In the Garden this term

IN THE

Garden this Term

TOM HEAD GARDENER Hello, I’m Tom, the Head Gardener at Truro School. I joined Truro in 2018. I first got into gardening after moving to Cornwall. I enjoy working at the school site as it is on the edge of an AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty) part of the Fal River estuary. We often see rare plants, animals and many migrating birds pass over the sports fields using the Fal River as a stop-off feeding ground. With as many of our projects as possible we try to be environmentally friendly and sustainable. For example, we take cuttings from our own plants on site and grow them in our greenhouses; just this summer we took 120 cuttings of the osteospermum, which we plan to plant on the front terraces next spring. We also like to encourage wildlife on site, and have just had a barn owl and tawny owl box made up, which we plan to put up soon. The start of autumn this year was really mild as far as gardening is concerned, so everything was flowering longer and we saw butterflies including red admirals, small tortoiseshells and speckled woods still flying in October. By November it became very wet, so digging became a problem, and a few projects, such as the Rose Garden, have been put on hold whilst we wait for the better weather to return.

We are pleased that our apprentice has been able to move onto his next steps, although this has left us a man down for the last few weeks, but we are looking forward to welcoming a new member to the team in the new year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from myself and the rest of the grounds team.

AUGUST - WILD FLOWER CUTTING

The wildflowers scattered around site bloomed beautifully in the Cornish sunshine over the summer. By late August they were cut back. The grounds team always cut from the centre outward; this enables any small mammals - voles, shrews etc - to move away from the machinery, find cover and stop them being exposed to predators. Once cut, the wildflowers were left for a few days for seeds to drop. Leaving cut material down for a week or so has the added benefit of providing cover for these mammals. Since wildflowers don’t like rich soil, after a week or so the cut plant materials were collected up and removed to ensure the nutrients did not go back into the ground.

SEPTEMBER - STUDENTS RETURN

In September, the students returned to site. The winter sports pitches had been prepared, grass height raised for rugby, the rugby posts put up and all the pitches were marked with fresh paint ready for fixtures, including the 2021 Old Truronians v School 1st XV Rugby match. The school shield flower bed on the main drive up to school was tended to and neatly maintained, alongside general grounds maintenance: cutting the grass and hedges around the site. Ongoing autumn maintenance for the pitches also continued, including slitting and spiking to improve drainage, brushing (to present the stripe on the pitch) and an application of autumn fertiliser to see it through the winter.

OCTOBER - BEDDING PLANTS

By October, the gardeners had begun planting their seasonal bedding by digging up summer plants such as pelargoniums, dwarf verbena and canna lilies for storage in the greenhouse over winter and replacing them with winter species such as polyanthus and tulips.

Late October saw the team break ground on the Truro School Foundation Commemorative Rose Garden, digging over the rose beds ready for cow dung and compost. The half-term holiday allowed the team to fell trees and remove a few of the hydrangeas around the edge of the garden on the front drive to bring more light into the area. Underplanting began using cotoneaster davidi, which the team had previously grown from their own cuttings on site.

The gardeners spent November trying to stay dry! During dry spells, they continued planting out seasonal bedding and bulbs in pots and seasonal beds. Spiking and slitting took place on the winter pitches and autumn fertiliser was applied to keep the pitches healthy in the winter months. Once the nesting season had finished the gardeners could begin hedge cutting on formal hedges and tree works, but left the hedgerows around the pitches as they have value as cover and food for wildlife and birds in the winter. The team spent a lot of time clearing leaf litter, especially off the lawns to help keep them healthy, since leaves on the lawns can encourage diseases.

DECEMBER - TREES

As the days got colder and shorter in December, Tom and the team used the time inside to clean and tidy their work sheds and greenhouses ready for the new year, as well as performing valuable maintenance on their equipment. They continued general garden maintenance around the site and felled trees which need felling for safety reasons. The team also started formative pruning on the school’s Cornish apple trees to remove dead and damaged branches, which encourages good branch structure, reducing the chance of disease and increasing the fruit harvest in the following years.

Thank you to our wonderful grounds team for keeping the Truro School sites beautiful

TOM COLIN

TRURO SCHOOL FOUNDATION

We are delighted to announce the opening of the Commemorative Rose Garden in Spring 2022.

Roses will be available in memory of your loved one from £2,000, with 100% of proceeds helping to support children deserving of a bursary. Details to be announced early next year.

FOUNDATION