Our second practical week of our first year got off to a shaky start with few students able to afford the trip down to Eden, hence our numbers were considerably down on last time. A little gentle persuasion on Ben seemed to do the trick and everything was finally confirmed; a relief as I for one would have gone down to Cornwall anyway (for entirely different reasons).
The Monday saw us heading down to Dartmouth to visit the Britannia Naval College, where we have been tasked with redesigning the long borders in the Commodore's Garden. The college enjoys an enviable location halfway down the steep hill into Dartmouth, with lovely views down the estuary to the sea, and hence a mild, sheltered climate. It's a huge site, with trees and plenty of grass (we didn't envy those who had to mow the 45º slopes). After tea and biscuits we headed down to the garden to measure up and meet the Commodore's wife, who seemed perfectly happy to let us have a fairly free rein. There seems to be a desire to create a royal theme, as the Queen and Phil had their first meeting on the croquet lawn round the corner. I received an elbow in the ribs for impersonating the Queen while looking at photographs of the meeting in the Commodore's residence - quite forgot myself (not).
Anyway, the border has plenty of potential, and we were told we could take everything out if we wanted. There is a lovely gnarly wisteria at one end, and some lovely ornamental quinces, but apart from that it all looks somewhat unloved. Mention was made of planting a load of cannabis, but that's perhaps unadvisable if we want to be invited back in the future...
After a quick pub lunch we all went our separate ways and those of us going to Cornwall headed off in the minibus. Ben's driving hasn't got any better since November. As there were only six of us (including Ben) we had the large barn to ourselves at what Nick has nicknamed 'Cold Comfort Farm', and so settled in for the night with a nice thai green curry and a few ales.
Thankfully the staff at Heligan operate to a slightly more relaxed timetable than at Eden, but we still managed to be late. We met Cindy and Mike at the gate and headed over to the gardeners' mess room down past the lovely walled kitchen garden. Here we divided into groups, with Nick and I joining the walled garden team for a little light digging and the others heading down to the jungle to chop down bamboo. Nicola showed us the seaweed that needed digging in (the snow means much of it didn't get broken down and incorporated), and we marked out four-foot-wide lanes of earth to get started on. After a brief demo, Nicola left Nick and I to it and we worked our way along, scraping seaweed into the gaps we'd dug and then covering it with more earth. I started off with a bit of a hillock but soon got the hang of it, and managed to stay ahead of Nick. We were joined by Clive, who is apparently the fastest digger in the west, and who had pretty much caught us up by breaktime. We were ashamed, though he waved away our bleatings about not being as fit, by saying that he'd been doing it for 17 years and had got pretty speedy in that time (no shit, Sherlock).
After a splendid lunch of delish pasty and a yummy cream tea, we met up with Nicola and began work on a bed by the wall, where there had formerly been a peach tree that died. They didn't want to put another peach in in case it succumbed to the same problem, so we were tasked with measuring up the space for new bamboo poles and wiring them in. Much confusion ensued as the measuring tape was missing the first foot or so, and so we kept getting the calculations wrong. Once we'd worked it out we set about securing the bamboo sticks to the wires with more wire, with a bit of guidance (read derision) from Nicola - I got it eventually but I have to admit to being a bit disgruntled with Nick for his lack of attention to detail - I imagine Nicola had to redo a fair bit of it. What can I say, I think if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. Does that make me a jobsworth? Or just an irritating perfectionist?
But anyway. We got the redcurrants planted (after a bit of a conflab about which way round they should go) and so hopefully it was a fairly decent job. We'll see whether we get asked back again next year...
After a quick diversion to Morrisons, we went back to the barn and drank our way through a fair amount of the European wine lake. With interesting results the next day.
Wednesday saw us up at larkfart with stinking hangovers to meet the Green Team at Eden. Shadows of our former selves, we waited outside the stores to hear whether our fate would indeed be mulching. And so it was. At which point Amy legged it to the tropical biome (she had the right idea) and the rest of us piled into the buggies to head off to the outdoor biome. There followed several hours of chain-gang manoeuvring via bucket of several tonnes of bark mulch, which was actually rather good fun - one might say it was a case of 'blitz spirit' or triumph in the face of a shitload of organic matter, but whatever, it sure kicked my hangover to the kerb. And made me into Popeye in the process - what muscles! Sort of...
Break rolled around pretty quickly, much to everyone's relief, and cups of tea were consumed with gusto. Afterwards we were given the option of prarie burning, dry-stone walling or chopping back cornus, and so I opted for the latter, given that I thought it involved no lifting of anything heavy, in fact not much exertion at all. I was wrong; it's on the steepest slopes at Eden. Anyway, we spent an enjoyable few hours coppicing the willow, which had got a bit out of hand, and chatting about all sorts. I was working with Kevin Austin, who's the outdoor supervisor, and hopefully I'll be able to do a bit of WWOOFing on his smallholding in the summer.
That afternoon we piled into the minibus and I ineffectually gave directions to Watering Lane Nursery, which is Eden's plant nursery. There we met Roger Wasley, the nursery manager, a genuinely top bloke who's been there pretty much since the start. Before our tour we did a spot of weeding for them in one of the greenhouses, and then Roger took us round the various greenhouses (some of which are huge to accommodate the first tall plants that went into Eden), and we met Maureen, who works in the soils lab and creates new soils for the biomes. Both were really interesting, and I'm not ashamed to say I asked Roger if they would take on students as volunteers in the summer - he said that would be absolutely fine, so that's another contact to try!
Thursday was, naturally, another early start, though much milder and hence a bit more bearable. The first bit of the morning featured yet more mulching of the banks, but it was great to see how it all progressed, which certainly helped with the motivation. Steve (Cornish Crops supervisor) took pity on me in the chain gang and so I went up to join Julie and Rosie in filling the buckets with bark mulch. So we chatted and stabbed forks into piles of bark, chatted and stabbed, while Kevin went back and forth filling up the trucks with mulch. Just as my hands were beginning to blister it was breaktime, so off we went for a restorative cuppa or three.
After break I joined Helen and Julie for a spot of light pyromania in the form of prairie burning. To the left of the tropical biome is a slope planted up with prairie plants such as Echinacea, Solidago, Rudbeckia and so on, and they and the ground need to be scorched each year to mimic the natural conditions in which they grow, and also to get rid of pests and diseases and return nutrients to the soil. After a quick demo of the flame throwers I got on with burning my patch (3 minutes per square metre) and trying to avoid bruléeing all the robins that seemed hell-bent on finding worms nearby. I also rescued a lone ladybird that almost got torched, and felt much relieved that I didn't burn through the gas pipe in the process.
Mark Paterson joined us for lunch and I had a good chat with him about volunteering - he's going to put in a good word for me at Heligan, and advised who I should speak with at Eden. Fingers crossed I should be able to sort out six or so weeks' work experience over the summer, if I can find lodgings. Kevin and I have exchanged emails about WWOOFing too, so that's this summer pretty much sorted. Phew.
After lunch we had one last walk around the Med biome and then around most of the outdoor biome, before heading to the shop to peruse the myriad things on sale, and then it was time to head back to Devon.
I didn't think anything could top the last practical week, but I think I enjoyed this one even more. Working at Heligan was wonderful, and it was great to go back to Eden and get involved again (in his email about WWOOFing, Kevin said "it seems like you're part of the team" and I reckon we feel the same way). I can't describe how gutted I felt on realising I'd have to go back to Poundland next week; something akin to being kicked in the stomach. Yet another indication that whatever area of horticulture I end up in, I've definitely made the right decision in doing this course.
Roll on practical week in April!
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Border patrol
Having arrived to find nobody around, I went on a meander round the grounds and bumped into Dave on the way back. Paul joined us and organised the tasks for the day - my duties were cutting back and pruning in the border outside the house (with the alpines etc). Today I was on my own, as Jude and Lucy have swapped their days around and now do the veg garden on Tuesdays. I had just begun to tackle an unruly salvia when Paul came along and asked if I'd like to see what a NT tree survey involved, so off we went up to the woods (Michael's?) at the top of the gardens. The survey is undertaken every few years to assess potential risks from trees to garden visitors. Areas are generally rated from very low risk to very high risk, and the woodland is rated as high risk, mainly because Knightshayes has woodland staff who manage the trees throughout the year (presumably as a condition of being able to open to the public) and so potential dangers are identified long before they can become a problem (that said, there have been several large limbs lost on the estate during the recent gale-force winds). Certain species are assessed every six months, because they are known to be weak, while other, more reliable species are assessed every two to three years. Paul and Dave look for problems such as dead wood, evidence of rot/fruiting bodies (from fungus), weeping wounds (potentially a sign of phytophthera), damage to roots (for example from overzealous mowing) and so on. The beech we looked at had been badly pruned in its youth and so suffered from a weirdly split trunk where the bark had grown between the two main stems (I can't remember the term for this sort of bark growth). Because of the split and a crack in the lower bark from twisting (and a large, deep wound where a branch was removed long ago), this tree will be looked at again in six months to see if work needs to be carried out to reduce the crown. Apparently there are issues with waiting for next year's budgets and marrying this with getting the work done before the gardens open to the public again.
After a tea break, I set off (now with Alison) to do the cutting back. We chopped back salvias, thinned out hebes and spireas, cut down dead bits of romniyas, lifted Dahlias (cv 'Twynings After Eight') and put them in compost to overwinter. Dahlia tubers are remarkably potato-like, which is odd given that they are in the Asteraceae family. After lunch we moved on to the next border, and faced the formidable task of cutting back schizostylus without taking down dierama too. I *think* I managed to avoid the dieramas...
I'm not back at Knightshayes until January, and I will miss it!
5 hrs
After a tea break, I set off (now with Alison) to do the cutting back. We chopped back salvias, thinned out hebes and spireas, cut down dead bits of romniyas, lifted Dahlias (cv 'Twynings After Eight') and put them in compost to overwinter. Dahlia tubers are remarkably potato-like, which is odd given that they are in the Asteraceae family. After lunch we moved on to the next border, and faced the formidable task of cutting back schizostylus without taking down dierama too. I *think* I managed to avoid the dieramas...
I'm not back at Knightshayes until January, and I will miss it!
5 hrs
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Hellebores: no pain, no gain
Tuesday 24 November
I arrived at Knightshayes to find Paul away for the morning, so Jude, Lucy, Alice, Dave and I headed down to the middle borders to cut back the perennials. We took down piles of Asters, Anaphalis and other dead-looking things, leaving everything looking much clearer. Next on the list was cutting back this year's growth on the Hellebores, so that the flowers and new leaves look their best. We also took down Japanese anemones at the same time. Unfortunately a lot of them were under a very low magnolia, so it involved a lot of crouching and balancing, which did for the backs of my thighs! We were joined by Maureen, who usually looks after one of the formal bits near the large pond, and made light work of the job. More hellebore trimming followed after lunch, and we then moved on to cutting back the Crocosmia. To say I was exhausted afterwards would be putting it mildly...
Jude asked how I'd got on at Eden last week, and I said what a fantastic time we'd had. It turns out she's done some arts-related work there and had had the opposite experience to mine - I said that the Green Team were a fount of knowledge and were patient with our inexperience, but it was interesting to hear another side of it - it also seems in the gardening world that opinion is divided over Eden's merit and I must say I felt somewhat defensive of it, or at least of our experience there, as it was fantastic. While several of Eden's Green Team had grumbles about working there, it seemed that most people thoroughly enjoyed working there. The main gripe (and probably Eden's main problem) was that it didn't seem to know whether it was an ecological experiment or a tourist attraction, and to be both is seemingly impossible. Perhaps a question for Mark in January...
I arrived at Knightshayes to find Paul away for the morning, so Jude, Lucy, Alice, Dave and I headed down to the middle borders to cut back the perennials. We took down piles of Asters, Anaphalis and other dead-looking things, leaving everything looking much clearer. Next on the list was cutting back this year's growth on the Hellebores, so that the flowers and new leaves look their best. We also took down Japanese anemones at the same time. Unfortunately a lot of them were under a very low magnolia, so it involved a lot of crouching and balancing, which did for the backs of my thighs! We were joined by Maureen, who usually looks after one of the formal bits near the large pond, and made light work of the job. More hellebore trimming followed after lunch, and we then moved on to cutting back the Crocosmia. To say I was exhausted afterwards would be putting it mildly...
Jude asked how I'd got on at Eden last week, and I said what a fantastic time we'd had. It turns out she's done some arts-related work there and had had the opposite experience to mine - I said that the Green Team were a fount of knowledge and were patient with our inexperience, but it was interesting to hear another side of it - it also seems in the gardening world that opinion is divided over Eden's merit and I must say I felt somewhat defensive of it, or at least of our experience there, as it was fantastic. While several of Eden's Green Team had grumbles about working there, it seemed that most people thoroughly enjoyed working there. The main gripe (and probably Eden's main problem) was that it didn't seem to know whether it was an ecological experiment or a tourist attraction, and to be both is seemingly impossible. Perhaps a question for Mark in January...
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Eden Project - practical week 16-20 Nov 2009
Day one - Monday 16 Nov
After rising early and an enjoyable drive down we pitched up at the Eden Project at about 11am. We met up with Mark Paterson, head of education, who gave us an introduction to the place and what we'd be doing. We then had an hour before lunch to explore, and so headed off to the humid tropical biome. The heat didn't seem too fierce, but we were definitely warmed up by lunchtime. I spotted one of the White-Eyed Vireos that have been introduced there to keep pests down. In the afternoon we were given a sheet of 24 (!) plant idents to learn, and then walked round the grounds looking at all the plants on the list.
After a fish and chip supper we retired to the tables outside the cottages to enjoy an ale or three and put the world to rights, then headed to bed for some well-earned rest.
Day two - Tuesday 17 Nov
6am alarm call - a right shock to the system - and on the bus to get to Eden for 7.20am - we all looked a bit dazed and confused. We were dropped off at the gardeners' lodge, where we decided where we'd go for the morning, and then took a Gator down the very steep hill (wheeeeeeeee) to meet the gardeners. I chose the humid tropical biome as I wanted to see whether I'd want to spend all three days there after working there on the first. We met Sandra and Hettie, who have responsibility for different parts of the biome, and divided into pairs to work with each of them. Ted and I went with Sandra to weed around the pond/beach, pulling out bits of an unidentified legume that seemed very happy there; hard work but the heat wasn't too much of a struggle. After a tea break we swapped over and Ted and I went with Hettie to carry on installing an irrigation system around the cocoa plants. They have 8,000m of pipe to lay and have done 1,000m so far - quite a job! The biome was really quite hot at this point, as we were higher up and the sun was beating down - by lunchtime we were exhausted and drenched. Hettie has been there for three and a half years and did the same course as us but at Duchy/Rosewarne. Earlier this year she went to Earth University in Costa Rica for a field trip.
After a massive lunch of cottage pie we met up with Giuliano, who runs the South America section of the humid tropical biome. He gave us a tour of the biome, and is incredibly knowledgable. In his native Sao Paulo he was an agronomist engineer - a job that seemingly takes in everything from climbing trees to crop management to sustainable forestry. A quick trip to the library saw us poring over the excellent reference section, with vows to return again tomorrow (not least to get a grip on these blooming idents!).
Day 3:Wednesday 18 Nov
Definitely a sleepy start to the day today. On arrival we chose who we wanted to go with for the morning, and Vicky and I picked the outdoor crops team, led by Kevin Austin. He's in charge of the outdoor crops area, from the bananas and Cornish crops round to the Global Gardens - a series of internationally themed allotments (and my favourite bit). We started off by lugging huge net bags of Narcissus bulbs into the gator and sped off down to the hill to where we'd be planting. Which turned out to be a rather steep slope in between areas of Cornus and Salix. Vicki and I paired up, fighting against falling backwards, bulbs rolling down the hill and a particularly vicious bramble to get halfway up the hill by breaktime. When we looked over at the others' efforts, we realised that we'd spent more time chatting than planting, as they'd all made it up almost to the top of the hill. We consoled ourselves by agreeing that our bit of slope was particularly steep (it wasn't). After break we carried on for a bit (with our legs complaining), before being given a tour of the Global Gardens by James, who manages them. They are divided up into various countries - eg China, West Indies, trad British, eastern European etc and are meant to show what immigrants to the UK would grow in their allotments here. They've managed to grow all sorts of things that I could only dream of at my plot in Sheffield, and plenty of things we'd never heard of, such as Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), a plant from South America that both James and Kevin included in their top 10 veg. After we'd wandered around, I mentioned in passing to Vicky that I would love a smallholding, and Kev overheard - turns out he has one near Liskeard where he ploughs with heavy horses, supplying Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant and an organic box scheme. He and I then worked together weeding parts of the allotments, and chatted about what we'd both been doing prior to our current jobs. Quite inspiring, though I reckon I'd struggle to cope with a nine-acre smallholding...
In the afternoon we were given a tour of the outdoor biome by Darren, the supervisor. He showed us the areas of Cornish hedges, the area behind the Core where I was bowled over by some beautiful Zelkova serrata trees, and up round the highest parts of the outdoor area.
The evening was spent cramming for Friday's plant ID - those 24 plants are proving somewhat difficult to learn, especially the tropical ones.
Thursday 19 Nov
It's getting harder and harder to get up in the mornings, especially after a crap night's sleep. God knows how anyone does this every day.
Upon arrival at Eden we divided into teams again, and this time Vicky and I went with Darren and the outdoor biome team to cut back Lonicera and Cotoneasters. We worked hard and fast (though there were a lot of us) and managed to clear the area in an hour - pretty good work! It was grubby and I spent half the time with branches caught in my hair, but there's no danger of feeling the cold - it's blooming hard work. Once the shrubs were cleared we began pruning Cotinus, taking out the leaders. Us students were a little reticent at first, and it was only once we saw how much the gardeners were taking off that we really got into it. I'm still covered in sap from the shrubs - it's pretty sticky stuff. In among the shrubs were loads of Leycesteria seedlings - that stuff multiplies like nobody's business.
After break we began cutting back the beds under the plane trees, and were rewarded with several toads and frogs for our efforts - a bit of a shock when one leaps out of a pile of leaves. We chopped back Alchemilla and plucked out Euphorbia suckers, clearing leaves as we went. It was hungry work, and we wolfed down lunch (sausage casserole and potatoes dauphinoise) with gusto.
Barely able to move, we went down to the area outside the cafe to meet Gill, who is in charge of the gorgeous vegetable and herb gardens around the outdoor seating area. Swiss chard 'Bright Lights', beet leaves and cavolo nero are grown in undulating lines along the beds on one side, while the other side features olive trees with hanging drying onions, herbs and more veg. It was wonderful and I had no shortage of questions on how it was managed. After that Steve, head of Cornish crops, gave us a tour of everything under his remit - much of it currently empty or given over to green manures, before dropping us off at the Mediterranean biome for a tour. We were led round by Emma, who was a right giggle and also really knew her stuff. Despite it being quite cool in the biome, there were still plenty of wonderful smells from the various plants, and it gave us a last chance to look at the plants for the ident tomorrow.
In the evening we decided to head out to the pub, and Ben, bless him, drove us up the A30 through the driving rain to Blisland, where a friend had recommended the Blisland Inn. A warm welcome awaited and we indulged in more pints of top Cornish ale than was strictly necessary, with quite a few folk deciding on a tequila chaser or three. A few sore heads tomorrow...
Friday 20 Nov
Unsurprisingly it was a bit of a struggle to get out of bed this morning, but the expected hangover didn't materialise. Today's destination was the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which was a lovely surprise as I didn't think we'd have time to go there. I went direct with Vicky and Rowanna, which turned out to be a good decision given a bout of puking in the bus - lovely. Ben took us on a whistle-stop tour of the grounds, from the walled gardens and potting sheds down to the jungle area towards the sea, before heading back via the woodland and the mud maid. What a place! The walled gardens featured rows of splendid cabbages and brussels sprouts, which had us all salivating, not to mention hellishly jealous of the gorgeous facilities. Walking round the jungle area reminded me of childhood visits to Glendurgan and Trebah. Apparently we get to work at Heligan in the second year, which will be a fantastic opportunity.
On returning to Eden, we met with Mark for the plant ident, which didn't go too badly. I managed to get everything, although I spelled a few wrong. There was an extra question on cotton, but I had no idea what its genus or family were, so didn't get any points for that either. Then it was a quick lunch at the lodge before piling into the bus for the journey back.
It has been a fantastic week, tremendously hard work and an awful lot to learn in a short time, but we're all very much looking forward to going back in January for another week. We've warned the Blisland Inn to get a few extra bottles of tequila (bleurgh) for the Thursday night...
After rising early and an enjoyable drive down we pitched up at the Eden Project at about 11am. We met up with Mark Paterson, head of education, who gave us an introduction to the place and what we'd be doing. We then had an hour before lunch to explore, and so headed off to the humid tropical biome. The heat didn't seem too fierce, but we were definitely warmed up by lunchtime. I spotted one of the White-Eyed Vireos that have been introduced there to keep pests down. In the afternoon we were given a sheet of 24 (!) plant idents to learn, and then walked round the grounds looking at all the plants on the list.
After a fish and chip supper we retired to the tables outside the cottages to enjoy an ale or three and put the world to rights, then headed to bed for some well-earned rest.
Day two - Tuesday 17 Nov
6am alarm call - a right shock to the system - and on the bus to get to Eden for 7.20am - we all looked a bit dazed and confused. We were dropped off at the gardeners' lodge, where we decided where we'd go for the morning, and then took a Gator down the very steep hill (wheeeeeeeee) to meet the gardeners. I chose the humid tropical biome as I wanted to see whether I'd want to spend all three days there after working there on the first. We met Sandra and Hettie, who have responsibility for different parts of the biome, and divided into pairs to work with each of them. Ted and I went with Sandra to weed around the pond/beach, pulling out bits of an unidentified legume that seemed very happy there; hard work but the heat wasn't too much of a struggle. After a tea break we swapped over and Ted and I went with Hettie to carry on installing an irrigation system around the cocoa plants. They have 8,000m of pipe to lay and have done 1,000m so far - quite a job! The biome was really quite hot at this point, as we were higher up and the sun was beating down - by lunchtime we were exhausted and drenched. Hettie has been there for three and a half years and did the same course as us but at Duchy/Rosewarne. Earlier this year she went to Earth University in Costa Rica for a field trip.
After a massive lunch of cottage pie we met up with Giuliano, who runs the South America section of the humid tropical biome. He gave us a tour of the biome, and is incredibly knowledgable. In his native Sao Paulo he was an agronomist engineer - a job that seemingly takes in everything from climbing trees to crop management to sustainable forestry. A quick trip to the library saw us poring over the excellent reference section, with vows to return again tomorrow (not least to get a grip on these blooming idents!).
Day 3:Wednesday 18 Nov
Definitely a sleepy start to the day today. On arrival we chose who we wanted to go with for the morning, and Vicky and I picked the outdoor crops team, led by Kevin Austin. He's in charge of the outdoor crops area, from the bananas and Cornish crops round to the Global Gardens - a series of internationally themed allotments (and my favourite bit). We started off by lugging huge net bags of Narcissus bulbs into the gator and sped off down to the hill to where we'd be planting. Which turned out to be a rather steep slope in between areas of Cornus and Salix. Vicki and I paired up, fighting against falling backwards, bulbs rolling down the hill and a particularly vicious bramble to get halfway up the hill by breaktime. When we looked over at the others' efforts, we realised that we'd spent more time chatting than planting, as they'd all made it up almost to the top of the hill. We consoled ourselves by agreeing that our bit of slope was particularly steep (it wasn't). After break we carried on for a bit (with our legs complaining), before being given a tour of the Global Gardens by James, who manages them. They are divided up into various countries - eg China, West Indies, trad British, eastern European etc and are meant to show what immigrants to the UK would grow in their allotments here. They've managed to grow all sorts of things that I could only dream of at my plot in Sheffield, and plenty of things we'd never heard of, such as Oca (Oxalis tuberosa), a plant from South America that both James and Kevin included in their top 10 veg. After we'd wandered around, I mentioned in passing to Vicky that I would love a smallholding, and Kev overheard - turns out he has one near Liskeard where he ploughs with heavy horses, supplying Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant and an organic box scheme. He and I then worked together weeding parts of the allotments, and chatted about what we'd both been doing prior to our current jobs. Quite inspiring, though I reckon I'd struggle to cope with a nine-acre smallholding...
In the afternoon we were given a tour of the outdoor biome by Darren, the supervisor. He showed us the areas of Cornish hedges, the area behind the Core where I was bowled over by some beautiful Zelkova serrata trees, and up round the highest parts of the outdoor area.
The evening was spent cramming for Friday's plant ID - those 24 plants are proving somewhat difficult to learn, especially the tropical ones.
Thursday 19 Nov
It's getting harder and harder to get up in the mornings, especially after a crap night's sleep. God knows how anyone does this every day.
Upon arrival at Eden we divided into teams again, and this time Vicky and I went with Darren and the outdoor biome team to cut back Lonicera and Cotoneasters. We worked hard and fast (though there were a lot of us) and managed to clear the area in an hour - pretty good work! It was grubby and I spent half the time with branches caught in my hair, but there's no danger of feeling the cold - it's blooming hard work. Once the shrubs were cleared we began pruning Cotinus, taking out the leaders. Us students were a little reticent at first, and it was only once we saw how much the gardeners were taking off that we really got into it. I'm still covered in sap from the shrubs - it's pretty sticky stuff. In among the shrubs were loads of Leycesteria seedlings - that stuff multiplies like nobody's business.
After break we began cutting back the beds under the plane trees, and were rewarded with several toads and frogs for our efforts - a bit of a shock when one leaps out of a pile of leaves. We chopped back Alchemilla and plucked out Euphorbia suckers, clearing leaves as we went. It was hungry work, and we wolfed down lunch (sausage casserole and potatoes dauphinoise) with gusto.
Barely able to move, we went down to the area outside the cafe to meet Gill, who is in charge of the gorgeous vegetable and herb gardens around the outdoor seating area. Swiss chard 'Bright Lights', beet leaves and cavolo nero are grown in undulating lines along the beds on one side, while the other side features olive trees with hanging drying onions, herbs and more veg. It was wonderful and I had no shortage of questions on how it was managed. After that Steve, head of Cornish crops, gave us a tour of everything under his remit - much of it currently empty or given over to green manures, before dropping us off at the Mediterranean biome for a tour. We were led round by Emma, who was a right giggle and also really knew her stuff. Despite it being quite cool in the biome, there were still plenty of wonderful smells from the various plants, and it gave us a last chance to look at the plants for the ident tomorrow.
In the evening we decided to head out to the pub, and Ben, bless him, drove us up the A30 through the driving rain to Blisland, where a friend had recommended the Blisland Inn. A warm welcome awaited and we indulged in more pints of top Cornish ale than was strictly necessary, with quite a few folk deciding on a tequila chaser or three. A few sore heads tomorrow...
Friday 20 Nov
Unsurprisingly it was a bit of a struggle to get out of bed this morning, but the expected hangover didn't materialise. Today's destination was the Lost Gardens of Heligan, which was a lovely surprise as I didn't think we'd have time to go there. I went direct with Vicky and Rowanna, which turned out to be a good decision given a bout of puking in the bus - lovely. Ben took us on a whistle-stop tour of the grounds, from the walled gardens and potting sheds down to the jungle area towards the sea, before heading back via the woodland and the mud maid. What a place! The walled gardens featured rows of splendid cabbages and brussels sprouts, which had us all salivating, not to mention hellishly jealous of the gorgeous facilities. Walking round the jungle area reminded me of childhood visits to Glendurgan and Trebah. Apparently we get to work at Heligan in the second year, which will be a fantastic opportunity.
On returning to Eden, we met with Mark for the plant ident, which didn't go too badly. I managed to get everything, although I spelled a few wrong. There was an extra question on cotton, but I had no idea what its genus or family were, so didn't get any points for that either. Then it was a quick lunch at the lodge before piling into the bus for the journey back.
It has been a fantastic week, tremendously hard work and an awful lot to learn in a short time, but we're all very much looking forward to going back in January for another week. We've warned the Blisland Inn to get a few extra bottles of tequila (bleurgh) for the Thursday night...
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Midge hell
10/11/09
When I arrived, Lucy, Jude and Dave were in the gardeners' shed putting metal ID labels on wire to be hung on the new plants lined up in the trailer. While the rain sheeted down we chatted about life, the universe and everything.
As the weather wasn't up to much (surprise!) today, Paul asked us to work in the conservatory. It's been planted up with a range of succulents, perennials, climbers and shrubs, mostly just about hardy in a mild winter. Plants include Crassula sp, Salvia leucantha, Agave sp, Buddleja sp, Plumbago auriculata, Echium sp, Aeonium sp, and many many more. Plus many many midges, as we found as soon as we moved anywhere. We were tasked with weeding and cutting back, and also keeping an eye out for vine weevils, which have done their best to decimate the Echiums' roots. However it turns out that Echiums are pretty resilient, and after removing a few leaves from the chewed-off floret, the stumpy remainder can be replanted and will happily regrow. Adult vine weevils are also to blame for small round holes in some plants' leaves.
Paul pointed out other pests affecting plants in the conservatory: tiny yellow scale insects on Lagunaria patersonii, which was covered in sooty mould that grows on the honeydew dropped by the insects; Tortrix moth caterpillars, which eat the leaves and growing tips of some plants; two-spot red spider mite, which leaves tiny pinpricks in leaves; and mealybugs, which have a white bloom. Plus the ever-present slugs. We discussed our favourite methods of organic-ish slug disposal, such as going out in the dark and chopping the blighters in half (they are cannibals so they eat their dead mates), slug pellets (the safe ones) and other horrid ends. I'm all for chopping them, as at least then the thrushes have a chance of eating them.
After a long lunch with plenty of discussion about college courses and whether business studies is a useful option, Dave, Alison and I headed out to the middle terrace borders in front of the house to do some cutting back. Methods varied by plant - the Anaphalis triplinervis could be cut right back down as the new growth was already on its way, and the penstemons were trimmed down to half their size. A few other plants whose names I forget were taken right back down while others were cut to a few buds above brown wood. The weather cleared and we were rewarded with beautiful views down across the parkland, a decent recompense for another mauling from the midges while we were out there. One can only hope that a frost kills most of them off.
There's so much to learn, and it amazes me that Paul and Dave (plus Jude and Lucy and an army of volunteers) manage to keep it all under control. The new head gardener starts this week, so it will be interesting to see what plans she has for the gardens as a whole. Paul is very good at getting us to learn plant names and the like.
4.5 hours
When I arrived, Lucy, Jude and Dave were in the gardeners' shed putting metal ID labels on wire to be hung on the new plants lined up in the trailer. While the rain sheeted down we chatted about life, the universe and everything.
As the weather wasn't up to much (surprise!) today, Paul asked us to work in the conservatory. It's been planted up with a range of succulents, perennials, climbers and shrubs, mostly just about hardy in a mild winter. Plants include Crassula sp, Salvia leucantha, Agave sp, Buddleja sp, Plumbago auriculata, Echium sp, Aeonium sp, and many many more. Plus many many midges, as we found as soon as we moved anywhere. We were tasked with weeding and cutting back, and also keeping an eye out for vine weevils, which have done their best to decimate the Echiums' roots. However it turns out that Echiums are pretty resilient, and after removing a few leaves from the chewed-off floret, the stumpy remainder can be replanted and will happily regrow. Adult vine weevils are also to blame for small round holes in some plants' leaves.
Paul pointed out other pests affecting plants in the conservatory: tiny yellow scale insects on Lagunaria patersonii, which was covered in sooty mould that grows on the honeydew dropped by the insects; Tortrix moth caterpillars, which eat the leaves and growing tips of some plants; two-spot red spider mite, which leaves tiny pinpricks in leaves; and mealybugs, which have a white bloom. Plus the ever-present slugs. We discussed our favourite methods of organic-ish slug disposal, such as going out in the dark and chopping the blighters in half (they are cannibals so they eat their dead mates), slug pellets (the safe ones) and other horrid ends. I'm all for chopping them, as at least then the thrushes have a chance of eating them.
After a long lunch with plenty of discussion about college courses and whether business studies is a useful option, Dave, Alison and I headed out to the middle terrace borders in front of the house to do some cutting back. Methods varied by plant - the Anaphalis triplinervis could be cut right back down as the new growth was already on its way, and the penstemons were trimmed down to half their size. A few other plants whose names I forget were taken right back down while others were cut to a few buds above brown wood. The weather cleared and we were rewarded with beautiful views down across the parkland, a decent recompense for another mauling from the midges while we were out there. One can only hope that a frost kills most of them off.
There's so much to learn, and it amazes me that Paul and Dave (plus Jude and Lucy and an army of volunteers) manage to keep it all under control. The new head gardener starts this week, so it will be interesting to see what plans she has for the gardens as a whole. Paul is very good at getting us to learn plant names and the like.
4.5 hours
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Rain with a good chance of... rain
3/10/09
It's been a case of gale-force winds and little else here since Saturday. After a dry day yesterday (Monday) I had high hopes for a clear day today. Sadly it was not to be. As soon as I turned off the M5 I was hit by a squally shower and things stayed that way throughout the morning. Delightful.
I arrived at the gardeners' shed just as everyone was getting ready to go out to tidy up the beds outside the Stables. The rain didn't stop at all while we deadheaded Euphorbias, cut back Achilleas and Geraniums and scraped up what we could of the fallen leaves. The customary robin joined us for a while but even he got fed up with the constant downpour.
After a quick cup of tea Lucy, Jude and I headed up to meet Kaye, the plant records administrator, at the office behind the walled garden. She showed us how records are kept of every plant throughout the gardens (including the kitchen garden borders, woods and parkland). The process was set up by the last head gardener, John Lanyon, who catalogued many plants with Kaye. Everything is now on a large computer database, and apparently the trust is working upwards from Cornwall and Devon in its attempt to create records for all its gardens. A mammoth task! We were told what to do if/when we planted specimens or found tags on dead plants or tags on the floor - get it to Kaye asap so she could add or 'dead' the plant on the database.
With lunch out of the way we loaded up the tractor and trailer with tools and lots of heathers - Calluna vulgaris 'Kinlochruel' and another one whose name I forgot, and went up to the woodland to find spots to put them. The ground is exceedingly waterlogged after all the recent rain, and today's downpour just made things worse. The weekend's gale force winds have done for the vast majority of the autumn colour, but Sapium japonicum was hanging on in a sheltered spot. There were a lot of branches down too, so all in all it was probably for the best that the garden closed last Friday.
After weeding, we scattered the plants across the soil in a fairly random way and then dug them in. The soil was incredibly stony and full of roots in my patch next to the Yew tree (a lovely prostrate variety). A brief patch of sunshine lent a lovely autumnal air to the gardens and cheered everyone briefly before we moved on to the next plot to be planted. Here we pulled the dead leaves from a Yucca before getting rid of a few Lady Ferns, once again with a robin's trilling accompaniment.
5.5 hours
It's been a case of gale-force winds and little else here since Saturday. After a dry day yesterday (Monday) I had high hopes for a clear day today. Sadly it was not to be. As soon as I turned off the M5 I was hit by a squally shower and things stayed that way throughout the morning. Delightful.
I arrived at the gardeners' shed just as everyone was getting ready to go out to tidy up the beds outside the Stables. The rain didn't stop at all while we deadheaded Euphorbias, cut back Achilleas and Geraniums and scraped up what we could of the fallen leaves. The customary robin joined us for a while but even he got fed up with the constant downpour.
After a quick cup of tea Lucy, Jude and I headed up to meet Kaye, the plant records administrator, at the office behind the walled garden. She showed us how records are kept of every plant throughout the gardens (including the kitchen garden borders, woods and parkland). The process was set up by the last head gardener, John Lanyon, who catalogued many plants with Kaye. Everything is now on a large computer database, and apparently the trust is working upwards from Cornwall and Devon in its attempt to create records for all its gardens. A mammoth task! We were told what to do if/when we planted specimens or found tags on dead plants or tags on the floor - get it to Kaye asap so she could add or 'dead' the plant on the database.
With lunch out of the way we loaded up the tractor and trailer with tools and lots of heathers - Calluna vulgaris 'Kinlochruel' and another one whose name I forgot, and went up to the woodland to find spots to put them. The ground is exceedingly waterlogged after all the recent rain, and today's downpour just made things worse. The weekend's gale force winds have done for the vast majority of the autumn colour, but Sapium japonicum was hanging on in a sheltered spot. There were a lot of branches down too, so all in all it was probably for the best that the garden closed last Friday.
After weeding, we scattered the plants across the soil in a fairly random way and then dug them in. The soil was incredibly stony and full of roots in my patch next to the Yew tree (a lovely prostrate variety). A brief patch of sunshine lent a lovely autumnal air to the gardens and cheered everyone briefly before we moved on to the next plot to be planted. Here we pulled the dead leaves from a Yucca before getting rid of a few Lady Ferns, once again with a robin's trilling accompaniment.
5.5 hours
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
No downpours this week, thankfully
27/10/09
Today I decided to chance it and take the valley road from Exeter to Knightshayes, and boy was it a rewarding journey - absolutely beautiful, with all the autumn colours in full effect. The beech trees were particularly spectacular, and made me think about getting out and about foraging for mushrooms this weekend, especially given all the wet weather we've had. After last week's never-ending deluge, today was sunny and overcast at times, and Paul's tip to look to the west for the incoming weather proved an excellent one.
I decided to get up there for 9am, as I have started a new job in the evenings and want to get back in plenty of time before heading out to work. On arrival I found Lucy and Jude clearing leaves from under the sweet chestnut in the ornamental garden. Paul and Dave weren't in this week, so there was a long list of things to do in their absence.
We carried on clearing leaves for a while and after a quick tea break headed out to the front of the house to cut back the perennials in the beds - epimediums and alchemillas, and loads of them. Another volunteer, Alice, joined us - she does two days a week. Yet another bold robin kept me company as I wielded my secateurs, flitting in among the leaves and soil I'd turned over.
After lunch and a good chinwag about our backgrounds, we joined Steve, who heads up propagation at the NT nursery, and various visitors to the gardens for an 'autumn colours' walk around the gardens. While a few of the choice autumn interest plants had already reached their peak, plenty of others were putting on a fantastic show. We were joined for the walk by Murphy the cat, who apparently lives in a nearby village but spends his summers prowling round the grounds here.
Steve's autumn colours walk:
Vitus coignetiae - Crimson Glory Vine - Vitaceae
Parrotia persica - Persian ironwood - Hamamelidaceae
Vitis davidii - Vitaceae
Cotinus 'Grace - Anacardiaceae
Corylopsis glabrescens - Hamamelidaceae
Prunus 'Taihaku' - Rosaceae
Rhododendron lutem - Ericaceae
Euonymus alatus - Celastraceae
Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist' - Witch alder - Hamamelidaceae
Cornus kousa var. chinensis - Cornaceae
Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Lanarth' - Caprifolaceae (Adoxaceae)
Liquidambar styraciflua 'Worplesdon' - Hamamelidaceae
Nyssa ogeche - Ogeechee tupelo - Cornaceae
Metasequoia glyptostroibes - Dawn redwood - Cupressaceae
Fothergilla major - Witch alder - Hamamelidaceae
Chamaecyparis 'Pembury Blue' - Cupressaceae
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - Lawson cypress - Cupressaceae
Cupressus macrocarpa 'Lutea' - Cupressaceae
Cornus controversa - Cornaceae
Vibernum betulifolium - Caprifoliaceae (Adoxaceae)
Acer velutinum var. vanvolxemii - Aceraceae
Lonicera pileata - Caprifoliaceae (Adoxaceae)
Aesculus parviflora - Bottlebrush buckeye - Hippocastanaceae
Sapium japonicum - Euphorbiaceae
Pseudolarix amabilis - Golden Larch - Pinaceae
Cornus 'Porlock' - Cornaceae
Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond' - Hydrangeaceae
Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama' - Hydrangeaceae
Euonymus verrucosoides var. viridiflora - Celastraceae
Podocarpus - Podocarpaceaea
Nyssa sylvatica - Tupelo, Sour Gum - Cornaceae
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' - Hydrangeaceae
Koelreuteria paniculata - Golden rain tree - Sapindaceae
Liquidambar formosana Monticola Group - Hamamelidaceae
Sorbus sargentiana - Rosaceae
Cercidiphyllum japonicum - Katsura - Cercidiphyllaceae
Just a few, then...
I should single out the Acers (japonicum and palmatum, plus all the woodland species) for their fine displays. Hopefully I'll remember my camera next week and catch them while they're still in leaf. One red/pink-leaved one stood out in particular.
5 hours
Today I decided to chance it and take the valley road from Exeter to Knightshayes, and boy was it a rewarding journey - absolutely beautiful, with all the autumn colours in full effect. The beech trees were particularly spectacular, and made me think about getting out and about foraging for mushrooms this weekend, especially given all the wet weather we've had. After last week's never-ending deluge, today was sunny and overcast at times, and Paul's tip to look to the west for the incoming weather proved an excellent one.
I decided to get up there for 9am, as I have started a new job in the evenings and want to get back in plenty of time before heading out to work. On arrival I found Lucy and Jude clearing leaves from under the sweet chestnut in the ornamental garden. Paul and Dave weren't in this week, so there was a long list of things to do in their absence.
We carried on clearing leaves for a while and after a quick tea break headed out to the front of the house to cut back the perennials in the beds - epimediums and alchemillas, and loads of them. Another volunteer, Alice, joined us - she does two days a week. Yet another bold robin kept me company as I wielded my secateurs, flitting in among the leaves and soil I'd turned over.
After lunch and a good chinwag about our backgrounds, we joined Steve, who heads up propagation at the NT nursery, and various visitors to the gardens for an 'autumn colours' walk around the gardens. While a few of the choice autumn interest plants had already reached their peak, plenty of others were putting on a fantastic show. We were joined for the walk by Murphy the cat, who apparently lives in a nearby village but spends his summers prowling round the grounds here.
Steve's autumn colours walk:
Vitus coignetiae - Crimson Glory Vine - Vitaceae
Parrotia persica - Persian ironwood - Hamamelidaceae
Vitis davidii - Vitaceae
Cotinus 'Grace - Anacardiaceae
Corylopsis glabrescens - Hamamelidaceae
Prunus 'Taihaku' - Rosaceae
Rhododendron lutem - Ericaceae
Euonymus alatus - Celastraceae
Fothergilla gardenii 'Blue Mist' - Witch alder - Hamamelidaceae
Cornus kousa var. chinensis - Cornaceae
Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Lanarth' - Caprifolaceae (Adoxaceae)
Liquidambar styraciflua 'Worplesdon' - Hamamelidaceae
Nyssa ogeche - Ogeechee tupelo - Cornaceae
Metasequoia glyptostroibes - Dawn redwood - Cupressaceae
Fothergilla major - Witch alder - Hamamelidaceae
Chamaecyparis 'Pembury Blue' - Cupressaceae
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - Lawson cypress - Cupressaceae
Cupressus macrocarpa 'Lutea' - Cupressaceae
Cornus controversa - Cornaceae
Vibernum betulifolium - Caprifoliaceae (Adoxaceae)
Acer velutinum var. vanvolxemii - Aceraceae
Lonicera pileata - Caprifoliaceae (Adoxaceae)
Aesculus parviflora - Bottlebrush buckeye - Hippocastanaceae
Sapium japonicum - Euphorbiaceae
Pseudolarix amabilis - Golden Larch - Pinaceae
Cornus 'Porlock' - Cornaceae
Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond' - Hydrangeaceae
Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama' - Hydrangeaceae
Euonymus verrucosoides var. viridiflora - Celastraceae
Podocarpus - Podocarpaceaea
Nyssa sylvatica - Tupelo, Sour Gum - Cornaceae
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' - Hydrangeaceae
Koelreuteria paniculata - Golden rain tree - Sapindaceae
Liquidambar formosana Monticola Group - Hamamelidaceae
Sorbus sargentiana - Rosaceae
Cercidiphyllum japonicum - Katsura - Cercidiphyllaceae
Just a few, then...
I should single out the Acers (japonicum and palmatum, plus all the woodland species) for their fine displays. Hopefully I'll remember my camera next week and catch them while they're still in leaf. One red/pink-leaved one stood out in particular.
5 hours
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