Grass Clippings
November has arrived bringing continued mild and wet weather. The exceptionally warm temperatures haven’t broken any records yet, 2014 still holds on to that but the fact that there hasn’t been a single frost to date is more than unusual.
News reports, highlighting the confused state of nature have given examples of spring plants flowering earlier than expected and other perennials which would usually be losing leaves by now, are actually in full growth. This mild state is also having an effect on wildlife, hedgehogs not going into hibernation for example. The worry is that if more wildlife is active at the moment, then where will the food reserves come from to sustain them through the winter – especially if the weather does turn cold?
Around the grounds
On the course, we are noticing that growth rates are greater than we normally expect, as the frequency for cutting has not dropped at all since September. But with more frequent showers, we have to pick and choose the best time to mow areas such as rough, as the machinery could cause more damage than we would desire.
The contractors are still installing the pylons on the 10th hole, and once the netting is installed, we shall be able to open the grass tee on this hole. The contractors will resurrect the posts and netting on the 12th green, which blew down a week ago.
This week should also see the inflation of Airhall One, so it’s ready for use next week. Airhall Two is proceeding and as of this week, the courts are being rendered and the de-humidifiers are removing excess moisture from the environment to allow the court surface painting to continue.
Sam and the gardens team are putting the finish touches to the winter planting schemes and as well as preparing for new projects around the estate.
As reported previously in Grass Clippings, the Eden Project North, which is planned to be built in Morecambe is at a crucial stage of realisation of becoming a credible reality. The project is now in the second phase of consideration by the Parliamentary Treasury Committee, under the ‘levelling-up’ initiative which was the flagship of the Boris Johnson administration. It has planning permission and land allocated to the project and is termed by politicians as a ‘shovel-ready scheme’. The Eden Project North is known to be one of the few projects in the second phase of the levelling-up round that has ticked the boxes and has the support locally as well and within Westminster. Eden North has raised £50 million in financial backing and is asking for a further £50 million to match the funding and to start the construction phase.
The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of adjoining domes that house thousands of plant species, and each enclosure emulates a natural biome. The larger of the two biomes simulates a rainforest environment (and is the largest indoor rainforest in the world) and the second, a Mediterranean environment. The attraction also has an outside botanical garden which is home to many plants and wildlife native to Cornwall and the UK in general. In 2018, the Eden North revealed its design for a new version of the project, located on the seafront in Morecambe, Lancashire. The architecture of the biomes is envisaged to represent the shape of mussel shells and the content is to focus on the marine environment of the natural world. There will also be reimagined lidos, gardens, performance spaces, immersive experiences, and observatories. It is expected that there will be 500 jobs created and 8,000 visitors at peak times and predicted to benefit the northwest economy by £200 million per year.
Pricey Poinsettias
The cost of Christmas will be going up in every aspect this year. From a shortage of turkeys, due to avian flu through to the cost of the traditional Christmas tree and humble poinsettia. For years the much-loved shrub, which takes its name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first US Minister to Mexico, can become a small tree in its native region – Mexico to southern Guatemala.
The large supermarket chains have kept costs to reasonable levels over the last few years. It is predicted that this year costs will rise by around 30% after energy price rises which has hit growers. The poinsettia is a unique plant which bears dark green dentate leaves that measure 7–16 centimetres in length. The coloured bracts are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colours, but are actually leaves. The colours of the bracts are created through photoperiodism, meaning that they require darkness, for at least fourteen hours at a time for 6–8 weeks in a row, to change colour.
This is achieved with blackout blinds being fitted to the production glasshouses. The plants still need abundant light during the day for the brightest colour saturation and heat to continue to grow. All these inputs have led to the increase in production which will be passed on to the customer this year.