Staking the Dahlia Walk at Biddulph on Sunday 23rd May 2021

Nine of us ventured out to Biddulph Grange Garden on Sunday 23rd May.

The gardens are nationally famous and were created by James Bateman (1811-1897) for his collection of plants from around the world.  One of the main attractions in the summer is the Dahlia Walk.  Staking the Dahlia Walk has been an annual task which is meticulously done by working to a plan.  Each bed has three rows with stakes marked out evenly, the stakes increase in height from front to back.  

We worked in teams of 2/3 and by lunchtime had positioned all the stakes in the beds.

Despite the forecast looking like rain, it held off and we managed to eat our lunch outside and enjoyed some lovely biscuits provided by Leslie the gardener.

After lunch we were given a tour around the Pinetum, we saw the amazing coastal redwoods which are currently around 170 years old  and will live for many thousands of years, the trees are currently approx 70ft tall but will grow to around 300ft.  We also saw the Hemlock tree from North America, the Abies cephalonica from Greece and the Japanese umbrella pine which is very rate and only usually found in Japan.  Leslie then showed us the next part of the task which was footpath edging.

After the tour we split into two teams and team one 'tickled' over the soil by the Dhalia beds and team two started the footpath edging.

A good day was had by all, what a treat it will be to see the Dhalia's in full bloom in the summer months.