Gardening Work during September and October 2024

This is what we achieved in the Storey Gardens during September and October 2024:

• Preparation for Heritage Open Days in September
  Apples were harvested from the Lord Derby cooking apple tree on two occasions leaving enough on the lower branches for visitors to pick themselves. 
  These were placed in baskets on a table near a donation bucket.  After the event a full basket of apples was taken to the Printroom Café for making apple cake.
• Preparation for Light up Lancaster
  Leaves were gathered up in the Copper Beech Garden from all the areas required for the installation and the main path.  
  Some copper beech leaves were left on the banking between the two garden levels as a feature.
  The rest of the copper beech leaves were collected into builders sacks (15 in all) and stored in the composting area.  It will take two years for them to degrade into leaf mould for use in the gardens.  The sycamore and other leaves were placed in an area behind the hedge for wildlife.
• Mowing the grass with a push mower and cutting round the edges of the paths with hand shears has continued.
• The hard work scraping off grass to expose bare earth and sowing the yellow rattle seeds in the ten designated wildflower areas in The Tasting Garden was completed in October.
• Weeding the borders, cutting back shrubs and plants that have flowered is ongoing.
• Ivy has been cut back from the walls.

Wildlife sightings and a list of some of the plants in flower during September and October are reported in a separate post on the Nature blog, click here for the details.

Below is a photo gallery of some of the work.  Click on an image to enlarge.