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December
In The Gardens 2007 |
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Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 Cutting back perennials that look untidy, weeding and forking over as we go. NEPETA plants were being cut back as the foliage faded. We have started to mulch some gardens and borders with a layer of woodchip or bark chip. We like to do this once the plants have been cut back and any digging such as dividing has been done. The remaining annual plants and perennial weeds were removed from the cut flower area, a layer of compost was added and the whole area before it was rotovated. Allotment Finished off seed order and posted all forms. Replaced broken glass in greenhouse. Dismantled cloche used over hotbox to replace rotten piece of wood in base. Staked BRUSSELS SPROUTS due to strong winds. All CURRANTS and GOOSEBERRIES were pruned. We continued removing HELLEBORE leaves as and when we came across them. We ran the mower over the lawns on a dry day to remove any remaining fallen leaves and to take the tips of any areas of lawn that grown. Some of the potted PELARGONIUMS, in the greenhouses and conservatory, that had finished flowering were given a haircut to tidy them up and any dead leaves were removed. Allotment Removed netting from BRASSICAS for easier access. Double digging area to be used for next crop of BRASSICAS. Moved CHICORY from cold store into warmer area for forcing. General The large CLEMATIS Montana Elizabeth on the nursery fence was cut back really hard as it had lots of dead and old unproductive growth on it, we will get no flower next spring but it should look amazing the following year. Any CLEMATIS tangutica was also cut down once the seed heads had gone. All pathways were given a good raking over and we gave the majority of the gardens a spruce up before the Christmas break. Any water features were given a good top-up also. We brought the BLACKTHORN hedge running along the ditch in the gardens down to the same height as the BEECH hedges. Again this will let much more light into the surrounding gardens and the Wildflower area. This created a huge amount of brash (pruned branches) so we shredded it to use as a mulch. Before the Christmas break we made sure that any dry pots in the greenhouses and conservatory were given a bit of water and the heaters were all set correctly to keep the frost off. We started to prune all deciduous trees, any crossing branches were removed and some shortened if needed. Nursery The ROSA banksiae ‘Lutea’ on the shop wall was thinned out and tied back onto its support wires. We decided that the laurel hedge in the nursery was casting a lot of shade on the plants and was blocking the view across the sales area so the height was reduced to about 1 metre with a chainsaw. Allotment Continued to double dig BRASSICA area. Greenhouse Sowed ONION 'Kelsae', 'Mammoth Improved', 'Mammoth Red' and 'Bedfordshire Champion' into modules. All the staff take a well earned rest returning to work on 3rd January 2008. The gardens, nursery and coffee shop are open as usual, only closing on Christmas eve and Christmas day and are manned by Nick and Sue.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 © Gecko 55 Ltd. All rights reserved |