Grass clippings
Around the grounds
May has disappeared over the horizon and we have entered June with the promise of it being a sun-infused month. Having gone through such a horrendous winter, some plants have actually favoured the harsh weather. The wisteria in the Club’s gardens put on a spectacular display and I have seen fabulous iris and many spring flowering shrubs blooming already this year. Probably the lack of many spring frosts has contributed to better flowering displays in most cases but it’s encouraging to see that some plants have bounced back.
Sadly, some trees around the course haven’t ‘bounced’, after a torturously hot summer last year and then the harsh winter. Shallow rooted specimens such as birch and prunus have found it difficult going and, in some cases, expired altogether. If we bring climate change into the conversation, images of forest fires in California or floods in India come to mind but a birch tree on the 2nd hole, which gives up the ghost is just bad luck, however this tree is also a victim of the same processes of a changing environment. When it was planted in the 1980s, it was not expected that trees such as these would be exposed to 36o C heat then minus 12o C within a six-month window but now we are aware that our climate will be fickler in the years to come. In most cases the mature trees which have died had been coming to the end of their useful life as a specimen tree and so have been removed to the benefit of our log piles. I’m sure future generations of insects will be content with the wood that we lay down today for their benefit.
Around the course, it’s looking green and pleasant as we approach the hot months of the season. We well know that the combination of moisture and soil temperature induces the spring flush and so David, our head greenkeeper, has upped the game in terms of keeping up with the cutting regime. The May Bank Holidays have made that particularly tricky this past month. David has been very diligent in keeping control of the tough rough this year, save the pain of the golfer who aim isn’t Straight Down the Middle as Bing used to croon. For those of you interested, the nasty stuff has been dropped by half an inch this year to help ease the problem and we have someone constantly on rough patrol. As with the Fourth Bridge, once he has finished mowing the 18th hole then its straight back to the 1st to start the next lap. Greens are responding well this year and we have been monitoring the pace and speed as well as preserving the levels with top dressing and plenty of rolling to boot. It will be interesting to see if the heat turns up dramatically in the next few weeks. Temperatures so far seem to be bumping around the low 20’s which is good for the grass and less stress on the plant. We are over the initial spring flush of sappy young growth and this heat will temper the grass to slow it in the weeks to come. It’s also good for the tennis courts and help to firm them up. Court number 24, which was used as a roadway for access to block 7 to 10 last year, will need more seed and top dressing to push it along for this year and with the autumn renovations, it will be fully treated as the rest of the courts. Sam and his team have finished planting the summer bedding displays and are moving to watering duties and hedge trimming before any hot spells heat up the gardens. We are in the thick of our peak season now and there is plenty to do to keep the team busy for a good while yet!
Chelsea Flower Show
The Chelsea Flower Show had a successful week with the weather being a particular crowd pleaser for fortunate ticket holders. The BBC’s coverage of the event, as ever, ensured that anyone with a keen eye for horticultural were more than giddy with several hours per day of content. The People’s Choice award at Chelsea 2023 for most popular show garden is run in association with the BBC and this year the vote went to Beardshaw Myeloma UK – A Life Worth Living Garden which commemorated the charity’s 25th anniversary. Mr Beardshaw announced this year that he is retiring from the show, as are several other designers including Cleve West, Jo Thompson, Tom Stuart-Smith, Andy Sturgeon, and Sarah Eberle. This may well signal an end of an era for that generation of show garden designers who would have started their horticultural careers in the 1980’s. Chelsea is the proverbial golden goose that feeds those who keep it going. All of the above are professional designers with their own practices. The show has enabled them to gain celebrity and a foothold in the high stakes game of sourcing lucrative commercial clients. Creating a Chelsea show garden is a time-consuming process, often starting almost immediately after the last show is cleaned up and packed away. The relationship between the designer and the sponsor is a delicate one which has to be cultivated and nurtured like raising chrysanthemums. Both are bond to each other for the chance of winning a gold award and the media coverage and free advertising opportunities it gives back. Which does mean that the goose consumes a lot of time in feeding and preening to keep it content. Designers do suffer Chelsea Burnout and it may be the case that class of ’85 have decided to concentrate on the client base before becoming a seasoned Chelsea Pensioner in the near future.
In your garden
If Chelsea wasn’t enough for you, then there is more work in the garden for you in June to help top up the tan. Don’t forget the sun cream!
♥ Give wisteria its summer prune, cutting all the long sideshoots back to 20cm, to promote flowering next spring
♥ Support tall-growing perennials, including hollyhocks and delphiniums, with a sturdy cane
♥ Continue planting summer bedding in pots and borders, and water regularly to help plants establish quickly
♥ Tie in new stems of climbing and rambling roses horizontally to supports, to encourage more flowers
♥ Pinch out the tips of fuchsias and bedding plants to encourage bushier growth
♥ Give container displays and hanging baskets a liquid feed every few weeks to encourage flowering
♥ Fill any gaps in borders with pots of tall bulbs, such as fragrant lilies, to add instant colour
♥ Prune late-spring or early-summer shrubs after flowering, such as weigela and philadelphus, thinning out the older stems
♥ Add marginal plants, such as arum lilies and marsh marigolds, around the edges of your pond