Tidying The Weir

For the first two days of the week Ady and Callum have been tidying the area in front of the weir that can be found by the Ruskin and Sainsbury Buildings and the orchard.

Heavily infested by bindweed, overgrown shrubs and tired perennials, they were joined today by Ali, Graham and Kieron to help them with, what had proved to be, a rather large job.

The reeds in the weir bed had also become overgrown and had to be cleared, Callum donned the waders and set about dragging the drained bed.

By the end of the day, day three, the beds had been levelled and cleared. The pump, having been repaired, will be reconnected and flowing water will soon be seen again.

446 Seedlings

                                             


Whilst the guys were reducing the height of the box hedge, Ali and Graham were in the greenhouse pricking out seedlings from the seeds sown on the 2nd July, see blog 'Seeds For Winter' 2012/13, and germinated by 6th July, see blog entry 'Quick Germination'. 446 seedlings were pricked out by the end of the day, Wallflowers 'Sunset Bronze Shade', 'Sunset Primrose' and 'Sunset Purple', Pansy 'Plentifall Blueberry Frost Mixed' and Pansy 'Panola XP Purple'.

Five Feet Lower

Last year I wrote that Kieron and Ady cut the hedge on the junction of Walton Street and Beaumont Street using the high reach hedge trimmer, see blog entry 'Hedge Trimming' 13th June 2011. In order to make this annual job less hazardous to our team and passers by it was decided this year to reduce the height of the hedge by 5 feet. Kieron was joined by Joss and Simon to do the hedge cutting, but this time more equipment was needed, ladders, hedge cutter, loppers and, most importantly, a ball of string. A nice, sharp lined, easy to manage, box hedge was the result by the end of the day.

Charity Garden Open Day

This afternoon the college gardeners, supported by a team of volunteers, opened the gardens in aid of charity. The funds raised from the entry, plant sale and cake sale will be donated to the gardeners two chosen charities are The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and S.S.N.A.P (Support for Sick Newborn And their Parents). Following a brief shower before opening time, the sun shone, one further quick, heavy downpour didn't dampen the day, and for three hours they welcomed the few hundred visitors to the gardens. A lovely afternoon was had by all, so many positive comments from our visitors, and lots of money raised, thank you.

The photographs below were taken by May Chan, Wilkinson Junior Research Fellow, Assistant Dean Worcester College.

 

Welcome to Worcester College Gardens

 

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust & S.S.N.A.P

The Cake Sale Stand



The Front Quad

The Machinery Display & Plant Sale Stand

Ali On The Plant Sale Stand



The Nuffield Lawn

Vine Weevil Damage

Now that the temperatures have reached ridiculously high levels this week, 30 degrees centigrade, the display pots are in need of regular watering. One pot in particular drew Ali's attention, a wilting plant despite the regular watering. Looking like it was wilting, Ali knocked it slightly and hoped it wouldn't fall over, well it did, and that means only one thing, the dreaded Vine Weevil!

Three little grubs had been feasting on the roots until there were virtually none left to support the plant, hence the appearance of wilting.

The pot will now have to be treated with Provado Vine Weevil Killer 2, a liquid drench applied to the compost. This drench should give protection against the grubs for a few months controlling the young larvae and preventing further damage to the remaining plants in the display.

Things That Go Bump In The Night

 

On her arrival in the nursery area this morning Ali noticed a large number of feathers in the greenhouse that were not there yesterday. Having only swept out the greenhouse yesterday something must have gone bump in the night. Upon further investigation, and the sound of broken glass under foot,  Ali noticed one of the panes had been broken from the outside in. Along with the fox droppings next to the feathers, bringing the three separate pieces of evidence together, and using her detective skills learnt from watching too many episodes of C.S.I (Crime Scene Investigation), she concluded that an unfortunate pigeon must have flown into the glass resulting in an easy meal for the resident fox that has a den not five meters away.  

    

Charity Garden Open Day Preparations

With the charity garden open day fast approaching the team are working hard to get everything ready. Graham and Ady spent the morning washing the tractors ready for display whilst Kieron made sure that the pop up gazebo did exactly what it said on the packet.

Once the pop up had popped up and popped down again, he finished making the eight bird boxes that will go on sale on Sunday. The lawns will be cut and edged tomorrow, plants dead headed in the borders and display pots, and the finishing touches made to the gardens to make our charity open day a success.