Rachel Chetwynd-Cowieson CO09

IN THE

Garden this Term

In April the compost is sieved, and grit, sand and bone meal added in order to be ready for the arrival of annual bedding. This arrived and included: 600 red pelargoniums, 230 dwarf verbena and 240 yellow bidens.

All the plugs are potted on and placed to the glasshouse to grow on ready for planting out late spring/early summer. The annual bedding is sown, including marigolds, cosmos and antirrhinums. Perennial seedlings sown earlier in the year are pricked out and potted on. Canna lily and dahlia tubers stored from last year are potted up and placed in a warm greenhouse.

New tubers and summer bulbs ordered for this year are also delivered and potted, including a dahlia “striped vulcan” which I am looking forward to seeing bloom.

WRITTEN BY TOM LANGDEN, HEAD GARDENER

APRIL – GARDENS

Daffodils and tulips are in full flower across the site and the trees are starting to come into leaf.

Although it all seems a bit slow in the garden - another dry April probably doesn’t help. Annual spring bedding is watered and fed when needed, and the wildflower sown at end of March is beginning to germinate. We lightly scarified the front lawns to remove thatch and moss, then over-seeded. Beds and borders are weeded as routine, and cuts on the lawn are increasing. Bedding in greenhouses are fed, watered and weeded. Finally, Alan left the team and so we were down to two gardeners and a groundsman again; not ideal at this time of year, but everyone in the team has worked hard to help out and keep the gardens looking respectable, the plants alive and the sports pitches presentable and ready to play.

APRIL – SPORTS PITCHES

The Easter holidays are when the pitches are converted to accommodate the summer sports lessons and fixtures, including cricket and athletics. This involves:

– Football goals are removed and become cricket outfields and athletics tracks.

– The height of the grass on the cricket squares is slowly reduced, and they are regularly verticut and brushed to promote good plant health with a fertiliser application or two through spring.

– When the conditions are right, pre-season rolling begins on the cricket square. The entire square is rolled in multiple directions in order to consolidate the surface and provide a suitable playing surface. Each cricket pitch will then be prepared and marked as needed for fixtures. – The outfields are also beginning to be mown at a lower height of cut.

– The new pitch markings are painted for rounders and track, as well as a couple of football pitches for the

South West Saints.

– The First team pitch also gets a rest up until the half-term holiday. This gives time to over-seed the pitch and for the grass to germinate, establish and have an application of fertilisers.

The grass cutting continues and spring annual bedding is finishing flowering. Later in the month they are dug out. Tulip bulbs are dug up, dried and stored in our potting shed for planting out at the end of the year in our beds and borders. The polyanthus is added to the compost. Weeding around school continues and summer bedding and seasonal plants, including dahlias and lilies, are hardened off down the greenhouses (the plants are taken in and out of the greenhouse for the week to get them used to outside temperatures).

More horse muck is delivered and the Celebration Garden is mulched and starting to show some good new growth. The yew hedging won’t be trimmed till winter this year, enabling the hedging to establish good roots before pruning.

Wildflower areas are starting to establish a bit early to see flower, but some rainfall has seen plants really start to establish. Areas that are to be mown and areas that are to be left to grow for wildlife are established at this time of year and will be mown like this till the end of summer. For the first time, areas of the sports fields, especially the big banks, are to be left to grow long. This will reduce man-hours working on slopes, enabling the team to put more effort into our pitches and gardens whilst also improving biodiversity and reducing our carbon footprint.

Tom’s third baby was born in May and so he took paternity leave for two weeks, leaving just Craig, our gardener, and Doug, groundsman, to hold the fort for two weeks. Both did an absolutely brilliant job, and the School was grateful for all their hard work, despite the lack of team members and with such a demanding workload.

MAY – SPORTS PITCHES

The cricket squares are regularly cut and brushed and the first pitch is being prepared and marked for the first game. The First team pitch and top terrace are scarified then overseeded and rested. The cricket outfield is also over-seeded. Regular grass-cutting continues as well as pitch markings. The hedgerows around the sports fields are starting to look fuller and more plant species are starting to arrive. This is the second year without regular cutting and they are starting to support a diversity of species.