It was our turn this year to host the varsity against St. Marys on the 29th March, it’s always an event the Ground team look forward to despite the increased amount of work generated with outdoor pitch preparations for rugby, football, lacrosse and ultimate Frisbee, outdoor courts and track cleaning, litter picking etc.. A great day with the right result at the end .
Well done Team Brunel.
Another planting session with the Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society just a few weeks ago, this time not so cold ! planted up Winter aconites grown ‘in the green’ ideal for the partial shade under the trees.
Plenty to choose from right now with all the various spring bulbs flowering across campus so lets go for something different. Check out the Forsythia around campus, bright yellow flowers in abundance when you prune it correctly-best time to prune? right after flowering as they flower on the previous years growth.
Not too much damage after storm Doris hit,only one tree down a Robinia pseudoacacia at the back of Heinz Wolff building, all sawn up by the team, a suitable replacement will be planted later on in the year.
Here’s one most people will recognise Galanthus nivalis the common snowdrop traditionally seen as the ending of Winter and the coming of Spring, probably not with our current climate. Likes partial shade in well drained moist soil for best results plant ‘in the green ‘ look around campus as there are a number of areas where this can be seen.
For those of you who are awake in the early hours of the morning keep a sharp lookout for the Brunel badgers foraging for worms, they are not that easy to see but you may be lucky.
Here is a picture of one of them taken on site.
Here is a deciduous plant know for its highly scented clusters of pink/white flowers which can be flowering from as early as December through to February, it has an upright habit with dark green leaves. Its name is Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ check it out at the back of Gaskell.
Continuing with our tree maintenance programme, crown reduction on the Salix alba’s along the river Pinn .
This month’s ‘Plant of the month’ is Mahonia with its bright yellow flowers on spikes and the upright habit with evergreen leaves can make quite an imposing plant in the border. Scented flowers, depending on variety, can provide an important source of nectar to late foraging bees with birds enjoying the berries which form later on. Check them out around campus.
Well I’m sure many of you would have seen this fox around, was living in the North loop compound.