Seeds Germinate In Just Four Days

Friday 21st July Already Germinating After Just 4 Days

10 Trays All Germinated

It's only been two weeks since the seeds were sown, see blog entry of the 18th July 'Seeds Sown For Winter/Spring 2017-2018' and they have all germinated. The wallflowers and stocks germinated the quickest, taking just four days before the first pairs of seed leaves were seen pushing up through the compost.

Ready To Be Pricked Out

Wallflower 'Sugar Rush Purple Bicolour',

Working through one tray at a time the strongest of the seedlings were gently eased out of the soil using a dibber, in this case the end of the plant label, and, holding a seed leaf, lifted free as it was pushed up from below.

Pricking Out

Choosing The Strongest Seedlings

Individual pots were filled with compost and a small hole made on the surface with a finger. The seedlings were carefully lowered in to the hole in their new pot and the soil firmed around its neck, just below the seed leaves. The pots were transferred from the large greenhouse to the smaller, cooler greenhouse and placed out in rows before being watered in. The remaining five trays will be pricked out as soon as they are large enough to transplant. 

5 Trays Pricked Out, 5 To Go

The Swans Return With Three Cygnets

The Swans And Their Three Cygnets

The pair of swans and their four cygnets were last seen on the lake two months ago, see blog entry 30th May 2017 'A Bad Year For The College Waterfowl' and, fearing the worst, it was thought that the cygnets had been lost to predators and that the adults had flown off following their loss. On Tuesday, 25th July, that presumption was proved wrong when the pair were spotted on the lake with three cygnets. From the seven cygnets that hatched their family is just three, now two months old the cygnets still have their grey down feathers. However, their return was short lived, a quick one day visit, disappearing again, it is believed, through a gap in the canalside hedge and on to the Oxford Canal. It is hoped that it won't be too long before they are all seen again on the college lake and return permanently.

Seeds Sown For Winter/Spring 2017-2018

Preparing For Seed Sowing

Three weeks ago the team planted out the last of the plants for this year's summer display, see blog entry 27th June 2017 'Planted In Triplicate', but today they turned their attention to the winter/spring display for 2017-2018! Peter and Ali spent a few hours in the greenhouse sowing the seeds that will help create this forthcoming display. (Notice the new uniform, the team are now wearing green 'Gardens & Grounds' polo shirts).

Filling Half Seed Trays

They began by over filling 10 half trays with seed compost, removing the excess using the side of a firming board, placing it on to the sides of the tray and gently moving it across the soil from one end to the other.

Removing The Excess Compost

Levelling The Compost

The firming board was then gently pressed down on the compost to create a level surface for sowing the seeds. Before sowing the full trays were watered to moisten the soil using a watering can with a fine rose.

10 Trays Watered

Ready For Sowing

Seeds Sown On The Compost

The chosen seeds are: Wallflower 'Sugar Rush Purple Bicolour', Wallflower 'Sunset Orange', Wallflower 'Sunset Bronze', Dianthus 'Bouquet Rose Magic', Stock 'Vintage Mix', Calceolaria 'Dainty Mix', Digitalis 'Dalmation Mix', Cineraria hybrida 'Jester Mixed', Primula Polyanthus 'Stella Banana Cream' and Primula Acaulis Primlet 'Lemon Shade'.

Working one packet at a time to prevent the mixing up of the seeds, especially the wallflowers, the packet was opened and a sufficient amount of seed was carefully tipped out in to the palm of their hand. The hand was then moved across the filled tray, gently tapping it to drop the contents on to the soil, evenly distributing them on to the surface of the soil.

Sieving Compost

A small amount of compost was then sieved over the seeds to lightly cover them and, once all the seeds had been sown in their trays, they were given another gentle watering. Placed in the smaller, old glasshouse it is now just a case of waiting to see if they all germinate.

Watered In

Soft Landscaping Around The Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre

Digging A Large Hole

The gardening team have had an extraordinary busy first six months of 2017 soft landscaping around the new Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre (SNSC) as well as the daily maintenance of the gardens and preparing for the college ball in June. From the series of photographs the vast SNSC project is now complete following a huge effort from all the team and, on the odd occasion, additional help from strong members of the building contractors and cranes to lift a number of giant trees in to position.
The planting began in December in the area to the rear of the building and then in February the work to the front began in earnest following the arrival of five, rather large, mature field grown River Birch trees, Betula nigra. Five very large holes were dug in the border area to the front, right of the building and each tree, with its heavy and awkward 200 litre root ball, was placed in to their hole and anchored in using the Platipus Rootball Fixing System, see blog entry for the 9th February 'Anchored By A Platipus'.

Very Large Root Ball

Planting The River Birch

Teamwork 8th February 2017

Five Trees Planted

The SNSC Border 9th February 2017

Evergreens, Rear Building Planting December 2016

Planting Liquid Amber 'Slender Silhouette'

Teamwork 9th February 2017

The following day the team returned to the rear of the building to plant three trees amongst the evergreen shrubs that were planted last December. With smaller root balls, but no less awkward due to their height and the location and accessibility to the rear, the trees, Liquidamber styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette', were dragged to the holes and planted and, as with the other trees, anchored using the Platipus system.

Shrubs Join The River Birch

In March, with the planting at the rear of the building now completed, the team returned to work on the border at the front, right of the building. First they planted three red twisted willow trees, Salix erythroflexuosa, six Myrtle, Myrtus communis and eight Viburnum, Viburnum x Hillieri 'Winton'.  From the leaf pits, located at the far end of the college, several full loads of leaf mould were transported down to the building site by tractor and trailer and tipped out at the entrance then, using wheelbarrows, taken round to the border and spread across the soil. A rotavator was hired and used to mix the mulch and soil together.

A Delivery Of Leaf Mould Mulch

Mulching

Rotavating

Planting Tulips

A week later 300 tulips were planted in to the border, a late flowered, single white variety called 'Maureen'. These tulips were part of the delivery received last September, see blog entry of the 15th 'A Bumper Delivery Of Bulbs' but, due to the planting site not being ready, were planted in groups in to pots in preparation for planting in the spring.   

The SNSC Border 24th March 2017 Trees, Shrubs And Bulbs

A Crane Is Required

During the last week of March the planting of trees and shrubs continued in the border to the left of the SNSC building and in the two beside the lake extension. One of the four Katsura trees, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, had to be lifted by crane over the lake in to the hole that had been dug for it. In the autumn, as the leaves change colour, there will be a smell of burnt sugar in the air, some people say it reminds them of candy floss!

Katsura Tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Tulip 'Maureen' 21st April 2017

SNS Left Side, Planting Shrubs And Perennials 3rd May 2017

Planting The Two Lake Extension Borders, Shrubs And Perennials 3rd May 2017

In April and early May the planting continued, trees, shrubs and perennials filling all the borders. (Planting list will be added to this blog entry shortly).
By June the plants were all settling in, although in this very dry year they have needed alot of watering to keep them alive, but the borders have established rather quickly, as can be seen by the series of photographs below for June and July.   

 SNSC Right, Front Border, 12th June 2017

Path To The Sports Field, 12th June 2017

Lake Extension, 12th June 2017

Soft Landscaping Of SNSC Finished 7th July 2017

SNSC Border (Front, Right), 7th July 2017

View To The Sports Field, 7th July 2017

SNSC, 7th July 2017

SNSC Border (Front, Right) 7th July 2017

Planting list for the SNSC site  (Quantity and Plant Name)

8 x  Betula nigra (River Birch) 3 Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette' (Gum tree)

7 x  Cercidiphyllum japonicum (Katsura tree)

3 x Prunus Serrulata Shimidsu

1 x Salix erythroflexuosa,

6 x Myrtus communis (Myrtle)

8 x Viburnum x Hillieri 'Winton'

7 x Taxus baccata (pyramid) 

5 x Salix purpurea 'Nancy Saunders'

10 x Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Beauty'

3 x  Cornus 'Eddie’s White Wonder'

10 x Cornus sericea 'Bud's Yellow'

7 x Viburnum Plicatum 'Mariesi'

1 x Syringa 'Primrose'

3 x Acer Palmatum Osakazuki

1 x Eleagnus ebbingei

3 x Gunnera manicata

100 x  Hakonechloa macra

100 x Molinia Edith Dudszus

300 x  Iris sibirica . Persimmon

50 x Geranium x magnificum 

25 x Digitalis Purpurea

150 x Iris sibirica . 'White Swirl'

10 x Lythrum virgatum 'Dropmore Purple'

20 x Paeonia lactiflora 'Border Gem'

30 x Stipa gigantea

40 x Lythrum salicaria 'Robert'

20 x Verbascum 'Mont Blanc'

40 x Agapanthus 'Torbay'

20 x Digitalis x mertonensis 

100 x  Iris ensata 'Kumo no obi' 

100 x Iris sibirica  'White Swirl'

26 x Agapanthus 'Navy Blue'

20 x Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum'

10 x Paeonia lactiflora 'Kelway's Glorious'

20 x Geranium xo. 'Walter's Gift

100 x Allium 'Multibulbosum';

40 x Camassia cusickii

Grass Seed Mixes

9th November 2016 Laurel (Far Left), Cable Channel (Far Right)

Many visitors to the college gardens take the time to stop and congratulate the team on the quality of the grass especially the quad lawn, the banks and the strip in front of the herbaceous border. As well as the many compliments a recurring question is what grass seed is used to create and maintain these wonderful lawns? The answer to that question is two different mixes of seed from Sherriff Amenity's MM Range. The seed used depends on the type of lawn required ie a fine lawn such as the quad requires a mix called MM10, or a resiliant, superior mix for lawns such as on the banks and herbaceous strip require the mix called MM50. (Click on the above link for more information regarding the contents of these seed mixes and the percentage break down of Browntop Bent, Slender Creeping Red Fescue, Chewings Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass). 

23rd November 2016

In November of last year a section on the banks had to be removed to make way for the laying of new cables. In February, once the cable laying had been completed, the channel that had been created was filled back in and the seed mix MM50 sown on the newly prepared area. Within one month, thanks to the warm spring providing perfect conditions for germination, the seed had germinated.

13th February 2017

MM50 Seed Mix On The Banks

9th March 2017 MM50 Germinated

In the mean time, whilst the seed was germinating, another area of the banks was being renovated. In December last year the large laurel were removed from the far end of the banks. In February of this year the area was then levelled in preparation for seeding but not before a new metal edge and stone edge were added to retain the soil and match the edging on rest of the banks. Once all the edging work had been completed the seed was broadcast across the area, MM50 again, and within a month, the seed had germinated and a green hue began to slowly cover the soil. By the end of April the new grass was being mown.

9th February 2017 Levelled In Preparation For Seeding

9th March 2017 A New Stone Edge

9th March 2017 Ready For Seeding

24th March 2017 Grass On The Channel

27th June 2017 Grass Where The Laurel Once Stood

The Quad And The Banks

As can be seen from the photograph above the two areas of repair that were soil just 4-5 months ago are now green and the new grass is barely noticeable from the rest of the banks.

5th July 2017 Herbaceous Strip