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.

April Maintenance

What to do in your garden in April

·         Keep weeds under control

·         Protect fruit blossom from late frosts

·         Tie in climbing and rambling roses horizontally to restrict sap flow which causes more side-shoots to grow, which in turn produces more flowers

·         Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds

·         Start to feed citrus plants

·         Increase the water given to houseplants

·         Feed hungry shrubs and roses

·         Sow new lawns or repair bare patches

·         Prune fig trees

·         Divide bamboos and water lilies

·         Sweet peas can be sown outside

·         Plant summer flowering bulbs in well-drained soil to prevent the bulbs from rotting

·         Divide clumps of herbaceous perennials

·         Prune tender plants such as penstemons and lavender, cutting just above the fresh, new shoots.

·         Apply a general purpose fertiliser to borders.

·         Deadhead spring bedding plants to continue the flowering period for longer

·         Mulch rose and shrub beds to ensure they retain moisture during dry spells and suppress weeds

·         Remove any reverted green shoots on variegated evergreens

·         Mow the lawn when necessary

·         Sow a wildflower meadow to increase biodiversity and colour in the garden

·         Trim winter-flowering heathers to prevent them from become leggy

 

(Advice taken from www.rhs.org.uk and www.thompson-morgan.com)

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)

Not a post about Brandon Lee...

If I could get away with a post all about the film then I would but alas this is a gardening blog.
I spotted a couple of crows hopping about next to the Priestley building as I was working there, so here is my bird of the day.
The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is part of the Crow family (Corvidae).

It is one of the cleverest and most adaptable of our birds. They are usually solitary creatures and often found alone or in pairs. They will come to a garden for food and can very quickly work out whether it is safe, and will return often to take advantage of whatever is on offer. Their diet consists of carrion (dead and decaying animal flesh), insects, worms, seeds, fruit, and any scraps they can find.

They can be found all year round almost everywhere, from cities to moorland, and woodland to seashore.

(Photograph taken by myself, Thursday 31st March)

(Information taken from the RSPB website, www.rspb.org.uk)

A thorn in my side...

After the Easter break it was straight back to work on Tuesday and the team was working on the two rose borders in front of the James Graham building.

We cut these down around this time every year to give the roses chance to grow and bloom in time for summer and graduation. We try to cut them down to two or three buds from the base preferably outward facing to create a globe structure. By creating space in the centre it allows air to circulate more freely and decreases the chance of disease.

 

The team consisted of Carl, Sam, Rach and myself and between us we managed to cut down all the roses in two days without too many scratches. I remember a couple of years ago I was absolutely covered in scratches so I'm pleased I didn't receive many this time round!
In the next few days we'll put a light covering of bark on the borders to suppress the weeds and make it easier to maintain in the coming months.

So fingers crossed, come summer, we'll have two lovely flowering rose borders ready to accentuate those graduation photographs.


(Photographs taken by myself on Wednesday 30th March)

Grounds team to the rescue!

Last weekend there was a sporting event called The West Yorkshire Youth Games and the turnout of visitors was such that it meant people had to park on the Acre in the centre of Headingley campus. Unfortunately it hadn't been taken into account that the lower half of the Acre doesn't always dry out as quickly as the top half and a little bit of a mess occurred.

So on Monday the team of Carl, Sam, Rach, Paul and myself took some new soil out to the acre where we flattened out what we could, and placed new soil in the holes. It was tough work trying to flatten out the grass and remove the tyre marks but we managed to do the best we could. If anything, it was a brilliant workout!
The next day Rach took the tractor out with the roller on the back and used this to flatten the ground more so to make it easier when it comes time to cut the grass. Should the grass not recover then we will put grass seed down to help it come back to life. Fingers crossed we have some brilliant weather coming up to bring the acre back to its former glory, ready for graduation in July.


(Photographs taken by myself on Monday 14th March)