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Blog
8 January 2025
Last week, the Garden Department returned to work after a very well-deserved break. Prior to Christmas, the team had the annual big push to try and clear up all the leaves by the Christmas cut-off point. This brings to the end a gigantic task that starts in October.
What this does mean, though, is that we can start the new year fresh. It certainly is a myth that gardeners have a chance to put their feet up in January and February! This period is often one of the Garden Department’s busier times. We have a winter pruning schedule ahead of us now that will take around two to three months to complete.
The department turns its attention to the more formative pruning that is required at this time of year. We have many Wisteria plants on site that require their seasonal prune as well as tying back into the plant supports. The apple trees need pruning, the new Plane trees will need the seasonal trim, the climbing roses will need pruning and training, the lime trees will need pollarding, the hazels will need thinning out and the trees around the site will need attention.
At this time of year, we look to start cutting back our herbaceous borders where we can. We leave as much growth as we dare so the insects have somewhere for shelter. There are so many borders within the college that we simply cannot leave it all until springtime to do. We must start in the winter periods to ensure we complete it all. With some of the borders having been trimmed down, we can then apply some mulch to the borders. This is in the form of our homemade compost that the departments create throughout the year.
This not only smartens up the appearance of the borders but also suppresses the weeds, locks in moisture and adds some additional nutrition to the soil. The Garden Department tries to be as sustainable as possible by using its own compost and leaf mold. This means that there is less garden waste being taken away off site. We process more garden waste than ever now, meaning that we buy less compost and do not contribute to unnecessary transportation.
The first task of the year always starts with taking all the Christmas trees down around the college. This is a stark reminder that all the partying is done and time to roll up our sleeves and focus on the pruning!
Best wishes.
Brendon Sims, Head Gardener
