Thursday 16th May 2024

Early Christmas

Once again we have been the beneficiaries of the generosity of some friends of the arboretum.

Mike and June Juett have kindly donated a pair of beautiful benches to place in our grounds. We are somewhat lacking in seating and this is a wonderful gift.

This is not the first time this couple have expressed their generosity.

The benches come from the Wistow Garden Centre. They donated a pair last year and these are in place beside the left hand path opposite the willow structure.

On this previous occasion, and being a rather private individual, June asked that no plaque or mention be made of her donation. However, I feel that I simply cannot let this kindness go entirely unmentioned for a second time. Sorry June!

The first bench was delivered on Tuesday morning and kept in storage. The second one is due for delivery in the coming weeks.

On Thursday morning our wonderful volunteers assembled the bench as it rained outside.

The bench is already in service and has already been placed near the Deciduous Larch and London Plane.

Many thanks Mike and June.

Anyone for chips?

Our sister site, the Botanical Gardens in Oadby, hired a wood chipper last week, having a lot of cut down woody material to dispose off.

At the end of the day they had a mountain of chippings in the tip area. Not one to miss an opportunity I asked for a van load to be delivered to our car park area.

We made good use of the chippings putting them down in two areas of the arboretum. The first being the connecting gate area between the arboretum and Knighton Hall. This area is prone to become muddy and the chippings will make it less treacherous.

The second area was our lovely willow tunnels. The chippings make an excellent flooring medium. A nice finishing touch they provide a firm mulched surface that represses weeds and retains moisture.

I am also very pleased to observe that the additional rods planted at our second willow tunnel have taken nicely and pushing out new growth.