Clematis viticella 'Alba Luxurians'

Clematis viticella 'Alba Luxurians'

In recent years a number of clematis have been planted in the gardens, Clematis 'Etoile Violette', 'Black Prince' 'Madame Julia Correvon', 'Romantika', 'Durandii', 'Rooguchi' and 'Alba Luxurians' to name a few. All of them are covered in flowers at the moment but one in particular has rather unusual, misshapen flowers and these belong Clematis viticella 'Alba Luxurians'. On closer inspection no two flowers seem to be the same, all have four white petals with green tips but in varying patterns of white and green, add to this contorted flower shapes, they make a very eye catching display.

Contorted Flowers

Flower Bud Opening

Different Flowers

Thick Green Tips

Four White Petals With Less Green On The Tips

Changing The Border And Container Displays For Summer 2018

Scaffolding

For the last four weeks the planting of the last display border, 'The Border in the Corner', has been delayed due to scaffolding in situ for important building maintenance and repair.

Border Beneath The Scaffolding

 

A month ago, knowing that there would be a delay, the 300 plants that were going to be used in the border were repotted into larger pots allowing them to continue growing whilst waiting for the building maintenace to be completed, they have remained in the nursery on temporary staging until today.

24th May, 300 Plants Repotted

19th June, Ready To Be Planted

A Collection Sheet For Hedge Trimmimgs

Having been advised that the scaffolding would be dismanteled this morning, the five box balls in the border were trimmed using a hedge trimmer. To capture the trimmings as they fell a sheet was placed around the neck of the ball , this causes less mess on the surrounding soil and makes it easier to tidy by carefully collecting up the sheet with its contents still inside.

Five Box Balls Trimmed

By half past eight this morning the scaffolders had dismantled and removed the scaffolding so, with the area now clear, the gardening team focused their attention on preparing the border for planting. Weeded, forked through, a layer of leaf mould mulch spread on top of the soil, forked in, levelled, trodden down to removed air pockets, levelled again and finally a porous pipe layed along the soil's surface, the border was ready for planting by late morning. 

Planting The Border

The plants that had been waiting in the nursery were brought to the border, placed out, planted and watered in by the end of the day.

The plants used for this year's summer display are: Cleome spinosa ‘Violet Queen’, Salvia fabrinacea ‘Victoria’,Verbena rigida, Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Black Knight’, Amaranthus dubius ‘Red Army’, Nicotiana langsdorffii, Didiscus caeruleus ‘Lace Mixture’, Ammi visagna, Moluccella laevis, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron', Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Giant Wine’, ‘Benary’s Giant Lime’, ‘Luminosa’, ‘Lilliput Orange’, ‘Zinderella Purple’, ‘Lilliput Purple’, ‘Super Yoga Orange’, ‘Purple Prince’ and Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Pied Piper Red’, ‘Double Click Rose Bonbon’, ‘Sonata Carmine’, ‘Sonata White’, ‘Sonata Mixed’, ‘Rubenza’, ‘Double Click Cranberries’.

Planted For The Summer

'The Border in the Corner'

17th May, Removing The Tired Wallflowers and Tulips

Whilst the 300 plants for the corner border have been waiting in the nursery the display border at the far end of the quad and the oak planter display in the Besse Cortyard have both been planted up for their summer displays.
The quad border was planted first, the plants for this year's summer display are:

The structure is provided by the permanent planting, the perennials, shrubs and grass:

Hemerocallis 'Catherine Woodbery'; Artemisia 'Powis Castle'; Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Crowborough'; Rosa chinensis 'Mutabilis'; Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'; Hydrangea paniculata 'Pinky Winky'; Alchemilla mollis; Kirengeshoma palmata; Staphylea colchica (Bladdernut); Indigofera gerardiana and Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'.

The other plants grown from seed and cuttings:

Grown from seed

Antirrhinum majus 'Lipstick Silver'; Cleome spinosa 'Violet Queen'; Salpiglossis sinuata 'Black Trumpets'; Nicotiana x hybrida 'Whispers Mixed', Antirrhinum majus 'Lucky Lips', Ammi visnaga, Nicotiana alata ‘Crimson Bedder’, Gypsophila elegans ‘Kermesina’, Daucus carota ‘Dara’, Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata Carmine’, Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata Mixed’, Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata White’

Grown from cuttings 

Pelargonium'Clorinda', Plectranthus argentatus 'Silver Shield', Salvia 'Penny's Smile', Diascia personata, Pelargonium denticulatum 'Filicifolia', Pelargonium cordifolium rubrocinctum, Pelargonium papilionaceus, Plectranthus ciliatus 'Nico'

17th May, Planting The Summer Bedding Plants

22nd May, Besse Oak Planters, Winter Wallflowers, Tulips and Evergreens

Clearing The Winter/Spring Plant Display

Empty and Waiting For The Summer Bedding Plants

22nd May, Planted For The Summer Display

Once the quad border had been planted the planter display in the Besse Courtyard was changed from its winter display to summer, the plants in the seven containers are:  

Pot 1 - Plectranthus coleoides variegata, Pelargonium denticulatum 'Filicifolia', Pelargonium tomentosum, Cyphomandra corymbiflora, Antirrhinum majus 'Lipstick Silver', Brachycome ‘Purple Splendour’, Salvia leucantha.

Pot 2 - Cyphomandra corymbiflora, Salvia leucantha, Antirrhinum majus 'Lipstick Silver', Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', Petunia ‘Purple Velvet’ F1 Hybrid.

Pot 3 - Plectranthus coleoides variegata, Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', Brachycome ‘Purple Splendour’, Petunia ‘Purple Velvet’ F1 Hybrid, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron', Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Pied Piper Red’, Tibouchina urvilleana, Anisodontea capensis ‘El Rayo’, Lobelia ‘Rainbow Cascade Mixed’, A Dark Grass from Cotswold Wildlife Park (Name unknown).

Pot 4 - Albizia julibrissin ‘Chocolate Summer’, Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Baron', Anisodontea capensis ‘El Rayo’, Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', Pelargonium Ivy Leaf 'Supreme Burgandy', Cuphea ‘Grape Wrath’, Pelargonium surcouf, Chlorophytum comosum.

Pot 5 - Albizia julibrissin ‘Chocolate Summer’, Anisodontea capensis ‘El Rayo’, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron', Pelargonium denticulatum 'Filicifolia',  Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', Pelargonium Ivy Leaf 'Supreme Burgandy', Cuphea ‘Grape Wrath’,  Pelargonium surcouf, chlorophytum comosum.

Pot 6 - Albizia julibrissin ‘Chocolate Summer’, Anisodontea capensis ‘El Rayo’, Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron', Pelargonium denticulatum 'Filicifolia', Pelargonium Ivy Leaf 'Supreme Burgandy', Petunia ‘Purple Velvet’ F1 Hybrid, Pelargonium ‘Royal Oak’,  Pelargonium surcouf, Chlorophytum comosum.

Pot 7 - Cyphomandra corymbiflora, Pelargonium tomentosum, Verbena 'Aztec Plum Magic', Antirrhinum majus 'Lipstick Silver', Chlorophytum comosum, Lobelia ‘Rainbow Cascade Mixed’.

20th June, A Month Has Past and Growing Fast

The Hedge Cutting Season Begins

Guide Line For The Yew Columns

For the team the hedge cutting season began yesterday with the trimming of the sixteen yew columns in the Provost's rose garden. All 64 sides were trimmed and today it was the turn of the sixteen tops. Before this could start two sets set of keys, four bags of John Innes compost, three ladders, two hedge hedge trimmers, string and secateurs were needed in the garden. Apart from the last four items, why the need for compost and keys? 

Ballast On The Ladder

 

Two Hedge Trimmers

Keys To Weigh The String Down

For the tops to be level a string guide line was tied tight across the inside edge of the yews at the desired height. For this a ladder was placed beside the first and last yew in the row, two bags of compost placed on each of the ladders as ballast to stop them falling over and the two sets of keys clipped together to weigh the string down to keep it straight as one set wasn't heavy enough! With the guide line in place, the third ladder was used to access the high tops, the two different sized hedge trimmers to cut off the shaggy top growth and the secateurs to clip off any growth missed by the trimmers. By the end of the day all the hedging in the rose garden and the Provost's garden had been trimmed.  

A Straight String Line

16 Yew Columns That Edge The Rose Garden

The Provost's Rose Garden

In The Garden, Box Hedge 1

In The Garden, Box Hedge 2

Clematis viticella 'Madame Julia Correvon'

Clematis viticella 'Madame Julia Correvon'

Climbing up the wires on the old stone wall, between the orchard and the Nash Building, the clematis planted last spring, Clematis viticella 'Madame Julia Correvon', is putting on quite a floriferous display of claret-red flowers with creamy yellow centres. Its mid to dark green leaves provide an excellent background to the masses of star-shaped flowers, another worthy introduction to the college's small clematis collection. For other clematis in the gardens see blog 17th July 2014 Clematis 'Etoile Violette', 'Black Prince' and 'Rooguchi' and 4th July 2016 'Shades Of The Colour Purple'. 

Masses of Star-Shaped Flowers

Star-Shaped Flowers

Claret-Red Flowers With Creamy Yellow Centres

A Combination of Circles and Straight Lines

17th May 2018, First of the Circles

Three weeks ago this year's early summer pattern on the quad lawn began to be cut into the grass, circles and straight lines. In previous years curves, straight lines, diagonal lines, wavy lines and circles have all been seen individualy but never a combination of two of them until now.    

Since the first cut on the 17th May the pattern has become more defined as the lawn is cut two to three times a week. This pattern is created using two differant mowers, the circles are cut using the Allett Buffalo 24, the 24inch cylinder mower and the straight lines using the Honda HRX476, the 19inch rotary mower, the 24inch and 19inch are the width of cut. However, the circles are not just one width of the cylinder mower but four. To create them the mower is pushed round in the same direction four times and, at the end of each full circle, the mower is moved to the edge of the previous circle until the end of the fourth when the mower is turned around and pushed in the opposite direction. This pattern will remain on the lawn until the end of June when it will be changed to another pattern for the rest of the summer. (Below is a short clip of Joss mowing the quad lawn to create the quadruple width circles, click to play).

The Pattern From A High Vantage Point

UPDATE

For a sample of previous spring/early summer patterns click on the following links:

26th March 2012 'Round In Circles'

26th March 2012

28th April 2014 'A New Pattern On The Quad Lawn'

28th April 2014

9th May 2014

17th April 2015 'Creating A New Pattern On The Quad Lawn' (This pattern was quickly replaced by the 'Triple Width Diagonal Lawn Pattern' of the 3rd June 2015).

17th April 2015

  3rd June 2015 'Triple Width Diagonal Lawn Pattern'

3rd June 2015

4th August 2016 'Views Of The Quad Lawn From The Roof Top And Ground Level'

4th August 2016