Teachers open the door........

... but you must walk through it yourself.

Another Chinese proverb.  The onus is clearly on the pupil!

The last weekend saw the garden group continue with the paving in the Jurassic garden.  A lot was achieved and the membrane was finally fixed at the close of day on Sunday.  The membrane will, we hope, keep weeds at bay and help with drainage once the aggregate has been laid.

While the membrane was being secured other group members working elsewhere recorded several sightings of Clouded Yellow butterflies in the garden.  These insects are very flighty and rarely stay still for long so we were lucky to get a quick, if not perfectly focused, picture of one. They have flown from the French continent and possibly originated from even further South. In some years there are large 'invasions' of them and this year we have seen more in the school  garden than ever.  They favour the Verbena bonariensis plants.

Verbena bonariensis growing amongst the Sweet Corn plants

Dancing flower heads of the same plant with the sun back lighting them.

Clouded Yellow butterfly in the school garden

In the newly planted grass garden the gaura flowers are still going. They have a delicate nature and move in the breeze complimenting the feathery seed heads of the grasses.

Gaura flower

Another variation of the Gaura flower

The grasses provide an evocative feel when lit from behind.  The new area will eventually provide a sensory area where shape and form will hopefully please the soul.

Our grape vine is telling us that the Summer is over and Autumn has arrived.  Apart from a bumper crop of delicious grapes this year the leaves are now on the change as the temperature drops.

Wonderful mozaic patterns on the vine leaves

A small bunch of delicious grapes!

Our Sweet Corn crop this year has not been as good as it was last year. Sweet Corn (or Maize as it is otherwise known) is a very important crop in some parts of the World and none more so than in South America. It is a very old crop historically and can be traced back to the Mesoamerican Indians.  Known as Milpa agriculture maize and beans were planted in the same hole with squash planted between the maize.  This practice kept the weeds at  bay and maximised the growing potential for the Indians.  These three crops were known as the 'three sisters'.

Maize cob

The garden group hope to source suitable aggregate for the Jurassic garden in the next week or so and then that project will have taken a huge leap forward.  Finding suitable plants will next be the task.

Finally a picture across the garden showing how much colour still abounds in the garden and the recently pruned 'paperbark' Silver Birch tree. The tree had taken on a bush appearance and needed a severe prune.