New To The Corner Decorative, Pom Pom, Ball and Semi-Cactus Dahlia

Winter-Spring 2015/16

With two of the major summer displays already planted up over the last two days, the border at the far end of the quad and the Besse Courtyard containers, it is the 'border in the corner' that the team focus their attention on today.

Clearing The Border

Yesterday the wallflowers and tulips were removed, and the soil prepared for planting, raked level, debris cleared and a granular plant food added. The Cornus alba were also removed, dug out as they had got too big for the border, and planted elsewhere in the college grounds.

The Prepared Border With Unclipped Box Balls

Before the border could be planted it was decided that the box balls should be clipped but, as the border had already been prepared, the clippings had to be collected without making a mess. Wrapping a large sheet around the neck of the box ball the clippings fell on to the sheet which was then carefully gathered up without dropping any of them. 

Collecting The Clippings Making No Mess

Clipped Box Balls

Planting Out

Once the box clipping had been completed the plants were brought over from the greenhouse, placed out in to their positions, planted and watered in.

This year's plants are as follows: Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins', 'Jescot Julie', 'Ambition', 'New Baby', 'Thomas A Edison', 'Downham Royal', 'Con Amore' and 'Jowey Mirella' (Venetian Dahlia Collection by Sarah Raven); Tagetes tenuifolia 'Paprika', Moluccella laevis (Bells of Ireland), Nigella damascena 'Double White' (Love-In-The-Mist), Anethum graveolens (Dill), Antirrhinum majus 'Night & Day', Bupleurum rotundifolium 'Griffiti', Euphorbia oblongata, Zinnia elegans 'Super Yoga Orange', Zinnia elegans 'Envy Double', Nicotiana langsdorffii, Amaranthus tricolor 'Red Army', Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset', Rudbeckia hirta 'Moreno' and Rudbeckia hirta 'Cappucino'.

Additional planting 4th July 2016

As the Dill has gone over very quickly since planting the gaps have now been filled with Coleus 'Rainbow Mixed'.

Coleus 'Rainbow Mixed'