The Last One

Having started clearing the area by the tennis courts yesterday, the guys are joined by Joe to continue the task. By the end of the day their task is complete and the border restored to its former glory.

Not far from the tennis courts, Simon and Ali focus their attention on the last border left to be cut down, the three small, slender borders in front of the Ruskin Building.

After a day of cutting and weeding, with a final blow through to remove any remaining debris, the last of the college borders is finished.

Gloucester House 2011

Whilst half the team worked on the overgrown area by the tennis courts, Simon, Ali and Joe spent the day cutting back the perennials and grasses that had been left over the winter.
The Gloucester House border is left untouched to provide homes and food for the wildlife as well as for their architectural stems and heads. These were particularly stunning during the numerous frosts seen in Oxfordshire over the last few months, ice crystals clinging to them and sparkling in what little sun we had.

Once cut back, weeded and the remaining autumn leaf fall removed, Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Little Spire' was planted in the gravel to add more structure and colour for this summer's display.

Brambles

The team split into two groups today with Ady, Graham and Joss working together to clear an overgrown area behind the tennis courts.

This area has been left for a number of years with the brambles taking over, a good source for blackberries though. Along with Elder, Ivy and other overgrown shrubs the lads had a huge task to restore the area to some kind of order.

By the end of a hard day and numerous trips to the chipper they reached the half way point, their task continues tomorrow.

Planting, Pruning and Mulching

Simon, Joe and Ali spent the first part of the morning planting two apple trees, Pitmaston Pineapple, an old English russet apple from the West Midlands area. These trees, we hope, will be heavy cropping, fruiting every other year, producing apples for us with an unusual flavour tasting like pineapples.
First a circle is marked out, the turf stripped away and a hole dug, the soil is placed to the side and organic matter added.

The tree is then placed in the hole and the depth checked with top of the root ball. The soil is then filled back into the hole and the tree healed in. A tree stake is then placed at an angle, hammered into place and the tree then tied to the stake using a tree tie, finally the tree is watered in.

Having planted the new trees in the orchard, they then moved into the Provost's garden to finish pruning the wisteria. What should have been quick job ended up taking all afternoon once a very large piece of dead wood was found within the tangled frame work. It is hoped that now this has been removed a spectacular display will be seen again this year.

In the corner of the Provost's garden Ady and Joss completed their wood chip mulching, having begun last week in the border at the back of the Nuffield lawn.

On Your First Day

On your first day there is nothing better than getting stuck in to your work like Tracy did today. Armed with her secateurs and fully wrapped up for the cold weather she joined Ali working on the hedgerow next to the canal, at the back of The Broadwalk.

Whilst Ali stayed on the land side, Tracy hopped over the hedgerow and started on the canal side until the bank ran out and she rejoined her new colleague, welcome to our team Tracy, see you on Wednesdays.

Keiron and Joss spent the morning fixing the roof on the shed that stores the diesel, fertilizer and the Kabota tractor. Leaking since a tree branch fell on it, they removed the old brittle material and replaced it with new sheets that should last another ten years.

Once he had finished on the roof, Joss then spent the afternoon spiking the quad lawn for the first time this year, whilst Kieron joined Ali, Tracy and Ady on the canal hedgerow.

Glasshouse Pests

With the outside temperatures still regularly below 8c, the opportunities to open up the greenhouse are few and far between. Inside the greenhouse, the temperature stays between 5c and 20c creating the perfect environment for whitefly and greenfly to breed at an alarming rate, so before their numbers increase to uncontrollable levels, Ali sprays them using a contact/systemic pesticide. This pesticide should kill the pests on contact and any that manage to avoid it will be killed as they feed off the plants, it says on the label that it should control the pests for six weeks!

The Good & The Bad

There are days when we feel privileged to work in such wonderful surroundings as Worcester College. Friendly staff, students and fellows, wonderful wildlife encounters such as today with the sighting of two Kingfishers, and the beautiful gardens that the team work so hard to create.

Then there are days that are few and far between, but fill you full of disappointment. This morning was one of those such moments for the team, especially Joss.
The quad lawn, the focal point of the college, on which he spends a lot of his time and energy, had been walked all over in frosty conditions. Walking on this fine ornamental lawn is strictly forbidden and it is in frosty conditions when the resultant damage will be at its worst.

When a lawn is frosted the blades of grass are frozen. Walking on it will cause the blades to fracture and the internal cells to rupture, which results in a considerable amount of damage.

We ask the small number of students who caused this damage to please respect the work that we do in the gardens and refrain from walking on this lawn at all times.