The Giants Are On the Move

Not knowing when the first frosts are due the removal of the giant tender banana plants back in to the greenhouse is all about who breaks first, the gardeners or the weather. The longer the plants are left outside the greater the risk of an unforeseen frost and its damage to these giants so today the decision was made to dig them up and take them back to the warm greenhouse environment, the gardeners broke first!

Ali And The Smallest Banana

The team need to dig out four banana plants starting with the smallest and working their way up to the giant, bigger in every way, weight, height and girth.

A Giant On Display In The Gardens

Digging Out

Digging a trench around the banana the team expose the root ball then carefully dig beneath it until it becomes free from the soil. Placing their spades to one side they lift the huge banana out of the hole and carry it out of the border to the trailer for its transportation to the greenhouse.

Here It Comes

It's Heavy!

The Carriage Awaits

Back In The Greenhouse

Repotting

Taken over to the greenhouse the banana plant is carried inside and planted in to a large plant pot slightly larger than the root ball.

The Biggest Banana

Returning to the border they start to dig out the next banana plant. Planted out in the gardens on the 1st June, see blog entry 'How Many Gardeners Does It Take To.....?' the biggest banana plant has got even bigger. With the soil removed from around the root ball it soon becomes abvious that this one is far to big to be lifted out by man alone, help is needed by machine in the form of the grab attachment on the New Holland tractor.

Root Ball Loosened

A Tractor Is Required

Manoeuvring the tractor in to the border the grab is carefully lowered until the large stem of the banana plant sits within the the top set of tines and the bottom set are beneath the root ball. Slowly the giant plant is lifted out of the soil and, reversing the tractor, is removed from the border. Before transporting it back to the greenhouse the stability of precious cargo is checked then its journey begins. Once at the greenhouse it is found to be too big to get inside so the top is removed then taken inside to be potted up, within a few hours it has already grown an inch! These plants will remain in the warm greenhouse until next June when they will make the return journey back to the border for next summer's display. 

It's Out!

Driving Back To The Greenhouse

Within Hours It Has Grown An Inch

Safely Stowed

An Empty Space Where The Giant Once Stood

Something Is Missing

Additional Bulb Planting For The Meadow

Fritillaria, Tulips, Allium and Camassia

Last October twelve hundred bulbs were planted in a newly created meadow at the far end of the Provot's garden, see blog entry for 14th October '600 Tulips, 500 Allium and 100 Camassia'. Seven months later and these bulbs were putting on quite a display, see blog entry for the 9th August 'Five Months In The Life Of The New Wildflower Meadow'. However, not content with this display, more bulbs were planted today in the hope of making a more spectacular display next Spring. 
 

Bulbs Ready For Planting

The additional bulb planting for the meadow are: 500 Fritillaria meleagris (Snakeshead Fritillary), 200 Tulip 'Havran', 100 Allium christophii, 100 Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation' and 40 Camassia leichtinii 'Caerulea'.

Two cuts

For the planting of the larger bulbs, tulips, allium and camassia, spades were used. Cutting through the grass, twice for a triangle, three times for a square, the turf is carefully peeled/folded back along the uncut side. (The small fritillary were planted using a bulb planter).

Peeled/Folded Back Along The Uncut Side

Digging out the soil the bulbs are placed at the bottom of the hole and the soil put back in to the hole over the bulbs.

Bulbs In To The Hole

Soil Placed Back In To The Hole

Folded Back In To Position

The turf is folded back in to position and firmed in, the cuts can hardly be seen and the turf will knit back together over the next few weeks. Now the team just have to wait until May 2017 to see this new additional planting in full bloom.

Folded Back And Firmed In

From Pastels To Blue Diamonds

28th July 2016

The 'border in the corner' had its display changed for the winter yesterday, today it was the turn of the border in the quad to have its change. Planted back at the end of May, see blog entry 25th May 2016 'All Change At The Far End Of The Quad it has put on a subtle display of pastel colours throughout the summer months but within the display a number of the annual plants are fading fast adding an unsightly touch of brown amongst the pastels. 

28th July 2016

22nd August 2016

Clearing Out The Summer Display

The digging out of the summer display began a few days ago with the annual plants which were taken to the compost heap. The perennial plants were then cut down, weeds removed, a mulch of leaf mould added, forked in and levelled ready for planting. 

Clearing The Next Section

Ready For Planting

Today the team came together to plant up the border with wallflowers and tulips. The 220 wallflower, this year's chosen colour 'Sunset Purple', were placed out in to position and planted.

220 Wallflower 'Sunset Purple'

In Position And Ready For Planting

Planting The Wallflowers

Once all the wallflowers had been planted the tulips, 250 Tulipa 'Blue Diamond' were planted amongst them. New to the college gardens this tulip is a large double, late flowered variety, bluish-purple in colour, which will, hopefully, add a bit of 'sparkle' to the quad in May next year. 

250 Tulip 'Blue Diamond'

From Venice To Madrid

22nd August 2016

The 'border in the corner' has been putting on a very colourful display over the summer peaking late August to mid September. Planted up at the end of May, see blog entry for the 27th 'New To The Corner Decorative, Pom-Pom, Ball and Semi-Cactus Dahlia' the plants have matured well and the colour palette is everything the team had hoped for when initially choosing the mix of plants. (For the planting list see the same blog entry as above).

A Seat Amongst The Flowers

Dahlia 'Jescot Julie'

The Dahlia, the Venetian Collection by Sarah Raven, has filled the corner with a mix of purple, plum, orange, crimson-red, velvet-red and magenta which have been complimented well by the vivid orange flowers of Zinnia elegans 'Super Yoga Orange', the deep red crimson tall spires of Amaranthus tricolor 'Red Army' and the mass of tiny orange flowers of Tagetes tenuifolia 'Paprika'.

Dahlia 'Jowey Mirella' and Zinna 'Super Yoga Orange'

Dahlia 'Downham Royal'

Dahlia 'Ambition'

Dahlia 'New Baby'

Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins'

10th October 2016

Although the Dahlia are still flowering well the border is starting to look tired and the strong colours have faded leading to the decision to clear it all out and plant it up with the winter/spring display.

Lifted Dahlia Tubers

On Monday all the annual plants, grown from seed, were dug out and taken to the compost heap. The dahlia tubers were lifted and taken to the greenhouse for drying out before being put in to trays of dry compost for winter storage.

Drying Out The Dahlia Tubers

Cleared And Ready For Planting

Once all debris and weeds had been removed the border was prepared for planting. A layer of organic matter, leaf mould, was added to the soil, forked through to mix it in, levelled and then given the 'treading' treatment to remove any air pockets that were created from the forking through, the area was then given a final levelling.

Just Started Planting

Yesterday the wallflowers were brought over from the cold frames, placed out and the planting started. 

Planting 406 Wallflowers

Today the planting continued, a mix of wallflower 'Sunset Yellow' and 'Sunset Orange', 406 in total along with 200 tulip bulbs, 100 'Westpoint' and 100 'Ballerina', yellow and orange respectively. 

200 Tulip Bulbs To Be Planted

Planting Tulips

The inspiration for this winter/spring display come from a holiday back in April by Ali to Madrid and a visit to the Royal Palace of Madrid. The formal beds in front of the palace were filled with yellow and orange large headed pansies, inter planted by narcissi (Daffodil) with yellow outer petals, orange centres. Replacing the pansies with wallflowers and narcissi with tulips it is hoped that, in May 2017, a small piece of Madrid will be found in a corner of Worcester College.

Inspiration, Madrid April 2016

  

Wallflowers And Tulips Planted

A Small Piece Of Madrid In Worcester College

Brushing The Lawn

It might look a odd thing to do, brushing a lawn with a giant sized brush, but at this time of year this will be a regularly morning sight on the quad lawn. The brushing of the lawn at this time of year is to remove the heavy dews that settle on it which, if left, could cause the build up of fusarium patch disease, removing the dew is a preventative measure. The spores of the fusarium fungus, Microchium Nivale, are always present within the turf and during optimal conditions, short days, cloudy skies, dewy mornings, above average daytime temperatures and no air movement (all present in a typical October day) they become very active resulting in brown patches and mould on the lawn, hence the reason for brushing the lawn to remove one of the conditions that the team can have an influence on!  

Applying Controlled Release Fertilizer

Everris Proturf

Applying The Feritizer

The autumn lawn maintenance has begun in earnest. The large lawn in the Provost's garden has already been scarified and the quad lawn was verticut and aerated on Monday, from the blog entry 30th March 2015 'Verticutting and Aerating' here is a brief explanation of both processes used on the quad;
" The process of verticutting is less harsh than scarification, penetrating the top layer of turf removing dead grass on the surface rather than reaching deep in to the thatch layer. The aerating makes holes in the turf enabling water and air to reach the roots of the grass".
This morning Joss, using a broadcast spreader, applied a granular, controlled release fertilizer to the lawn, 'Everris Proturf', in order to promote growth, and improve the health and colour of the grass. The granules are tipped in to the hopper of the spreader and then pushed across the quad lawn to broadcast it over the grass at the appropriate application rate. Once the entire area has had fertilizer applied to it, and with no rain forecast, the portable, full/part circle impact sprinklers are set up to water the granules in. 

Fertilizer Being Broadcast From Spreader

Fertilizer On The Lawn

Watering In