Welcome Fresher's!

Today marks the start of the Fresher's Fair at Headingley Campus. Cue lots of new students looking around in a dazed and confused yet excited manner. It's the beginning of three fantastic years as a student of Leeds Beckett University and taking part in all that we have to offer.

Here's the map of Headingley campus again should any students reading this blog need to know where their next lecture is :)

1: James Graham, 2: Student Hub/Refectory, 3: Caedmon, 4: Priestley, 5: Leighton, 6: Macaulay, 7: Bronte, 8: The Grange, 9: Cavendish, 10: Fairfax, 11: Design and Technology, 12-20: Carnegie, 21: The Cottage, 22: Churchwood, 23: North Lodge, 24: Carnegie Village, 25: Coach House, 26: Landscape Resource Centre and Experimental Gardens, 27: South Lodge, 28: Queenswood, 33: Changing Pavilion.

I hope that all the students new and old love the Headingley campus and what there is to see within the grounds on a day to day basis. Be it the wonderful wildlife we have or the bloomin' marvellous flowers in each border which add a dash of colour to their surroundings, especially in the spring and summer months.

At the moment we have a lot of greenery rather than flowers but this still adds a lot to the campus. The Phormium always look stunning any time of year and can be found in the borders of Cavendish, Fairfax, and outside the Carnegie gymnasium. The Lonicera at Carnegie has yellow leaves which adds a little bit of a different perspective to the border, and the Mahonia found outside the James Graham building has a stunning lime green shade. The Hydrangea's have all but finished flowering for the season now but there may still be the odd flower hanging on.

We have a few Hosta's dotted about campus and if the slugs haven't eaten all the leaves yet then it's worth keeping an eye out for them, especially at Churchwood. They have a lovely light green shade with really defined veins and with a white stripe running around the edge of the leaf. The Rowan trees dotted about campus are still looking brilliant with all the bright red berries ready and waiting for the birds.

I will keep you all updated on what else there is to look out for over the coming autumn and any projects we may be undertaking as the growing season slows down.



(Photos taken by myself, September 2016)

A dash of colour to brighten your day

I did a walk around the campus yesterday to see how the grounds are progressing as we head into summer and found there to be a lot of colour out there, and lots more to come over the next month or so.

I took this picture of a pink rhododendron just outside the entrance to the grounds maintenance garages. Unfortunately I have been unable to find the exact name of this particular cultivar but should you wish to see it then just head into the woodland at Queenswood along the dirt track towards the Queen Victoria commemoration structure.

Then at the bottom of the steps leading up to Carnegie Village between the Cavendish and Fairfax buildings we have a stunning yellow Laburnum x watereri 'Vossii'.

 

 



Then again we have another rhododendron just between the bottom of the technology building steps and the steps leading up to Carnegie. This particular variety may be Rhododendron oreotrephes.

Also at the bottom of the steps that lead up to Carnegie we have what I believe to be a Syringa (Lilac) but I am unable to find the cultivar.

Then at the top of the steps leading up to Carnegie and also at The Cottage, the Iris bulbs are now flowering and are definitely worth a look before they finish for the season.

Along the borders of the Carnegie building there are a couple of Fuschia shrubs starting to flower which will be spectacular once they open up fully. I believe this one to be Fuschia glazioviana.

Next to the Fuschia shrubs there is a Leucanthemum x superbum, common name Shasta daisy, which is just starting to flower. There are plenty of buds on this shrub for a fantastic summer display should you wish to see it.

 

If you head towards Churchwood and look down the right hand side of the grassed area you will see some more rhododendrons in flower.

Down the road following the front borders of the Priestley and Macaulay buildings you will see Choisya ternata 'Sundance', common name Mexican orange, starting to flower and Potentilla fruiticosa, common name Shrubby cinquefoil, in flower respectively.

 

Then at the bottom corner of the Grange closest to the Acre there is an Aesculus x carnea (Red flowering horse chestnut) and could be the cultivar 'Briotii' tree which is currently in flower and looks really colourful.

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of the grounds and be sure to have a walk round yourself if you can, there really is so much to see now and so much more still to see as the months progress.


(Photographs taken by myself on 15th June 2016)

National Gardening Week

This is just a quick post to let you all know that it is National Gardening Week from the 11th April - 17th April. It was founded by the Royal Horticultural Society five years ago and is now the country's biggest celebration of gardening. There are events all over the country and if you go to http://www.nationalgardeningweek.org.uk you will be able to find out what is taking place near you.
Keep an eye out for Friday 15th April as that is National Open Gardens Day and quite a lot of gardens are free to visit on this day.

Barking up the wrong tree...

On Tuesday the team of myself, Rach, Sam, and Carl spent the day spreading bark on the rose borders in front of the James Graham building.

We seemed to have all the possible weather combinations throughout the day from glorious sunshine to rain, to hail, to wind, and back again to sunshine, all on a repeat cycle. It seemed that as soon as I dared to remove my hood it would start to rain again. But in spite of the crazy weather we managed to get the borders covered and they look all the better for it.

We shouldn't need to re-bark these beds for another two years, so it'll just be a case of keeping on top of any weeds that dare to sprout up and ruin the display of lovely roses.

(Photographs taken by myself on 5th April 2016)

So many bulbs...

I mentioned in a previous post that we planted a variety of bulbs in September to November so I though it would be worthwhile showing you just what to look out for around campus this year.
It was my decision as to what we ordered for this years colour and we ended up planting 3500 bulbs to give a stunning display of colour. So far the campus is looking great with all the daffodils flowering and now the tulips are starting to appear.
So here's what to look out for:

Crocus sativus - Fragrant purple flowers in autumn

(Image from www.sativus.com)

Narcissi Sempre Avanti - White and yellow flowers in spring

(Image from www.99roots.com)

Allium Bulgaricum - 20-30 bell shaped flowers with a pink/red stripe in summer.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Allium mixed - White, blue, yellow, and mauve flowers in May and June.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Frittilaria Assyriaca - Deep purple/orange flowers in spring.

(Image from www.hartsnursery.co.uk)

Muscari Armeniacum - Purple/blue pea-like flowers in spring.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Dutch Iris Mixture - A vibrant mix of colour in summer.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Tritileia Queen Fabiola - Clusters of purple star shaped flowers in May and June.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Tulip Rembrandt - Wide opening cream flower with an external pink stripe in spring.

(Image taken by myself)

Crocus Kotschyanus - Vibrant pink flowers in autumn.

(Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

Tritileia Rudy - Up to 25 purple flowers per stem in May and June.

 (Image from www.jparkers.co.uk)

My apologies for the quality of some of the pictures but hopefully as these bulbs start to appear then I'll be able to replace them with photographs taken by myself.
We planted the daffodils and tulips around the channels of the buildings that look out onto the acre along with Macaulay, Priestley, and Bronte. The rest were planted in various locations around campus with several being planted in the rockery leading up the steps to Carnegie. So that area should look fantastic as the flowers start to emerge.
I hope you get to see the results of this mass planting and I will be keeping the blog up to date with the results as they appear.

A touch of Spring

If you take a stroll around the Headingley campus in the next few days then make sure you look at the borders of Cavendish and Priestley for the daffodils and tulips that have opened up wonderfully.
The tulips are new this year and are a variety called Rembrandt. They have a creamy yellow petal with a dash of pink on the outside and a deep orange on the inside. We planted these in most of the borders of the buildings but these are the first to emerge.

 

 

 

If you have a look further along at Priestley you will see two hellebores, one in either border. One I have already showed you on a previous post in January and this one below, Helleborus x hybridus, that has really come into its own now.

 

 

Also at Priestley there is a small Skimmia japonica that is just starting to flower. So over the next couple of weeks it should really start to open up and produce some lovely tiny flowers.

 

 

 

Then if you happen to pass by Leighton then make sure you cast your eye over to the border as there is a wonderful shrub flowering vibrantly called Ribes sanguineum, or white currant. We have a few of these dotted about campus but mainly in the wooded area between Priestley, Macaulay and the tennis courts.

 

 

 



So make sure you get out there for a walk around campus to spot these wonderful displays of spring colour.


(Photographs taken by myself on 30th and 31st March)

Spring is here!

It certainly seems like the bulbs think it's spring anyway. We're still experiencing a lot of cold frosty weather but that doesn't seem to be stopping the flowers from blooming. Below are just a few of the flowers worth looking out for on your walk around the Headingley campus.

It really is worth walking round campus to see all the daffodils that are starting to appear, especially along the borders of Bronte, Leighton and Priestley.

 

Last October and November we planted over a thousand bulbs in various parts of the campus, consisting of; but not limited to, daffodils, tulips, crocus, alliums, frittilaria, and iris. We should have a fantastic display for most of the year as I chose bulbs that would bloom at different times of the year to keep the colour going. So far the daffodils and crocus are coming through but I can't wait for later in the year to see what else appears.
If you walk over towards the student hub there are four borders full of shrubs and at the moment the hellebore and greater periwinkle (Vinca major variegata) are in flower.

Over by Churchwood and The Grange there are two cherry trees, both in bloom, and they look fantastic when the sun hits them.

 

 

So get out there and have a look for these fantastic flowers. I'll be doing another walk round soon to show you what else is starting to bloom and what to look out for.

(Photos taken by myself on Monday 22nd February and Thursday 25th February)