With a spring in our step

 

We are back to work after another lockdown and are so pleased to get going again on the garden grounds.  What a joy to see signs of spring everywhere in the garden and daffodils to cheer us up.   Now that we are back to work we can get working on tidying the flower beds and preparing for new projects.  

We are so proud to have a wonderful donation of roses supplied by David Austin. The supplier has donated ten roses to help us develop the front garden of the hotel and to use plants that are traditional to reflect the setting of Chalk Farm Hotel.

The rose project has been designed by our students and will help us to remember those we have lost but also to be a celebration of hope and beauty when the roses develop and flowers bloom into many colours.

Our students had to clear and prepare the area first by digging out weeds and measuring the area.  We had to measure the ground also so that we would have enough space for each rose to grow.

The roses are bareroot - We have learnt that you need to soak them for two hours in water first before you plant.  This gave us plenty of time to dig the holes in the morning and plant the roses in the afternoon.

We used wooden boards on the ground to stand on - This helps to prevent the ground from getting compacted.  Soil with lots of compaction has less air which would not make the ideal growing condition for our roses. 

Some handmade signs to help us remember the rose plant names.  Made with bamboo from our garden and bits of wood cut offs. 

Here are the list of plant names from David Austin

Maidens Blush

Vanessa Bell

Linchfield Angel

Getrude Jekyll

Rose De Rescht

Darcy Bussell

Port Sunlight

Country Parson

Lady of Shalott

Princess Anne

Really looking forward to see these flowers bloom in a few months.  Thank you to David Austin supplier for this wonderful donation. 

Here we are learning how to prune the Hydrangea.

We were gifted a second hand mini-greenhouse.  We had fun putting this together -  Technical minds were at work, well done team.

Sowing Seeds  Its great to start working on new projects - This is our first time since the project started in August 2020 that we have done this type of gardening work.  It was a calm activity sowing some seeds. 

So far we have sown marigolds, cosmos and calendula seeds

In the pipeline.............   Pallet polytunnel -  To help us make a covered space on our allotment we have plans to make a pallet polytunnel.  A generous donation from Southern Water 'Clancy' of water piping and pallets have recently be delivered.  The pallets make the frame and the water piping makes the roof hooping so a cover can be put over it. 

Thank you to Southern Water for helping us on our way to making this covered space.   Hopefully, work to build this will start in the next month.  Be nice when this is up so that sowing seeds and growing on plants can begin and also a place to shelter from the rain!!

Also, more plans are being made on the secret garden area - We are seeking help from a landscaper company to begin work on preparing the area further - the ground needs to have tree stumps and roots removed before we begin levelling the area. More details about this to come soon.