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Grass Clippings 

Around our grounds

As we wave goodbye to summer, autumn is waiting in the wings with the squirrels already tucking into a bountiful crop on the branches of the chestnut and walnut trees. The nights are drawing in as we anticipate the cooler evenings now before us.

Many changes will be not so apparent to the golfer or tennis player, but they are there. Root development on the greens increases in the autumn, and we measure root growth to record this. As the summer heat stress reduces, so the plant initiates more rooting to help it obtain the  nutrients it needs to help it get through the winter. There is also a surge in growth, not as frantic as the spring, but there is a ‘greening up’ that follows the dry period which again is the plant’s method of recovery to prepare it for what winter has to hold.

There are many trees beginning to shed leaves, too early in many cases, but this is in response to the heat and water stress that occurred in July and August. The trees are starting to regulate themselves by offloading vegetation to help manage the water resource they can store. The full decloaking is a matter of weeks away and usually starts with the chestnut trees shedding their large palmate leaves. With each successive month, another species takes its turn in shedding and fulling into slumber.

That deep rooting trees are managing to survive our erratic season better than shallow rooting trees is a common theme all over the southeast. Many of the trees and shrubs around the course are beginning to display the fruits of their labour in displays of colour. Sorbus and pyracantha have bright scarlet berries emerging and there a heathy crop of blackberries popping out of the hedgerows – food for the birds when times get lean in the weeks to come.

At dusk over the Club, the bat population are making the most of the insect glut that is soon to end. They need to put on some weight to get them through prolonged roosting under the bark of a decaying tree. Time to sleep for some.

September brings a gear change at the Club, as many Members return from their holidays. This year is no exception as the next few months see a busy calendar for golf as well as tennis and croquet. Members will be reassured to know that the first stage of drainage works on the golf greens has been successfully installed and the four greens that had intensive work on them are now back into full play.

Post installation, the following six weeks were required to reinstate the levels across the greens and help the turf heal back in. It has been a demanding time for the greenkeepers, who have had to manage keeping the golf course operational and bring back in the greens for play.

The grass court tennis season is beginning to wind down and the renovation of the courts is already being planned. This year the larger of the two blocks, numbers 19 to 24 courts is being re-levelled to ensure that the playing surfaces remain true. The lower block, numbers 25 to 28 will be renovated in sequence once this work is completed. Here’s hoping that the autumn season goes well, and the weather

Tree of the Year 2024

 

The Woodland Trust has shortlisted twelve oaks from across the British Isles for Tree of the Year 2024. Voting has now started and open to the public, the details are on the Trust’s website with the shortlist page. Voting will remain open until 21st October, closing at 11:59pm. At least half of the contenders are estimated to be over a thousand year’s old, as individual trees, and reflect trees from all over the nations of the UK. Dr Kate Lewthwaite, from the Trust explained, ‘It’s humbling to think how many events these trees have lived through, and that reaching full maturity they can stand for hundreds of years as ancient trees – all the while continuing to provide vital habitat as they hollow and produce dead wood.’

 

Queen Elizabeth Oak, Midhurst, West Sussex

Greenwich Park projects

Across the capital there are many fine and interesting open spaces to visit. Greenwich Park is one which has had a rich history that has contributed to the story of the nation. Over the past several years, the Royal Parks charity has funded the project alongside a grant from ‘Parks for People’ programme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Community Fund has invested £12m into the project to restore the park’s 17th-century landscape, create new learning and volunteering spaces, host more free events and community activities, and enhance biodiversity.

Previously at risk of being lost, the charity has restored Greenwich Park’s ‘Grand Ascent’ – giant grass terraces created in the 1660s, that had almost disappeared due to heavy erosion. The declining tree avenues have been re-planted, and the slumped ‘parterre’ banks framing the Queen’s Field have been reinstated. The charity has planted thousands of shrubs, trees, and pollinator-friendly flowers to create new meadows and boost biodiversity.

 

The Flower Garden Lake has benefited from wildlife-friendly planting schemes that complement its formal Edwardian design. Rare acid grassland habitats have flourished thanks to new mowing regimes that support mining bees, digger wasps, butterflies, insect-eating birds, and plants such as fine-leaved grasses, lichens, and gorse.  A new, sustainably built Learning Centre for outdoor education allows schools and community groups to discover the natural environment with nature trails, a dipping pond and a wildlife meadow. The project has also transformed part of a commercial contractors’ yard into a landscaped public zone.

Peter Bradburn, Course and Grounds Director