From Decking To Shingle

 

Following an afternoon of education at the Oxford Botanic Gardens yesterday, Kieron, Ali, Graham and Anna returned to the project they started in the morning. With all the rotten wood removed to the skip, the area was raked level in preparation for the next step, shingle.

The first sheet of weed suppressing membrane was laid in the far corner and the first three wheelbarrow loads of, what would eventually be, a few tonnes of shingle spread on top. Whilst the corner was being worked on, Kieron removed a layer of bricks from around the drain to drop its height, resetting the frame and replacing the cover.

Two further lengths of membrane were then laid over the soil and pegged down using biodegradable turf pegs.

The rest of the shingle was then spread over the membrane to create a new, low maintenance area of shingle, an amazing transformation in just two mornings!

A Visit To The University Of Oxford Botanic Gardens

 

(R-L) Simon, Ali, Kieron, Anna, Callum, Graham, Joss, Ady

The team spent the afternoon visiting the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Thank you Tom for the very enjoyable tour, a pleasure as always.

Breaking Up Decking

 

In the back garden of one of the college properties is an area of decking that has become rotten and unsafe.

Kieron, Ali, Graham and Anna spent the morning cutting up the decking boards with a Makita reciprocating saw and then smashing it up with sledge hammers.

Once the top had been demolished, Simon joined them with the chainsaw to cut up the inner framework consisting of the long joists and the shorter noggins.

All the old, rotten wood was removed to the skip and, due to a planned visit to the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens in the afternoon, the team will have to return tomorrow morning to complete the transformation from an area of decking to a shingle garden.

Hazel Binders And Shingle

The team returned to the Broadwalk this morning, not just to complete the weaving of the new hazel binders, but to add a top dressing of 10 tonnes of shingle to the path. Once again the New Holland tractor with the grab attachment was used to break up the compacted path before the shingle was spread on it. It was only three years ago that 11 tonnes of shingle was added to the Broadwalk as a top dressing, see blog entry '11 Tonnes Of Shingle', 10th February 2010, where does it all go?

By the end of the day the weaving was complete with a new, clean shingle path in front of it, only the far end of the Broadwalk still needs new shingle, another 3 to 4 tonnes are due to be delivered on Wednesday.

Weaving Hazel On The Broadwalk

The hazel binders that edge the borders of the Broadwalk have become very brittle since they were last replaced three to four years ago. Today the team set about replacing the tired, old hazel with new fresh hazel binders.    

Working on the first section, they removed the binders from the front of the border and took them down to the chipper pile to be chipped.

The soil from behind the chestnut stakes was then dug away to make room for the new binders, replacing any rotten stakes with new hazel stakes as well as adding a few extra where space allowed.

The hazel binders, approximately 9-10 feet long, were then woven along the front of the border to create a natural looking edge.

Hellebores

 

Whilst the hard landscaping was being completed in front of the new winter themed border, Simon and Ali planted large clumps of Hellebore in a variety of colours. The border, started on the 12th March, see blog entry 'Border Alterations', is now complete and looks wonderful, and will only get better as winters come and go.

Another 6 Tonnes Of Hoggin

With the stone edge completed on Tuesday, following the amendment of the straight edge to a curve, the hoggin arrived this morning to repair the path. First the New Holland tractor, with the grab attachment, was used to break up the path.

Once the path had been broken up the grab was removed from the front of the tractor and the hydraulic trailer attached to the back. The hoggin was then tipped onto the path, shovelled and then raked to create a slight camber, a raised centre which sheds water to each side.

The wacker plate was then used to compact the hoggin and complete another restored path, that's 32 tonnes of hoggin laid so far this year to restore two paths in the college.