Many hands make light work! A tray of 350 Viola 'Sorbet Mixed' plug plants arrived this afternoon needing to be potted up. Ali, Ady and Kieron joined forces and within 45 minutes had filled 15 plug trays with compost, re potted the young plants and watered them in.
Ali and Charlie were joined in the greenhouse by Joe to continue propagating the gardens tender plants. Methods used today were semi ripe cuttings, taken from this years growth, as well a spot of air layering on the Magnolia's outside in the grounds.
Charlie has spent the day working with Ali in the greenhouse having a lesson on plant propagation. First the 200 wallflowers needed to be potted up into larger pots, then they walked around the grounds, with next summers display in mind, cutting pieces of tender plants to take back to the greenhouse to propagate. 
Meanwhile, behind the shrubs and trees of the Nuffield lawn, three white men or is it wise men? were busy all day painting the sheds.
Having added 65 tonnes of clay, over 20 tonnes of top soil, faggots, coir rolls and a Terram liner membrane, the weir repair contractors have finished. The best job, however, is still to come, as the gardening team will have to landscape the banks by planting different marginal plants.
Today we have been joined by Charlie on a weeks work experience with the gardening team. His week starts with the cutting of the grass banks in the front quad, Charlie learns how to edge and sweep them down. His next job is working with Graham, sanding down one of the tool sheds ready for painting with a preservative.
Two out of the three sheds have already been prepared for painting, see blog entry 20th August 'Uncovered' and once Ady and Josh have got their painting overalls on the preservative is applied.
After a slight mishap with the paint, when Ady, not happy with wearing white, attempts to change the colour of his overalls by knocking the paint over himself, the job continues at pace.
Ali spent the day attempting to rejuvenate an old, out of shape, Lavender hedge, at the same time trying to reclaim two foot of path that has been hidden by the aforementioned hedge.
Over the last few years various methods have been tried to make the cutting of the giant hedge easier. These methods have been ladders, scaffold towers and scissor lifts, all of which have helped us come to the same conclusion, that the hedge is too high.
To rectify this height problem, Phil from Sylva Trees has been called in to cut a meter off the height and bring it down to a safe, manageable height.
