As Seen On TV

As seen on TV,  Joss and Simon in tonight's episode of the 'Great British Garden Revival'. If you haven't seen it here is a link to the BBC iPlayer, episode available until 7:59PM Tuesday 21st Jan 2014,   http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b03pr191/ 

"One Of The Last Bastions Of The Perfect British Lawn"

Joss - Lawn Man Extraordinaire

Head Of Gardens and Grounds - Simon Bagnall

Fighting Back The Spread Of A Vigorous, Spreading Reed

When cutting back the marginal plants yesterday, Ali and Graham noticed that the reed had spread away from the water's edge and begun spreading into the border. Unable to dig it out, due to the black, weed suppressing membrane covering the border, they had to remove the membrane first. Not an easy task as it was covered in soil with a layer of tangled, spreading reed growth above and below it.

First they removed some of the soil so the membrane could be cut into manageable pieces. Each piece then had to be dug out, not an easy task as the reed had created a thick matting through the membrane. After a day of digging, cutting, chopping, ripping and pulling, the reed had been removed and a fresh layer of bark placed on the border. The reed is still growing at the water's edge, but as it spreads back into the border it can be easily dug out and contained.

A Busy Day Working By The Weir

There are a number of jobs that need to be done by the weir; the marginal planting needs to be cut down; an overhanging tree covered in ivy needs to be cut down and the bridge needs to be power washed to remove the moss and algae. Ali and Graham worked together at the water's edge, taking out a small wire fence by the marginal planting before cutting them down with the long reach hedge cutter.

Simon, Ady and Callum worked together to remove the ivy covered tree that was leaning, precariously, over the weir.

They tied a rope to the tree to secure the trunk, and control its fall, as Simon cut it down with the chainsaw.

Once down, it was cut up into smaller pieces, taken across the weir and transported to the chipper ready for chipping later in the day.

The last job of the day by the weir was to power wash the bridge, which had become very slippery since it was last cleaned 18 months ago, see blog entry 13th June 2012 'Preparing For The Encaenia 2012'.

By the end of a busy day by the weir, the team were treated to a visit by the swans that had just arrived on the lake. This time last year, 11th January to be exact, the swans arrived on the lake, the same pair possibly, the lake may well be their mating territory, see blog entry 'To Enhance The Winter Reflection'. If they are, it is their third year, always arriving in early January. In their first year they mated, started building a nest, then left and then last year they mated, built a nest, laid eggs but left after they failed to hatch. This year, hopefully, their 3rd and our 300th, they will go one step further and successfully hatch eggs and cygnets will be seen on the lake.   

A Change In Programme Scheduling On The BBC

For those of you expecting to see the episode of 'Great British Garden Revival' featuring the quad lawn at 7.00pm tonight on BBC 2, the transmission date has been changed. The episode is now scheduled to be show on Friday 10th, same time, same channel. In the mean time, Joss cut the quad lawn for the first time this year, here is a glimpse of 'lawn perfection'.

Planting A Further 2000 Bulbs

The 2000 bulbs that were delivered to the college on the 19th December, too late in the day for planting on the last working day of last year, see blog entry '2000 Bulbs Are Waiting', have now been planted. Continuing on from the first 1000 Scilla siberica bulbs that were planted on the 21st November, the team have planted a further 1000 today in the bulb area under the trees, in the middle of the Nuffield lawn. Once these had been planted they moved to another area of bulb planting on the lawn, adding 1000 Chionodoxa luciliae. This brings the total number of bulbs planted since the end of October to 5410, a huge effort by all the team.

Fishing For Willow

Refreshed from their two week festive break, the team have spent two days clearing the gardens of all the tree debris that has fallen whilst they have been away. One such piece, and the largest they had to deal with, was a branch that had snapped off from one of the weeping willow trees that overhangs the lake.

Using a piece of rope with a hook on the end, the makeshift fishing line is cast into the lake in the hope that it catches a piece of willow and not a fish. Successfully caught on the second cast, the catch is reeled in to the bank, no catch and release for this one!

Once on dry land, the branch is cut up and taken to the chipping pile for chipping at a later date.

Not happy with just fishing for willow, they also had to go fishing for a wooden memorial bench that was floating in the lake, first casting caught this one though!

Welcome To Worcester College's Tercentenary Year 2014

"Happy New Year" and Welcome Back" to, what promises to be, a very busy year in the gardens as the team prepare them for the college's tercentenary year celebrations, 1714-2014. We look forward to your company, your comments and support as the blog enters its 6th year and the college celebrates this historic year.