Changing From Planters And Troughs To Borders

Display stone troughs and planters (winter/spring 2017-18 display)

The process of changing the method of displaying plants in the Pump Quad has been a gradual one. Once the proposal had been agreed, changing the stone planters and troughs to three, Indian sandstone edged borders, the project began. At the end of May the planters and troughs were removed from the quad and taken down to the sports field where they were to be used for plant displays in front of the pavilion.

Moving the stone troughs and planters 31st May

Loading a trough on to the fork lift attachment

Once emptied of the winter/spring plants and the spent compost, the now much lighter, but still very heavy, stone troughs and planters were moved out from the quad one at a time. Lifting them up onto the pump truck they were carefully wheeled out from where they have been in situ for some twenty years. With the sports field being at the opposite end of the college from the Pump Quad, the New Holland with the fork lift attachment was used to transport them to their new location.

Taking the trough to the sports field

Safely delivered

Trough and planter planted up for the summer, 31st May (L)

Once they had been placed in front of their new home they were filled with a mix of multipurpose compost and leaf mould before being planted up with their summer display.

Trough and planter planted up for the summer. 31st May (R)

Pavilion 3rd July

Five weeks later trough and planter (L)

Five weeks later trough and planter (R)

Border construction complete

Eight weeks later the next stage of the alterations continued with the creation of the first border by the landscape contractor, Pro Bits Landscapes. 

Yew in place

Filling the border

With the first border construction complete the team filled it up with a top soil/leaf mould mix and planted the architectural plants, two topiary yew.

Is the top of the root ball level with the top of the soil?

Two architectural, topiary yew planted

The second border construction completed

A further three weeks have passed and the construction of the final two borders were completed yesterday. Today the team worked on filling the new borders up with soil and planting the four remaining architectural plants, two topiary yew and two large Euonymus japonicus balls.

Loading the wheelbarrows

Filling up with top soil and levelling it

Treading down the soil

One and a half tonnes of the top soil mix was transported from the the trailer in to the Pump Quad using wheelbarrows and tipped in to the empty borders. The tipped out piles of soil were levelled using a landscape rake and trodden down to remove any air pockets and to prevent the soil level dropping in the future. By the end of the day the borders had been filled and the four plants planted, more shrubs, possibly hydrangea, will be planted in the coming months.

Two completed borders

New border (R)

New border (L)

The Pump Quad with its new borders