May Work Morning
It felt more like a summer morning than a late Spring one for the May Work Morning and the development of the flowerbed and other plants in the Park and Arboretum are a reflection of this. Team Flowerbed formed a chain gang to transport water from the brook to the flowerbed to give it a good water before mulching it with composted wood chippings. We were lucky to have students from the University join us. It is always good when young people join in and we hope to see them again.
In addition, the fence surrounding the Rockhampton Red in the Arboretum was dismantled and replaced. The fence is essential to protect the the tree from the cattle, who will arrive in late July, to graze the Arboretum. Lastly the path alongside the Wildlife Pond
was cleared to enable the pond dippers from the church youth group to access it more easily. We await their results with interest.
April Work Morning
Friends who volunteered for the April Work Morning were rewarded with some beautiful sunshine. Straggly bramble was removed from around bushes in the Park and branches that had been pruned were added to the deadwood hedge. In the orchard, grass was pulled from around the base of the apple trees. It is important to reduce the competition for nutrients and allow the rain to reach the roots of the trees. This was a tidying up session in readiness for Spring and Summer.
February Work Morning
The focus of the February Work Morning was bramble removal which needs to be done early in the year before birds start nesting. Despite the cold weather 14 volunteers arrived and all the top priority jobs were done and more besides.
Bramble in both the Arboretum and the Park was cleared. As a result paths are useable now and the arboretum looks much better as a result.
New Year Work Morning
We didn't go around the mulberry bush on a very cold and frosty morning in January but we did cut back a lot of bramble from areas where it was encroaching on trees and other plants that coming through. As a result we created a large pile for a bonfire. Keeping the bramble in check is a job that needs to be done early before birds start nesting.
Work on the Flowerbed
The flowerbed near the Church Lane entrance to the Park has been planted with perennial plants that attract pollinating insects and whose flowers are rich in nectar to support bees, butterflies and other insects important for the balance of nature. A few of the Friends spent a morning tidying the bed and getting it ready for summer. Dead flower stems from last year were removed along with grass and weeds. Pulmonarias are already in flower in the bed and are covered in Bee-Flies, an important pollinator with a very long proboscis, which they use to drink nectar as they hover.
March Work Morning
The work morning in March was a gloriously warm and sunny day and a lot was achieved. Snowdrops were moved to fill gaps and at the Church Lane end of the Park bramble was removed to enable the bluebells to flower unhindered.
The large shrub, near the entrance to the Arboretum, looks a lot better following removal of the ivy that was choking it.
The willows on the banks
of the brook have been coppiced to prevent them taking over and become a problem, disrupting the flow of the brook.
Several trees in the orchard had their lower branches removed so that the council mowers will be able to cut the grass there later in the year. All in all it was an excellent morning's work, so thank you to all the volunteers who came along.
Frogs are spawning!
At last we can see frog spawn in the Wildlife Pond in the Arboretum. Another sign that Spring has arrived.
Big Garden Birdwatch
Friends joined the Big Garden Birdwatch on the last Saturday in January and spent an hour looking for birds in the Park and Arboretum. This is a national event organised by the RSPB who collate all the results submitted. Between the different groups we recorded 19 species. See the Birds page on this website for a list of all the birds seen.