No More Laces

After thirty years Ady has had enough of work shoes with laces. Fed up with the long laces covered in dirt, rubbing on the eyelets and snapping off, it's time to try shoes without laces.



A New Weather Record

Let me just remind you of the blog entry for the 30th April 2012 'Wettest April On Record'

Figures released today by The Met Office have confirmed that April 2012 was the wettest in the UK since records began in 1910. This wet month follows the third warmest March since 1910, only beaten by 1938 and 1957. The first two weeks of February were also confirmed as the coldest in the UK for 26 years, a record breaking year so far, but what will May's weather have in store for the gardeners at Worcester College?

Well what did the weather have instore for us from May? The Met Office confirms that the period from April to June was the wettest recorded for the UK, with June being the wettest June since records began in 1910.
June was also the second dullest on record with 119.2 hours of sunshine, only slightly more than the record of 115.4 hours back in 1987.
Total UK rainfall was 145.3mm, more than twice as much as normally expected.

What will the rest of the years weather have in store for us?

Seeds For Winter 2012/13

Another day of rain, a perfect opportunity to sow the seeds for our winter bedding display. "Winter", I hear you say, "We haven't had summer yet!", well, in order for the plants to be ready to be planted out in October, we have to sow now. This is early for us, we usually forget and remember in August. The seeds sown were Wallflowers 'Sunset Bronze Shade', 'Sunset Primrose' and 'Sunset Purple', Pansy 'Plentifall Blueberry Frost Mixed' and Pansy 'Panola XP Purple'.

Waves of Privet

June may now be known for its rain, but June is also known for when the team start the hedge cutting. The long box hedge and some of the outside site hedges have been done, today it's the turn of the privet hedge in the car park.  

Kieron spends the day cutting the hedge, bringing back the waves to the top of privet

Tomatoes and Pineapples

Cyphomandra corymbiflora (Hardy Tree Tomato)

On the top terrace two unusual plants can be found, both in flower at the moment.
Cyphomandra corymbiflora (Hardy Tree Tomato) has large soft leaves with blue/purple flowers that hang in clusters. A member of the Solanaceae family, tomatoes and potatoes, it produces edible fruits that look like tomatoes. 
Acca sellowiana (Pineapple Guava), previously known as Feijoa sellowiana, is a rather exotic looking evergreen shrub. The unusual flowers are purple, tinged white, with long, red stamens amongst grey-green leaves, producing edible fruit.

Acca sellowiana (Pineapple Guava)

The Other Side

Having spent the last few weeks focusing all their efforts on preparing the Nuffield lawn area, herbaceous border and the Provost's garden for the Encaenia, the team have now refocused their attention on the other side of the college.

The box hedge, the longest hedge in the college is cut by Ady this year, whilst Ali spends the day weeding the new nursery beds,

In the orchard the tree circles around the smaller of the trees were also full of weeds and needed to be cleared.

Dracunculus vulgaris

Located in the border at the side of the Nuffield Building the Dracunculus vulgaris, Voodoo Lily, Stink Lily, has been in flower for the last week emitting a rather unpleasant smell. Back on the 26th June 2009, see blog entry 'Mum's Lipstick & A Dragon', I spent time next to the plant taking photographs, well today I bravely went back, this time to take video. From the video you will see the number of flies it attracts, this is due to the awful scent it emits, it smells of rotten meat. Luckily for you they haven't invented a way of conveying the scent through the internet, I am sure the flies were following me around all afternoon following my short visit to the plant.