Wednesday 27th March 2024
Winter Aconite
This week's volunteering session was held on Wednesday as the university is closed from Thursday for the traditional Easter break.
Jenny and Keith brought a bag of Winter Aconite that had been given to them by a friend, so the first job this morning was to find a suitable place to put them in the ground.
Winter aconite, Eranthis hyemalis is a welcome source of cheery colour at a time when borders can be looking a little bare. The bright, golden yellow flowers, with a characteristic green ruff, appear on ground-hugging plants in early February.
They look best grown en masse in a natural setting, under trees, where they combine well with snowdrops. Winter aconites can be tricky to establish but once settled they will spread naturally. A member of the buttercup family, winter aconite is a tuberous perennial, native to Europe. After flowering, plants will die back.
Second Willow Tunnel - Finishing Touches
Last week we made some running repairs to our second willow tunnel. This was established in March of last year, but we were late getting the freshly cut willow in the ground.
As a result the second tunnel was only partially completed with some stems dying off.
Today we spent some time tidying up last week's initial planting.
Making sure that all the rods were securely in the ground and reweaving those that could be positioned better. The aim is to get a good initial criss-cross pattern going.
This ensures that the gaps in the structure fill in quickly as the structure establishes and grows. Hopefully by the end of the summer our second tunnel will look as good as the first!
More Bramble Clearing
To finish off we indulged in the activity the volunteers find the most satisfying - strange lot.
Going back to an area that we had already worked on, by the London Plane.
Bramble was cleared away from one of our benches and work continued on an old Sambuca which has a crown that has been totally infested with ivy.
Not the warmest of days with gusts of cold wind, but the predicted rain held off and we could chalk up yet another productive session.
