Mulching With Wood Chip

The ornamental grasses in the borders of the Canal Building were cut down yesterday, so today the borders were ready to receive their annual dressing of wood chip mulch.

The huge pile of wood chippings was been added to yesterday when the fruit tree prunings were chipped, so Graham and Ali removed the greener, top layer to reach the darker, older chippings. The wood chip is used as a decorative mulch to cover the weed suppressing membrane that the grasses grow through, see blog entry 22nd March 2012 '113 Grasses & A New Stone Edge'.

Chipping The Fruit Tree Prunings

The pruning of the fruit trees in the orchard started six weeks ago, see blog entry 22nd January 'Apple And Pear Tree Pruning Begins' and today the prunings that have built up over that period need to be put through the chipper.

Joss and Simon spent the morning feeding the hungry chipper with the tangled prunings until the task was complete.

Repotting Into Larger Pots

The cuttings that were taken from the summer display plants last September and potted up a month later, see blog entry 21st October 2013 'Potting Up September's Cuttings', have been repotted for the final time this week. They will now remain in the larger 10x10x11 pots until they are planted out as part of this year's summer display at the beginning of June. In April, to begin the process of hardening off, they will be moved out of the heated greenhouse into the unheated, south facing greenhouse then into the cold frames in May.

Wooden Storage Shed For A Lawnmower

Over the last few weeks, during periods of heavy rain, Ady and Graham have built a wooden storage shed for a lawnmower. Using spare pieces of feather edge board, left over from the building of the potting shed, see blog entry 19th October 2012 'It Now Looks Like A Shed', they designed and built this storage shed. The need for the shed was highlighted following the completion of a risk and manual handling assessment undertaken for the transporting of a heavy lawnmower up the steep steps to the garden above. The mower can now remain in situ preventing the need for the carrying of this heavy, awkward load.  

Coppicing Birch

Newly Planted 2 Year Old Birch Trees

Every year the team take delivery of a trailer load of coppiced birch to make the supports for the plants on the herbaceous border, for an example of the supports made see blog entry 15th March 2011 'Basket Weaving'. Today Ali went on a training day at The Harcourt Arboretum to learn about this ancient form of woodland management, Coppicing, that produces these plant supports. Working with the staff at the arboretum they started the day in a new area of coppice, planting 2 year old birch trees which, in 5 years time, will be cut down. Each tree was supported by a bamboo cane and protected by a clear plastic tree guard.
Having helped to create a woodland for the future, they then moved onto the coppicing of a small birch woodland that was planted in 2000 and is cut on a three to five year rotation. This rotation can increase the biodiversity in the woodland, the clearance results in the variation of light levels reaching the woodland floor as well as altering the number of stools, size and age of the trees.

Birch Coppice

Coppicing is the repetitive cutting down of multi stemmed trees, in this case birch, creating a stump, a coppice stool, which will regrow from dormant buds or root buds producing new wood for future. The stems are cut using a saw, making a sloped cut which is thought to shed water and prevent fungal decay. The part of the woodland coppiced is called a 'coupe', also known as a sale, fell, cant, panel or burrow depending on locality.

Birch

Coppice Stool

Underwood

Joined by volunteers the 'coupe' is methodically cleared. As the team go deeper into the woodland, the cut down wood in called 'underwood', the further they have to drag it back to the path for collection, being careful not to trip over the newly created stools!

Cleared Birch Coppice

Underwood

At the end of a very tiring day the area of birch had been coppiced and the underwood, approximately 750 pieces are stored ready for use as plant supports.

Goodbye Sophie

(L-R) Ali, Ady, Kieron, Graham, Simon, Sophie, Joss, Callum.

Today the team said "goodbye" and "thank you" to Sophie who, for the last 14 months, has been volunteering on Mondays in the gardens. Sophie it has been a real pleasure to work with you and wish you all the best with your future career in horticulture.

The Provost's Drive Border

Two years ago the team spent three days clearing the overgrown border next to the Provost's drive, see blog entry 5th March 2012 'The Provost's Drive'. Since then the weeds, mainly bindweed, have been controlled by regular spraying with the weedkiller Glyphosate, the final application being last summer.

Today Ady, Graham and Callum planted the border with the winter flowering shrub, Sarcococca confusa, Sweet Box, which, in a few years time, will fill the air with their fragrance, see blog entry 5th February 'Sweet Smell Of Winter Flowering Shrubs'. Once all the Sarcococca had been planted the border was finished off with the addition of a leaf mould mulch.