Educational Establishments
Island bed
“Improvement in the surfaces has resulted in a quadrupling of the matches played here, more athletics meetings and, new to us here but played on this historic estate 100 years ago, cricket”
Farnborough Hill School coming into spring
for weeds and moss, plus an additional granular feed in September and April. Scarifying takes place twice yearly and seeding annually so, from none in 2006, the grounds now use 100 bags of fertiliser, 35 bags of seed, and gallons of chemical to keep their pitches in tip top condition.
“It was a bit ‘chicken and egg’ when I
arrived. The pitches were extremely poor, but did their use warrant more work and expenditure? Well, we began first by building our maintenance programme, and the improvement in the surfaces has resulted in a quadrupling of the matches played here, more athletics meetings and, new to us here but played on this historic estate 100 years ago, cricket.”
Another area which has seen major transformation is the formal gardens. During the past eight years all the borders and beds have been replanted, bedding introduced, and collections of Cannas, Fuchsias and Hydrangeas built up. The same work has been carried out on the lawns as on the pitches and the stunning gardens now create the perfect setting for the ‘Friends’ annual garden party in June, along with many other school functions. Each year, the summer and winter
bedding is ordered and a creative flair sought amongst the team for ideas. In 2012 it was an Olympic theme, using the colours of the Olympic flag in the five circular beds on the main lawn. They also created a new ‘Jubilee Border’ in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This year, with a new supplier, the bedding is stunning again in orange and purple - like many gardeners moving away from the red, white, and blue. The team plant around 2,000 bedding plants twice each year and, interestingly, the bulbs beside the drive are planted in groups of fifty in bread crates wrapped in wire mesh to protect them from the local wildlife!
The school regularly enter their local competition ‘Rushmoor in Bloom’ and, in 2011, took Silver Gilt in the Best Commercial Garden category. Last September, they went one better, winning Gold and again Best Commercial Garden. The award is on display in the school and, whilst the team were hoping to bring home the prize again this September, they were awarded a silver. There are numerous other ways of judging success; the team receive regular cards, gifts, and comments from those associated with the school. Dave also uses PQS to monitor the condition of a range
Jubilee planting 106 PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013
Farnborough Hill School in the depths of winter
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