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