January Gardeners blog
January
Happy new year to you all, here’s looking forward to a fabulous 2020 at Loftus.
So far so good, the winter weather has been nothing to grumble about, wet but mild, which is much better than snow. Fingers cross it stays that way, but I’m sure if plants could talk they would strongly disagree and be screaming out loud “I’m all confused”.
We have plants in flower that should be dormant for the winter. An Oriental Poppy on Loftus square thinks its May and is coming in to flower! Hebe’s have not stopped flowering since the autumn and Roses are having a go too. It’s good news for any confused bees still around looking for nectar but on the down side of this crazy weather, we could be in for a glut of pests and disease later in the year as hard frosts are good for seeing them off.
Due to the trees being bare and looking dead in winter anyway, you may or may not, have noticed that the contractors came back before Christmas and the dead trees have now been replaced. Loads more plants have gone in around the play park and so together with the plants that Paul and I have split and replanted here and there, Loftus will be looking fuller, greener and more floriferous than ever this summer.
Sadly though, our amphitheatre might not be looking so good. It depends on how quickly we can get the grass growing again. The Daddy long legs decided to lay their eggs on it last summer and although we applied the usual autumn dose of Nematodes, the grass is still suffering badly from leatherjacket damage. There has been a lot more wear and tear on the amphitheatre than usual this winter with somebody continually using it to play ball with their dog, the combination of the weakened grass and too much use in wet conditions has had a devastating effect and it looks half dead.
We would be very grateful if people and their dogs could refrain from using the amphitheatre while it is in this condition, if it gets worse there will be a major cost implication to put it right.
On a more positive note, we have a new member to our team starting soon. The gardeners apprentice position has been filled by a guy called Matt who loves gardening and is very keen to learn more, I’m sure he will fit in well.
The extra pair of hands will be very welcome, as the challenge of keeping Loftus looking lovely is proving too big for just two people.
