A plant of note within the gardens, giving a stunning display at the moment, is Fascicularia bicolor. This exotic, unusual looking plant originates from Chile and can be found adjacent to the lake, in an old Holm Oak tree stump, on the Nuffield Lawn. Its brightly coloured foliage and rosette flowers in the centre, draw your eye to it as you pass by, but don't get too close, its foliage is tough and spiny, but still well worth a careful look. 
The corner border has been ripped out and prepared for planting, so it is time to bring the plants from the nursery and a few structural plants recently purchased. 
This years scheme is to provide a hot colour border for the winter and spring, red, yellow and orange. The structural plants, Cornus alba will add height and Photinia fraseri 'Little Red Robin' adds structure at a lower level, whilst the viola's and wallflower create a blanket of cover over the soil. 
The wind has been so strong today that Joss and the ride on mower were left defeated. The photo above was taken at 13:30 after Joss had already spent the morning mowing this lawn, the leaves just kept on falling.
By 16:00 this photo shows the leaves in victory, Monday morning it will be Ady or Kieron and the ride on mower who face up to the leaves, who will be victorious this time?
In the early morning drizzle, Simon, Joe and Ali begin their day in the Provost's rose garden, cutting back the herbaceous material and lifting another plant that has started to take over. This time, as with the Euphorbia schillingii in the Serpentine Bed, it is the Veronicastrum that has created large robust mounds within the beds, for the worst offenders it is time to be removed.
Ady and Graham take the opportunity the drizzle has given them to do some wheelbarrow maintenance, checking all the wheelbarrow tyre pressures and oiling all the bearings. As the day progresses the weather deteriorates and the team are forced to move indoors for the afternoon. 
Joe and Ali spent a few hours this morning forcing bulbs; Hyacinth 'Anne Marie'; Fritillaria meleagris; Fritillaria elwesii and Narcissi 'Avalance'.
Once all the bulbs had been potted up into compost they covered them with a thick layer of sand outside in a coldframe. This will mimick what would happen naturally if they had been planted outside and, once they start to shoot through the sand the pots, will be lifted and then planted in our indoor display planter.
The team photo was taken yesterday, so Ady and Graham spent the day ripping out the corner border, the annuals taken to the compost heap and plants, needed for next year, taken to the greenhouse for potting up. (The photo above was taken in September when the border was at its best)
Once all the plants have been removed, the area is weeded and levelled ready for the winter bedding to be added next week.
Ali, Simon and Joe spent the morning in the Provost's Yard planting up the oak and lead planters. The main structural plants, Tree Ferns, Holly, Liquid Amber, Eucalyptus and Box balls remain in the planters all year to which other plants are added.
These additional plants may look familiar, they were used in various planters last winter and, after being removed in May/June, spent the summer in a healing in area where they grew into much larger specimens, creating a much better effect this year.
The finishing touches to the planters are the Viola, Wallflower, Polyanthus and bulbs all making for a colourful display for the coming winter and early spring months ahead.
It's that time of year again when the corner border needs to be ripped out, so the team get together for their annual photo. Joined by Alan Ware, the Garden Master and our new ride on mower, absences Joe, our budding apprentice, who is at college and Henry, Simon's dog, asleep in the tea shed. 
By the end of the day, after a few hours of leaf raking, Kieron and Ali have put the first coat of preservative on the cold frame, whilst Ady and Simon covered the hardy banana with fleece and loft insulation for the winter.
