Dahlias, tulips and a table - 10 go to Biddulph Grange Garden - Sunday 29th October 2023

On Sunday 29th October after remembering to put the clocks back, nine volunteers met at Biddulph Grange Gardens.

Upon meeting in the carpark at Biddulph we met up with Gardener Leslie and apprentice Holly.  Leslie asked us if any of us had forgotten about the hour changing we were able to inform her that no we hadn't, she had!

After a talk through of the Risk Assessment we headed into the gardens.  We knew what our task would be but because we weren't all experts Leslie talked us through it.  It was a task I had never done before and seemed pretty straight forward.  Cut the dahlia stems, take out the stake holding them up, dig out the remaining dahlias and get rid of as much soil as possible and tie them up with the name label attached with string.  There were a lot to get through.  I started with the cutting of the stems.  If there were any flowers still in bloom and looking good we could pick them to make a bunch of flowers which Jenny did.

The Gardens were very busy with visitors and there were lots of families with small children.  The children wearing wellies enjoyed jumping in the puddles and some of the adults stopped to speak to us or ask Leslie questions about dahlias or gardening in general.

At 11 we stopped for elevenses and had Jenny's delicious Bakewell Tart and Ally's very gooey Millionaire Shortbread.  They both went down a treat.  After the cake Jean unfortunately had to retire home due to an ongoing injury.

After elevenses we carried on our task and got most of the dahlias and stakes out.  The stakes were ones we had put in back in June.  It is a task we have done for a number of years so I was keen to see what it was all about.  Lunchtime was called and Leslie had lined up a treat for us ...  RANGERS TAKE NOTE ... she provided us with a table and chairs to sit round, very posh for us when we are used to eating sitting on the floor or on a rock!

After lunch we finished tying up the last of the dahlias and turned over the beds for our next task  tulip bulb planting!  Just before we started on this task Sue B arrived to say hello and to see me as I have not seen her for at least a year.  She partook in a small amount of bulb planting. Biddulph had 5,000 bulbs to plant in different locations around the gardens.  Where we were there were five beds to be filled.

The way to plant the tulip bulbs was to throw handfuls of them from an allocated box, each bed having a a different box.  After they had been thrown they then had to be buried under the soil using trowels.  The planting was an important task if a little tedious.  We managed to get two and half beds done and then decided to call it a day.  It was starting to get dark and we were all tired.  We had a group photo and headed for home.  Leslie was very pleased with what we had done and is looking forward to our next visit there.

It was a fantastic day and it didn’t rain.  It lovely to see you all.  Here's to next time.

The advice I will take away from this day is tulips don’t need to be planted a particular way up so just plant them any which way you like.

Ally

Hedge laying at Formby on Sunday 22nd October 2023

Five of us arrived at Formby early in glorious sunshine and although there were some dark clouds about we managed to stay dry all day.

We met up with rangers Al and Justin and headed out to the hedge laying worksite by the heathland on Larkhill Lane.  We laid part of this hedge last year and since then local groups have done a lot more so we had to walk a bit further across the field to get to the worksite.

The rangers showed us the task:

We had all hedge laid before but it was good to have a refresher about where to cut and where to place the stakes.  It’s amazing that all you need to leave is the layer of wood just under the bark and the tree will continue to grow.  We split into to two groups and started either side of the gate.

The hedge was a mix of hawthorn, blackthorn and rose so we had lots of thorns to contend with.  It was the first time I had laid rose and it was relatively easy, as the stems are quite small and the long bendy stems are easy to weave into the hedge.  Once it has all grown up it will make a lovely barrier.

We had a coffee break with cake (orange sponge cake and chocolate brownies – some with added spice and chilli) and by lunchtime had finished the shorter section by the gate.  Al’s time as a tree surgeon was coming in very handy when we pruned the standing tree at the end of the hedge.

After lunch we all went to work on the longer section and made good progress with tandem sawing demonstrations from Justin and Andy H.

By the end of the day we had laid quite a long section of hedge ...

... and headed home proud of the job we had done.

Jenny

Clearing Trees of Heaven at Dunham Massey on Sunday 15th October 2023

Nine volunteers turned out on a beautiful crisp autumn morning to meet ranger Jimmy.  Jimmy only started at Dunham in August, although he has worked previously at Styal, so it was his first time working with MNTV.

After explaining where we were working and what the task was we realised we had done the exact same job two years previously.  Tree of Heaven is an invasive non-native species that self seeds as well as grows shoots from the main trees roots.

We had a bit of nature around us as well as  a deer from the park had somehow made its way into the area we were working plus David came across a mouse or shrew not sure which.

Task completed by lunch time so we then went into the park to remove some detritus that had been pulled out of one of the ponds.  It didn't look much at first but it filled the trailer.

As I said it was a beautiful day and by late morning Jimmy had to leave us to put the car park full signs out with people queuing to get in.  Even as we were leaving cars were still coming in.

Thanks to Jimmy for looking after us and to my colleagues for their hard work.  It was a good workday.

Christine

Rhody bashing at Lyme Park on Sunday 8th October 2023

Seven of us met Issy in the main Lyme Park car park. As we were borrowing her tools for our rhody bash in Lantern Wood we walked to the Stables to collect them before climbing up the slope to the large patch of rhody that Issy had in mind.

We started building a fire, which got going very quickly because Jack had a telescopic blow tube to use as mini-bellows - they were amazing!

As we were thinking of stopping for elevenses, Sue D came walking through the woods towards us. Although she was on duty as a Lyme Park volunteer today, she is also a member of MNTV and she had kindly offered to bake a cake for us - it was delicious, as were the homemade biscuits she also left with us, iced by her grandson.

After our coffee break, we cut down more rhody, dragging it to the fire, cutting it smaller before it was burnt on the fire.

The weather was dry, even sunny at times, which was a bonus.

After lunch, while working near the fire, we disturbed a frog. It tried to get out of our way but then we saw it again (or was it a different frog?) as it sat on a branch watching us for a while.

Towards the end of our workday we stopped loading the fire so it could die down a bit then, once it had, we put orange ‘fencing’ around it so it wasn’t a danger to anyone walking in the woods after we’d gone.

We managed a group photo shot before gathering our tools to carry back to the Stables.

We had a great day, great company, great cake and and biscuits, and a great Ranger working with us:-)

Sue B

Hedge trimming at Speke on Sunday 1st October 2023

Seven of us turned out for a day of hedge trimming at Speke Hall on Sunday 1st Ocober.

It was a rather wet start with a downpour until lunchtime.  Luckily we had use of the rangers office for lunch and it was nice and cosy, homemade fruit cake and homemade lemon muffins were enjoyed by all.

We were working in field on the outskirts of the estate which is separated by a hedge, ranger Simon worked on one side of the hedge using a petrol trimmer to cut the top of the hedge so that we had a guide point to work to.  

Using loppers and shears we split up into small groups to trim back the sides of the hedge.  With a later start and the downpour we worked through tea break and had a longer lunch instead to dry off ready for the afternoon session.  

We finished both sides of the hedge and were delighted with the result and the hedge now looks in superb shape ready for the autumn/winter months before the growing season starts again.

Thank you to all our volunteers, it was a hard day working in the rain but everyone remained cheerful.

Denise, Worksite Leader