Completing The White Carpet

23rd January 2018

2nd February 2018

The snowdrops on the herbaceous border, Galanthus 'Magnet', gave the gardens a marvellous display in February but the delicate white flowers have faded and the bulbs are now 'in the green'. However, the carpet of white is not quite complete as the far section of the border is still void of snowdrops, waiting to be filled during this year's 'lifting and splitting' process.

2nd February 2015, A White Carpet

Galanthus 'Magnet'

Snowdrops In The Green, Right Border

Not Quite Full, The Empty Section, Left Border

Lifting Snowdrops

The project to fill the herbaceous border with snowdrops began five years ago, see blog entry 11th April 2013 Lifting And Splitting Galanthus 'Magnet', when the original clumps were lifted, split up and replanted to spread them. This process has been repeated every year since and today is, hopefully, the last time as the void in the white carpet will be filled.    

Splitting Snowdrops

Using a border fork the largest clumps were carefully lifted out of the ground, gently prised apart into two clumps, the smallest of 3-5 bulbs is replanted into the original planting space, the other larger clump placed into a trug for planting elsewhere. When the trug is full the contents are taken to the empty section for splitting and replanting.

A Trug Full Of Snowdrops

Small Bunches

 

Planting

Each of the clumps in the trug were themselves split in to groups of 3-5 bulbs and, using a spade to slice in to the soil, placed at the bottom of the spit (the length of the blade of a spade). The spade is then carefully lifted out and the soil trodden down sealing in the bulbs. The heavy rain due tomorrow will water in the snowdrops and next February the white carpet will be complete.

Planted

Chionodoxa luciliae

A Splash Of Blue

"What is the name of the blue flower beneath that big tree?" This is the question being asked by the many visitors to the college, and the answer is "Chionodoxa luciliae", commonly known as Glory of The Snow. ("What tree is that and how old is it?" is also asked, "A Plane tree" and "Between 200-300 years old" is the reply).

Beneath The Plane

A View Of Blue

Beneath the old plane tree, this small, early flowering spring bulb, Chionodoxa luciliae, has naturalized well and its clusters of bright blue, white centred, star shaped flowers have created a splash of blue that can be seen from afar by the inquisitive visitors.

Glory Of The Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae)

Chionodoxa luciliae

Potting On The Plug Plants

Two Trays Og Plug Plants

Two trays of plug plants arrived this morning from Ball Colegrave, 188 young plants that need to be potted on in to their own 8x8x9cm individual pot. 104 Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Baron' (Ornamental Millet) and 84 Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', these plants will be used out in the gardens as part of this year's summer display.

Tray, Plugs and Compost

Starting with the tray of Verbena, the tiny plugs were gently eased out of their cells by pushing a pea stick through the hole in the tray beneath each young plant.

Healthy Young Plug Plants, Verbena

8x8x9cm Pot Filled With Compost

Filling the flower pot with seed compost so it is slightly mounded above the rim of the pot, a hole is then made in the compost of a similar size to the plug root ball and, after teasing out the roots at the base of the plug, the plug then placed in the hole. (Seed compost is used at this stage to help promote root growth and to help the plug get established). The plug is then gently pushed down into the hole and the compost firmed around its neck to secure it in the pot, the base of the pot is then gently tapped on the potting bench to settle the compost and to remove any excess. The individual pots are placed in neat rows on the greenhouse staging and watered in.

Planting The Plug

Potted On

Planted Verbena

Ornamental Millet 'Purple Baron' Plugs

All Potted On

Lavender And Rosemary Replace The Grass

The Banks (Before)

In August 2014 the project to replace the grass on the banks began. The banks had previously been returfed in September 2009 but following an infestation of meadow grass the decision was made to kill off the grass and reseed. The whole process took two months, see the following blog entries for the complete story:
15th August 2014 'Killing Off The Grass On The Banks',
28th August 2014 'Respraying The Grass On The Banks',
15th September 2014 'Grass Seed and Horticultural Fleece',
26th September 2014 'Unveiling The New Grass On The Banks',
10th October 2014 'The First Cut Of The Banks'.

This hard work to improve the quality of grass on the banks was, however, in vain as just 12 months later, at the end of the summer of 2015, the grass was hit with the fungal disease 'leaf spot' and, after treatment with a fungicide in the following spring, they were back under under fleece again, see blog entry 8th March 2016 'Leaf Spot, Melting Out and Horticultural Fleece'. 

 

The Banks (Before)

For four years the grass on the banks has been causing Joss problem after problem and, following a number of discussions with Simon, it was agreed that two sections of grass would be removed and replaced with lavender and rosemary. 

Removing The Grass On The First Section

The plants from Branch Nurseries, 130 Lavandula angustifolia 'Vera' and 40 Rosmarinus officinalis 'Roman Beauty'  were delivered three weeks ago and have been waiting in the gardener's nursery area for their big day. Last week two three metre wide sections of grass from either side of the central steps were removed using turf irons in preparation for their planting, some of the plants were placed out to get an idea of the possible spacings. 

Removing The Grass To The Guide Line

Lavender and Rosemary

Positioning The Shrubs, Possible Spacings

Removing The Grass On The Second Section

A Slight Delay

The rosemary were planted in to the newly exposed soil last Friday and, after a slight delay due to snow fall over the weekend, the lavender were placed out and planted today. Due to the angle of the slope, in order to stop the plants from rolling down the banks, pea sticks were used to support each of the plants until they were planted, by lunch time all the lavender and rosemary were in.  

Planting The First Section

Planting Section Two

Placing Out The Lavender For Planting

Preventing The Lavender From Rolling Down The Slope Before Planting

The Banks (After)

The Banks (After)

Pollarding The Willow

Pollarded Salix alba 'Yelverton'

Pollarding Salix alba 'Chermesina'

The team have got their secateurs, loppers and saws out again having had a five week break from pruning since completing the college climbing plants at the end of January. First are the many Salix which are grown for their colourful winter stems, it is the new, young stems that are produced in response to the pruning that give the intense colours. This process of pruning is called 'Pollarding', the removing the annual branches to promote new growth and to leave just a stub, the dormant buds left on the stub will wake up in a few weeks and, by next winter, will create the young stems that will produce yet another colourful display. 
The pollarding started on the Broadwalk with the four Golden Willow, Salix alba 'Yelverton', by removing last year's the stems which have been a rich bronze-red throughout this winter. Next are the the Scarlet Willow by the weir in the Provost's garden, Salix alba 'Chermesina', which have also provided a stunning display of colourful stems this winter of yellow-orange-red.
The pollarding has been completed but the team will continue to cut over the coming weeks, pruning the Cornus, also grown for its colourful winter stems, and all the late summer and autumn flowering shrubs in the gardens, Buddleja davidii, Sambucus nigra and the Hydrangea paniculata, macrophylla and arborescens.

Pollarding

A Pollarded Salix alba 'Chermesina' Stub

It's Seed Sowing Time!

Seed Sowing Time

It's early March and as the gardens move slowly from the grip of winter in to spring, the trumpets of the daffodils are opening and the birds are collecting nesting material, work in the greenhouse is already focusing on this summer, it's seed sowing time! This year's annual display will be grown from seeds that have been chosen from the 'Chiltern Seeds' catalogue along with some of last year's unused seeds from 'Thompson & Morgan'. Small, shallow flower pots were filled with seed compost, levelled, gently firmed by pushing down on the soil using the base of one of the empty flower pots and then watered. The packets were divided into those requiring immediate sowing, February to March (March to May will be sown in a few weeks time) and, following the guidance on each packet, the seeds were scattered over the top of the compost, some had compost sieved over them and some not, labelled, lightly watered again and placed in the mist unit under glass. Cleome, Antirrhinum, Nicotiana, Amaranthus, Lobelia, Lavatera and Rudbeckia were the first to be sown, next will be the Cosmos, Tagetes and Zinnia.

The First Sowing, 27 Pots of Seed

Update 23rd March 2018

A Full Mist Unit

First Sowing 9th March All Germinated

A further 30 different packets of seeds were sown today, the mist unit is now full and the seeds sown on the 9th March have all germinated. 

Reinforcing The Canal Hedge With Hazel Stakes And Binders

A Gap In The Hedge (Before)

A considerable amount of work has already been done on the canal side hedge this year, see blog entry 16th February 'Cutting The Canal Side Hedge And Shaping The Evergreens' and more work has been undertaken today.  

New Hazel Stakes

Two sections had been identified as 'weak areas' having very little vegetation and are in need of reinforcement. Wood that could be used for stakes and rods were cut from a number of hazel trees in the grounds and taken to the hedge for processing. The thickest pieces, about 2 inches in diameter, were cut in to 6-7foot lengths and one end cut into a point to create a stake. The long, thin pieces, 9-10 foot in length, had their side shoots removed to create binders for weaving through the stakes.       

The Gap Filled And Reinforced (After)

Filled With New Hazel Stakes And Binders (After)

The stakes were hammered into the ground to a depth of 1 foot, 2 feet apart, and then the long, flexible binders interwoven between them, the result, by the end of the day, a much stronger and more stable hedge.

Another Gap Filled And Reinforced

Filled And Reinforced With New Hazel Stakes And Binders