Spring Gardening DCC Contacts/News 12/13

Wendy Simpson of Craigievar Gardeners offers seasonal tips to help you get the best from your patch, large or small...

This winter’s storms will have wrought havoc in many of our gardens. The first thing to do is to prune back damaged trees or shrubs in order to make clean wounds. Then, assuming you have cleared up the debris, prepare your borders and vegetable patches by digging in a 5-cm layer of compost or well-rotted manure. Apply mulch around trees and shrubs and feed hedges with a slow-release fertilizer. Cut back any cornus or salix that have provided your winter colour.

Then, on to the fun stuff.

Now is the time to split clumps of snowdrops to encourage them to spread. Split overgrown clumps of perennials and disseminate them. Insert supports for perennials as they begin to grow because it’s much easier to do it now than later!

This is your last chance to prune apple and pear trees. You can also prune your roses, but don’t be tempted to do this until any danger of late frost has passed.

Prune raspberry canes by cutting out dead or spindly canes and tie the rest of them into row supports.

Prune hydrangeas by cutting each stem back to a healthy bud. Cut back buddleia and late-flowering clematis. Clear ponds of weeds and winter debris.

Prepare your vegetable beds so that you can sow as soon as the soil temperature reaches 6°C. Start with onions, shallots, carrots, leeks, spring onions, beetroot, spinach, lettuces and rockets. Leave potatoes until mid-April.

Plant summer-flowering bulbs like gladioli and lilies in pots so that they are ready to plant out as soon as any danger of frost has passed. Plant nerines for autumn colour.

If you have a heated propagator, sow seeds for pelargoniums, begonias, delphiniums, foxgloves and antirrhinums in it. They need a longer and warmer startup.

01975 571775 07792 830780

• Local family business • Oil and biomass boiler servicing and repairs • New boilers sold and installed with 5 and 10-year warranties • Aga Servicing

LLA is rightly proud of three local athletes who competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February: Andrew Musgrave and Andrew Young (Huntly Nordic athletes) and Alexandra Tilley (an Alford Ski Centre athlete).

Could you be a future Olympian? Their sessions at the Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre and Alford Ski Centre are suitable and fun for the whole family. Both centres have a variety of sessions on offer including family, beginner, and more advanced.

For more information and to book, go to www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk

Golf swings for AVCR

(in a good way!)

Alford Golf Club captain Derek Ross and new club manager Iain Affleck met with John Fincham (Chairman of The Alford Valley Community Railway) to sign the Land Lease and Operational Agreement between the Club and AVCR.

The momentous moment for both the club and village will allow the current project to progress, bringing

11the railway back into service in the future. Result!

It has been a diffi cult two years and although COVID is sti ll with us there are signs that things are getti ng easier for most of us and it is ti me to start looking forward to 2022.

RESILIENCE PLANNING

The recent storms have shown us how vulnerable we are. Donside Community Council will be looking at how they can help the communiti es in our area in the event of future emergencies. Building on some ideas we have discussed previously and with the help of other organisati ons throughout Donside, we hope to have our resilience plan in place soon.

BECOME A COMMUNITY COUNCILLOR

There are currently quite a few vacancies for Community Councillors throughout our area : Alford (5); Strathdon/Corgarff and Glenbuchat (2); Craigievar, Leochel Cushnie and Muir of Fowlis (1); Tullynessle (2); Lumsden (1); Montgarrie (1); Glenkindie and Towie (1).

With electi ons in May we will soon be looking for volunteers to represent their community. If you are interested in becoming a Community Councillor and want to fi nd out more you can join our meeti ngs which are open to the public. They are held on ZOOM at the moment but this will change to in person meeti ngs soon we hope.

You can read more about becoming a Community Councillor and what they do on the Aberdeenshire Council website www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communiti esand-events/community-councils/)

Get in touch if you are interested in joining our meeti ngs and we can give you more details. Email chair@ donsidecommunitycouncil.org.uk or via our Facebook page.

PLATINUM JUBILEE

Keep an eye out for how Donside will be taking part in the Plati num Jubilee. We will 12 be revealing our plans soon.

Donside Community Council

ENJOY ALFORD AND DONSIDE

Donside Community Council is pleased to be a supporter of this exciti ng new website and App. The website is aimed at local residents and visitors alike and will showcase the best of our area. The website and App will list businesses, community groups, events, ameniti es, walks and drives, local news and even the weather.

If you would like to join the list, which is free, please email the team at info@ enjoyalfordanddonside.com who will be happy to help. If you want to see how this is taking shape, visit the website www. enjoyalfordanddonside.com

When do we meet? Every 2nd Tuesday of the Month (except July and Dec) What Time? 7.30pm – 9.30pm Tea/coff ee from 7.15pm Where? Alford Community Campus

Councillors' Contacts

This is your MP and MSP

Cllr Moira Ingleby 07770 410539 cllr.m.ingleby@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Cllr John Latham 07876 475038 cllr.j.latham@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk Cllr Gwyneth Petrie 07891 296064 cllr.g.petrie@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Cllr Robbie Withey 07388 956147 cllr.r.withey@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

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Alexander Burne� MSP 0131 348 5642

Alexander.Burnett .msp @parliament.scot

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Andrew Bowie MP 0207 219 2791 andrew.bowie.mp @parliament.uk