of the feed if full the pulp is taken to the juice squeezer.
The pulp is placed into several square frames, each wrapped in a cloth making a cheese. Nine cheeses are placed in a cheese stack and then pressed at a pressure of 380 bars.
Monday 11 October 2010
Apple Picking 2010
Friday 8 October 2010
The Change Begins
The night temperatures are dropping and the leaves are falling, it is time to start bringing in all the tender plants in to the greenhouse for their protection over the winter. Ali starts with emptying the pots in the Linbury Building and the urns by the herbaceous border, keeping some as new stock plants and the rest go to the compost pile.
Thursday 7 October 2010
Levelling off
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