The Tender Giants Go Inside For The Winter

Improved, clean and empty

The large greenhouse has had a few improvements during the summer months, the ten broken panes of glass have been replaced, to improve air flow fourteen new five blade louvre window vents have been added to the two sides and a new thermostatic ventilation system has been added to the roof openings. In addition to these improvements the greenhouse has also had its annual deep clean, removing all of the dirt from the floor, staging, bench surfaces as well as the cleaning of all the glass both inside and out. 

Abutilon, Banana and Dutura

Abutilon and Banana

Albizia and Gomphocarpus

Standing clean and empty for the last five weeks it is now time to start filling it again with the return of the tender giants that need a warm home for the winter. 

Moving the Abutilon

The team have spent the last few days digging out these large plants from the herbaceous border and transporting them over to the greenhouse for re potting. These plants will remain in the greenhouse until May-June next year when they will be moved back out in to the border for next summer.

Lifting a large banana into the trailer

Aeonium ready for transport

Variagated Abutilon dug up

Moving an Albizia tree

Re-potted, the tender giants inside for the winter

A Colour Scheme Of Orange And Purple For Spring 2019

5th July 2018

July, mid summer display

Pastel shades

Faded pastels, 10th October 2018

Earlier in the week the first of the display borders had its summer display removed and replaced with the plants and bulbs that will provide colour during the coming winter and spring. Today the team focused on the border at the far end of the quad removing the tired and faded summer plants.

Digging out the summer display

Ready for planting

To prepare the border for the winter-spring planting the perennial plants were cut down to ground level and the annual plants dug out, both were taken to the compost heap with the debris and leaves from the surface of the soil. Next it was forked through and weeded, then the soil was trodden down to removed the air pockets that had formed during the forking, and then it was levelled.

310 Wallflowers in the nursery

Waiting to be placed out for planting

 
In the nursery area the 310 wallflowers, Wallflower 'Sunset Orange', had been placed into trays for transporting across to the border. Upon arrival at the border the full trays were placed along the front in preparation for placing out. Once all the wallflowers were in their place on the border the planting began. To finish the border was given a light forking to remove the compaction from the many footprints made on the soil whilst planting the wallflowers, then the young plants were watered in. Tomorrow 140 Allium 'Purple Sensation' bulbs will be planted amongst the orange wallflowers, a colour scheme of orange and purple for spring 2019.    

Planting wallflowers

Planting wallflowers

Planted

Wallflowers

A Spring Border Of Orange And Yellow

21st June 2018

The delay in the planting of the 'Border in the Corner', see blog entry 21st June 'Changing The Border And Container Displays For Summer 2018', means that after only 16 weeks it is already time for it to be changed as the winter fast approaches.

31st August 2018

Salvia fabrinacea ‘Victoria’

Cleome, Zinnia, Cosmos, Pennisetum and Amaranthus

Removing the summer display

To make way for this year's winter-spring plants all of the summer annuals were dug up and taken to the compost heap but not before the best of the flowers were cut for use as cut flowers. The porous pipe that had kept everything watered during the hot summer was lifted from the soil, curled up and put away in to storage.

Cut flowers

Forked through

Clearing all the plant debris from the soil the border is prepared for planting. Forked through and weeded the soil is trodden down to removed air pockets and then levelled.

Trodden down to removed air pockets

Placing out

The plants that will create the winter-spring display were placed out onto the soil, 80 Wallflower 'Sunset Primrose' and 230 Primula 'Husky Mixed Daffodil', and planted. Bulbs were then placed out and planted in amongst the plants, a mix of daffodil, 30 of Narcissus jonquilla 'Lieke', 'Martinette', 'Pipit', 'Sweetness' and 'Beautiful Eyes' (150 bulbs) and 30 Fritillaria Imperialis 'Aurora'. In addition to the biennials and bulbs, shrubs were also planted for structure, 5 Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Tom Thumb' were planted.

Planting up

Narcissus jonquilla 'Lieke', 'Martinette', 'Pipit', 'Sweetness' and 'Beautiful Eyes'

Fritillaria imperialis 'Aurora' (Orange flowers)

The colour scheme for the border is based on the border the team created for the winter-spring 2016/17, see picture below, but rather than using wallflowers and tulips the orange and yellows will be provided by the primula, wallflower, narcissus and fritillaria.

April 2017

Once all the wallflowers and bulbs had been planted the soil was gently forked to break up the compaction made by the gardeners treading on the soil, then the border was given a thorough water.

Watering in

A Drench Of 50 Million Nematodes

2 Packets of Nemasys L

The dreaded vine weevil has been mentioned in the blog on two previous occasions, see blog entry 27th July 2012 'Vine Weevil Damage' and 11th November 2009 'Vine Weevil'. The chosen method for treatment against this pest has been the use of a systemic insecticide, see blog entry 1st October 2013 'Root Drench Against Vine Weevil', but today this has changed. This insecticide contains the neonicotinoid thiacloprid which has been linked to the reduction in the honey bee immune system so a biological control, Nemasys L, containing the nematode Steinernema kraussei has been chosen to protect the plants against the weevil. It is not the fist time the team have used nematodes, five years ago they were used to treat the lawn in the Provost's garden for chafer grubs, see blog entry 7th November 2013 'Nemasys G', A Biological Treatment For Chafer Grubs'. Having calculated the application rate, the contents of the packet, 50 million nematodes, were mixed with the required amount of water and applied as a drench to the soil using watering cans. In the nursery the plants that are in pots have now been treated and another drench using the nematodes in the second packets will be applied over the next few weeks to treat the many display containers out in the gardens.  

 50 Million Nematodes

Labelling 750 Bottles Of 'Worcester College Apple & Pear Juice'

1 of 2 metal cages full of juice filled bottles

This year's fruit harvest from the college orchard have been pressed and the result, 750 bottles of 'Worcester College Apple & Pear Juice' that now need to be shrink band wrapped, labelled and boxed. 

Ready for shrink band wrapping and labelling

Preparing the boxes

Bottles waiting to be shrink wrapped

White shrink band wraps

Kieron, Peter and Ali spent the morning at Waterperry Gardens working together to process the bottles. First each bottle was placed into the heated shrink banding machine to heat seal a white shrink wrap band around the cap and neck. The banded bottles were placed into trays, loaded onto a small trolley and wheeled over to the labelling machine for the large label to be struck on to the front of the bottles. 

Into the heat

Trolley over to the labelling machine

Labelling

Main front label going on to the bottle

Small 'Best Before' label

With the large label on the front of the bottle, a much smaller label, 'Best Before Dec 2018', was manually stuck on to the back of the bottle. Fifteen bottles were placed into each box and sealed shut with tape. The juice will be on sale to the students, staff and alumni during the last three weeks of the current Michaelmas term.

Labelling and ready for boxing

A full box of 15 bottles

Ready for storage