If winter's here, can Spring be far behind..

The closing lines from 'Ode to the West Wind' by Shelley.  An interesting poem to get to grips with.  Yesterday garden group volunteers could certainly have been excused thinking that Spring was almost here. Birds were singing, a single bumble bee was active and a couple of flies were evident in the greenhouse.  Also a bright green caterpillar was disturbed whilst potting on the Sweet pea plants.

We will identify this later

The Hazel bushes also had a touch of Spring about them as their delicate catkins rustled in the breeze

Hazel catkins

By the pond many daffodils were also in flower.  These plants seem to flower earlier each year. A little unseasonal but a welcome splash of colour to the garden

Most of the day was taken repairing the small fence which surrounds the base of the greenhouse from anybody accidentally falling against it and actually ending up in the greenhouse!

Sweet peas pricked out and stopped ready for spring planting out

If you have not been up in the garden for a while the last but one picture shows the almost completed residential home which has been built alongside the school garden.  Plans are afoot to establish a good relationship with the home and we look forward very much to sharing our garden with the residents at a later stage this year.

The final picture shows nature at work.  Pure artistry.  Any guesses as to where it is in the garden?

It is hoped to have a working party in the garden towards the end of half term week. Volunteers always welcome.  Date to be confirmed soon.

(Almost) End of term update

A quiet week in the garden with job list made for the start of next term.  One of the first jobs will be the creation of a reed screen around the compost bins.

The posts and battens have been sourced and our friends from Abbotsbury Swannery will deliver twelve bundles of cut reeds to us at the start of the new term. A reed screen will look natural in the garden and should last several years before we replace the reeds.  The degradation of the reeds will depend on the weather.  Talking of the weather here is the previous weeks data

		TEMP		WIND PARTICULARS m/s			RAIN MAX	PRESSURE
		min C	max C	SPEED	GUST	DIRECTION	mms
DATE	DAY
02-Dec	SUN	2.7	10.2	4.4	5.8	Cyclonic	0.6	1016
03-Dec	MON	5.7	11.6	5.1	9.5	NW	0.6	1009
04-Dec	TUES	3.1	9.1	4.8	7.1	NW/NE	1.2	1005
05-Dec	WEDS	1.5	6.4	3.4	8.2	NNW	O.3	1013
06-Dec	THUR	-1.1	7.8	6.5	13.3	SW	0.3	1012
07-Dec	FRI	3.3	9.7	7.5	10.5	W/NW	9.6	1014
08-Dec	SAT	4.7	11.1	4.4	5.4	W/SW	0	1025

Work has also started on the Aeolian Wind Organ.  Inspired by this magnificent spectacle on the cliff top at Portland during the Harmonic Fields Exposition at the end of the Olympics we are going to create a smaller scale wind organ in the garden.  The slots are cut in the bamboo and the edges filed to 45 degrees. As the wind passes over the slots a beautiful gentle note is emitted. Only heard if the ear is positioned near to the bamboo.



Little wildlife in the garden today except a cloud of Woodpigeons which took off on arrival. They have made short work of what was left of the purple sprouting plants.

Finally the last weeks weather

		TEMP		WIND PARTICULARS m/s			RAIN MAX	PRESSURE
		min C	max C	SPEED	GUST	DIRECTION	mms
DATE	DAY
09-Dec	SUN	5.5	9.1	3.4	6.1	cyclonic	0	1021
10-Dec	MON	0.8	8.9	3.1	5.1	N/NW	0	1024
11-Dec	TUES	-0.2	6.4	1.4	3.1	N/NE	0	1026
12-Dec	WEDS	0.4	7.2	4.4	7.1	SE	0	1012
13-Dec	THURS	2.25	7.5	3.1	5.4	cyclonic	0	998
14-Dec	FRI	6.9	11	6.8	9.9	SE	10.5	992
15-Dec	SAT	8.8	11.9	5.1	9.2	SW	0.6	990

Some weather statistics before we close;

Over the last month the rainfall reading is 503mm.  The strongest wind recorded was  23.5 mph and the strongest gust of wind was 37.4 mph. The lowest temperature at the school garden recorded was -1.2C and the highest temperature was +16C. The lowest windchill factor was -4.6C.



 

A garden first.................

Today was a good day for a little pond management cutting back around the edges and removing the leaves which had crept in under our net.  Other water plants were thinned in order to keep the pond open and more valuable to wildlife rather than a mass of tangled weeds and roots. During the work 5 frogs were found under the frog house and a single pond skater was enjoying the sunshine as it skitted about the pond surface.

With still conditions prevailing a net was put up in the bird garden with the hope of catching and ringing some.  The best bird caught was a female Firecrest, a new bird on the garden list, but a couple of Goldcrests were also caught and some Long-tailed tits, Blue Tits and a Chaffinch.  A male Sparrowhawk continued to visit the garden in late afternoon which put an end to the ringing. The Firecrest weighed 5.2 gms which is about the same as a bank credit card!

Firecrest

Firecrest -click once on picture to enlarge

 

Long-tailed Tit

Goldcrest

Chaffinch

Pond after a tidy-up!

Our second weather review of the previous week.  Temperatures dropped at the end of the week but very little rain and the wind eased considerably.

		TEMP	TEMP	WIND PARTICULARS m/s			RAIN MAX	PRESSURE
		°C  max	°C Min	SPEED	GUST	DIRECTION	mms	hPa
DATE	DAY
25-Nov	SUN	12.1	8.8	8.2	12.6	SE	4.2	1009
26-Nov	MON	9.5	6.2	4.8	6.5	SW	1.2	995
27-Nov	TUES	9.2	6	5.8	9.9	NWW	1.5	1008
28-Nov	WEDS	7.5	3.5	4.4	8.5	N	2.7	1012
29-Nov	THURS	9.1	0.7	2.7	3.4	N	0	1010
30-Nov	FRI	8.3	0.1	0.7	1.4	NW	0	1011
01-Dec	SAT	10.1	2.4	2.7	3.4	NWW	0	1014

Number crunching...

The first report from our weather station can be displayed

TEMP WIND PARTICULARS m/s RAIN MAX PRESSURE °C  max SPEED GUST DIRECTION hPa     DATE    DAY 18-Nov    SUN   13 4.4m/s 5.8m/s     SE 2.4mm 1008 19-Nov    MON   12.8 6.5m/s 9.9m/s     SE 0.3mm 1001 20-Nov    TUES   13.6 7.1m/s 10.5m/s     S/SE 46.8mm 1001 21-Nov    WEDS   13.2 5.1m/s 8.2m/s     S/SE 46mm 1007 22-Nov    THUR   13.3 7.8m/s 14.6m/s     SE 29.4mm 1005 23-Nov    FRI   13.9 4.4m/s 6.1m/s     SW 0.6mm 1008 24-Nov    SAT   12.7 7.1m/s 10.2m/s     SE 28.5mm 1007

If you remember Tuesday and Wednesday were downpours all day and kick started the serious flooding across South West Britain.

Yesterday the raspberry canes were planted in what was the old strawberry bed. In the greenhouse the sweet pea seeds were planted to give them a head start again ready for planting out in the Spring.

On the very last of the Ivy flowers the last few Ivy Colletes  bees were making the most of the weather (and the flowers). But with the flowers all but over it was evident from the not-so-bulging pollen sacks that the year was nearly over for these bees.

(Almost) A perfect pair...

Today the garden volunteers braved the heavy downpours and blustery wind to relocate the second palm tree and plant it alongside the other in the garden.  For the time being we have finished tampering with the skyline!

The new palm trees have given definition to the main garden entrance, and although the Jurassic Garden is still at planning stage, when it is completed these trees will lead visitors,staff and children away from the Jurassic area and into the garden proper.

After fine tuning over the first week or so the weather station was downloaded today at the end of the first week proper. The radio transmitter from the weather station sends regular signals to the base unit and these are recorded  in 30 minute intervals. After a week there is a lot of data to sift through!  We are quickly learning how to interpret the data.  Initially  looking at the wind data over the last week two significant peaks were noted.  On the 22nd November the wind gusted at  24mph in the late afternoon.  However on the 25th November at 6am  the wind gusted at 32mph from the SW.

We have lots of numbers to look at and hope to produce a weekly review of the weather at Holy Trinity Environmental Garden.

That changing sky line.......

Once again the garden volunteers have been tampering with the skyline over the school garden.  It all started last sunday when we were offered two mature palm trees for the school garden. The following pictures highlight the journey of the first tree.

This afternoon the tree was planted at the entrance to the garden.  It is hoped that over the weekend the second tree can be transported and planted.

Whilst on the subject of trees the 'paper bark' birch trees which adorn the entrance to the Memory Garden are looking magnificent.

In the harsh light of Winter the almost tissue thin white bark purports a harsh contrast to the brown and grey colours  left in the garden.

Finally as the day came to a close one of the local  Robins burst forth into song in the Sycamore tree above our heads.  This melancholic winter song has replaced the happy song of summer. Reminding us that it is a long hard road for the next few months!

Weather the weather.....

The English are known for their obsession with the weather.  Indeed Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying that "conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative". That may be so but for many of us it is day to day conversation and those with hobbies and interests in the weather we cannot leave the topic alone.

Throwing caution to the wind on sunday the garden volunteers installed a full blown weather station.  The data collected will be of use to individuals but also hopefully to the school as the collected data can be 'number crunched' into graphs and charts. Working with  figures is great for education. Master figures and you have the world at your feet.

A new feature on the skyline



A closer look as you walk up the path will reveal the weather station






Inside the main shed is the display screen.  Staff and pupils are welcome to look at the screen and take daily notes if they wish.  Please though do not touch or move the display screen as it is quite fragile. All the data will be downloaded each week and the information then made available to the school if teachers would like to use the data  as a tool to aid, and further, education.

We started this topic with a quote, so we will finish with another quote, about the weather.  Mark Twain commented that "Climate is what we expect but weather is what we get"

Elsewhere.........

A lot of people decry Ivy but in the right place it is of great value especially at this time of year.  It provides some of the last flowers of the year and many insects can often be found on a sunny day making the most of this.  Yesterday the Ivy flowers about the school garden were covered in bees and hoverflies.  The prominent bee though was the Ivy Colletes (Colletes hederae).  This is a solitary, mining bee which occurs along the coast in Southern England and across Europe.  The females are a little larger than the males.  They look a little wasp like but they are certainly bees.  They were very busy as they have to seal the egg chambers which are underground with a pollen/honey mix for the emerging adult next August or September. 

The beauty of digital cameras is that you do not waste a roll of film just to get a couple of half decent pictures.  Many pictures were taken but only three were considered for the blog

 

 

 

 

In all the pictures the pollen sacs ( the bulging yellow things which look like bicycle panniers) can be seen to be very full indicating the importance of this plant.  The insect has orange brown hairs on the thorax.  The striped body could give an immediate impression of a wasp.

Honey bees were also in evidence and several Hoverflies including the Dronefly, as it is called, Eristalis tenex.