Giving The Wisteria A Summer Prune

The many wisteria in the college gardens are pruned twice a year, summer and winter. Having provided a wonderful display of flowers in May, see blog entry for the 16th 'Worcester's Wisteria', it is time for the summer prune.

The plants are putting all their energy in to growth, producing long, wispy shoots, a number of which have found their way in through windows. Ali and Callum spent the day pruning this young, rampant growth on two of the wisteria, bringing them back under control, for the time being. The long shoots were cut back to five to six leaves, any further shoots that grow will be cut back in the winter prune in January.

Pricking Out Wallflowers and Sweet William

Sown on the 16th July, the wallflowers and Sweet William are now ready to be pricked out in to their own individual cells. The 180 wallflower seedlings will join the 690 wallflower plug plants, due from Ball Colegrave in the coming weeks, creating the winter/spring display in the college borders and pots for 2014/15. The 60 Sweet William seedlings will be used in the cut flower bed.  

Colour Returns To The Provost's Yard

The display of pots in the centre of the Provost's yard were moved four weeks ago to make way for the instillation of two Tercentenary Ball canopies, three were pushed to one side and four taken away to the Ruskin Building. The yard has remained empty, grey and devoid of colour since the pots departed but today they returned, banishing the grey and bringing back the colour back with them.

The Trimming Of The Long Box Hedge Begins

The continuing sunny weather has caused the delay in the trimming of the long box hedge that runs the entire length of the orchard. Trimmed in June in previous years, and usually the first hedge to be cut, the team have been unable to start trimming it as exposing the foliage to the sun causes it to scorch. Today, however, a window of opportunity was provided by a morning of slow moving cloud, giving enough time to trim the first part of the hedge. More cloudy days are needed in order for the hedge to be completed, but none are forecast during the coming week, so the trimming of the hedge still needs to be finished. 

Two Banana Plants (Musa basjoo) In Flower

Walking along the path past the herbaceous border, take a look at the Musa basjoo, banana plants, and you will see a sight not seen since 2010, see blog entry 15th September 'Banana Flower', two plants have produced flowers compared to just the one four years ago. Flowering a lot earlier than last time, two months earlier in fact, it is hoped that the fruit bracts, although small, will be seen this year having enough time to develop before the first frosts, but, unfortunately, they are not edible. Both the trunks will die after producing the fruit but offsets are already growing around the base to replace them.

The First Bunches And Posies

The plants in the cut flower bed that were planted in June, see blog entry for the 10th June 'Cut Flowers For The Summer' are now starting to produce sufficient blooms to make the first few bunches and Posies. The plants are: Sunflower 'Irish Eyes', Sunflower 'Teddy Bear', Zinnia elegans 'Giant Double Mixed', Antirrhinum majus 'Apple Blossom', Antirrhinum majus 'Royal Bride', Antirrhinum majus 'Orange Wonder' and Panicum elegans 'Frosted Explosion'.

Clematis 'Etoile Violette', 'Black Prince' and 'Rooguchi'

Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette'

A number of Clematis have been planted around the college gardens since last autumn and are putting on a wonderful display during their first summer.
Against the wall, at the bottom of the quad, Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette' is producing a copious amount of single, deep purple flowers with a cream centre.

Clematis viticella 'Black Prince'

Around the corner from the quad, through the lower archway on a south facing wall, Clematis viticella 'Black Prince' is producing a large amount of almost black flowers amongst the yellow and crimson flowers of the Abutilon megapotamicum.

Clematis 'Rooguchi'

Walking down towards the lake, the old Holm Oak stump has a new addition too, Clematis 'Rooguchi'. The flowers are bell shaped, deeply ribbed, a rich shiny purple in colour with silvery-purple edges.
So many flowers produced in their fist year, more Clematis will be added in the coming years to the gardens.