Kiwi Fruit 'Jenny'

 

Actinidia deliciosa 'Jenny' (Kiwi Fruit)

At the bottom of the front quad, in the left hand corner, you will find a Kiwi Fruit that has produced fruit over the last four years. Actinidia deliciosa 'Jenny' is a vigorous, self fertile variety that produces both male and female creamy, white flowers, then fruit. Trained along wires, Simon and Ali no longer need to get out the book 'The Royal Horticultural Society Pruning & Training'  to prune it, a regular sight in January in years gone by. The winter prune is done at the same time as the wisteria and climbing roses, cutting back the laterals to two to three buds beyond where last years fruit were produced. The fruit left on this plant were dropped onto the ground for the wildlife to feed on.   

Pruning Wisteria And Climbing Roses

 

The team managed to start the winter pruning of the climbers early, see blog entry 'Pruning Begins' 29th November 2012, but with the Christmas break and the recent snowfall the rate of pruning has slowed. Catching up began on Tuesday in the front quad with the pruning of the last few climbing roses on the top terrace, then on to those at the back of the cottages. 

Once the roses had been completed the team focused their attention on the wisteria, the three on the back of the cottages, one over the arch that separates the herbaceous border and the large wisteria at the bottom of the front quad.

After three days of continuous cutting with their secateurs they had made huge inroads into the pruning of the college climbers. Over the next few weeks they will be in the orchard pruning the fruit trees and the Provost's garden pruning the roses. 

Self Assembly Shelving

The potting shed was painted last week as the gardeners were driven indoors by the blanket of snow covering the college grounds. This morning Ali and Graham were given the task to construct the self assembly super shelving system.

Checking first that all the pieces were present; 3 x frame; 16 x beam; 16 x shelves; 6 x plastic top caps and 32 x beam retaining clips, they carefully followed the instructions 'How to build your super shelf'.

By the end of the day the new 'super shelf' had been assembled and the first of the pots moved into their new home.

A Busy, Cold, Week

The college is covered in snow, thawing very slowly due to the low temperatures both during the day and night, what can the gardeners do? The priority is, of course, to keep all the paths clear, so the main daily task is to scatter rock salt before beginning other jobs. But what then? By Thursday Graham, Ady and Callum had cleaned and tidied all four tool/machinery sheds, as well as the pump house and storage shed. The pots and seed trays, to be used for seed sowing in February, were all washed in hot, soapy water by Crystal.

The old truck that was rescued from the skip, now with two new wheels, had four new sides made by Kieron, ready for Ali to use to transport plants around the college. Joss, usually found working on the grass, spend the week with a paint brush in his hand painting the new potting shed before moving on to Simon's office and the tea shed with Ady and Callum.

Snow is also a great time to catch up on paper work, Risk Assessments, COSHH Assessments, seed ordering for this summers display, tool ordering, first aid box checking, ladder inspections, and painting tools so they are stored in the correct tool shed. Hopefully the snow will go over the weekend so the team can go outside and be gardeners again!

A Hint Of Colour

Although the blanket of snow has covered the college grounds there is still a small amount of colour trying to break up the monotony of white. The colourful stems of Salix alba 'Chermesina' reflecting in the water, the orange berries of the Iris foetidissima and the golden yellow stems of the Weeping Willow hanging over the lake.
 

 

Salix alba 'Chermesina'

 Iris foetidissima

Weeping Willow

Footprints and Snow Angels In The Snow

 

When snow falls and settles, as it did over the last few days, there is an urge to run, slide and make snow angels in the wonderful, thick, white blanket. However, there are two areas that are out of bounds, with or without snow on them, the quad lawn and the banks. Unfortunately the temptation was too hard to resist, as can be seen in the photograph above.
What damage can be done when walking on snow covered grass? Walking on grass covered in snow compacts the snow creating a small insulating layer beneath every footprint, or in this case, half a dozen, large areas of snow angels. These compacted areas stay colder as the soil begins to warm up and start to defrost. The increased time under snow and ice could allow snow mold, a fungus, to develop. Walking on frozen grass also causes the blades of grass to break, all this damage will increase the time Joss will have to spend on the grass to repair it, and spraying it with chemicals, in order to have the stunning lawn that is seen in the summer, as the signs say  'Keep Off The Grass'.

Three Snowmen

With snow comes the arrival of snowmen around the college grounds. Three were found following Friday's snowfall, the largest, was found on the orchard.

The second snowman had walked up the stairs at the back of the Provost's lodgings, and the third, wearing a blue scarf, a big smile, and a welcome wave, was found in front of the pavilion.