9 minute read
Gardening Diary
' Rain on Good Friday and Easter Day, a good year for grass and a bad one for hay.'
Having survived the long gloom of Lent (though alas not for those of us who are undergoing the extended privations of Ramadan) gardeners will feel fitter from their abstentions and feel in good shape to get on in the garden, a good thing as April is a month of many tasks which will brook no delay. Growth is now so strong that it will soon be too late to prune or transplant many plants without risk of injury.
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Sown seeds should be checked and any that look doubtful should be re-sown now rather than delaying on the off-chance of improvement. There is truth in the old saying 'One for the pigeon and one for the crow, one to rot and one to grow.'
April is a good month for planting Laurels, conifers, hollies and other evergreen shrubs and hedging plants.
Any rose pruning should be finished off as soon as possible. Climbing roses may also have been tackled last month; the small side branches off the main stems cut back to two inches. Hybrid tea bush roses should be cut back to four or five outward facing buds. It will be worth feeding the roses now and later on in the summer to encourage the new displays. Spraying with a fungicide at fortnightly intervals until June will keep the leaves shiny and fresh.
Evergreens such as laurel, cupressus, box and yew may also be pruned now as well as any overgrown ivy.
Towards the end of the month we may plant dahlias, fairly deep to ensure the new shoots miss any late frosts.
As Forsythias finish flowering they should be pruned, cutting out the stems that have just flowered and leaving the young shoots, which will give the best displays next year.
Daffodils and other early flowering bulbs should be dead-headed and allowed to die down naturally. Many a tidy-minded gardener resents these untidy obstacles to their lawnmowers, but the bulbs must be given time to build up reserves for next spring.
Lawn mowing starts in earnest this month. We may begin by finding our plastic grass rakes and sweep up those twigs and debris we have been ignoring all winter, maybe even locating our besoms to scatter worm casts, as these, when flattened by the mower make admirable sites for germinating weed seeds. The reader, having remembered to have the mower serviced, sharpened and oiled last autumn will now be ready to do the first mow of the season, the first cut taking off the top inch or so to tidy things up and as growth accelerates the blades may be lowered by degrees. Mowing being a job we could delegate to other family members, we might take this opportunity at the beginning of the season to tutor any of those under-employed youths and adolescents we have uncovered about the house in the art of mowing the lawn in straight lines and without losing digits or even whole limbs. Nothing could be more risible or ignominious in future life than having to admit to one's peers that we lost a big toe under the lawn mower.
The vegetable garden: Potatoes, those who commune with the moon will know that root crops go in from the beginning of the waning gibbous to the new moon, April's full moon is on the 16th, thus we may set out our pre-chitted potato tubers from the 16th until the 30th.
Young at Heart has had a busy month - we were visited by Hands on History who showed us artefacts from the Ancient Egyptians, Saxons and Vikings. We were kindly invited by Bedes School for a baking session and returned with delicious home made scones! We had a trip to a local garden centre where we had lunch. Huw Merriman joined us for questions and answers with our members. Marco the Magician joined us at Parkside Primary School for a brilliant magic show. Cherry Spring Studio continue to supply our crafts, Rowana Mladek joins us for Qi Gong and Angela Brooks and Cake and Wine Club Choir continue to join us weekly! Amazing venue of Heathfield Park Cricket Club with outstanding views. Hugely grateful for all the support and our transport donated by Age Comcern. Nobody should be lonely! Kindly sponsored by Wealden Funeral Services and Trevaskis Consulting Ltd.
Uniting generations in the glorious setting of Heathfield Park Cricket Club
A full day of lunch, crafts and activities with pupils from local schools
Book a FREE TRIAL DAY and come and join us we would love to meet you! Please call 07971 032667 or visit youngatheart.me.uk
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VINES CROSS FIRE
2-2-22. The date our beloved home of fifty years went up in a mass of flame. Built in the 16th century, and constructed of timber, much of it reclaimed ship's beams, daub and wattle, and thatched. It was this combination that allowed the rapid spread that the fire crews from eight bases were unable to extinguish. It had been in our family for ninety years, we lost documents, memories and mementoes gathered over the years that we lived there. We were left with just the clothes we were wearing. It was still smouldering a week later. The forensic investigators from the Fire Service have been unable to establish the cause. The site now looks like the aftermath of bombing. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all our friends and neighbours who came to our aid. Clothing, food and offers of accommodation were instantly forthcoming. This was the brightest spot in our tragedy, the coming together of the community in our time of need. Geoff and Judy Piper
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Is development causing ground water issues locally?
Local residents on Horebeech Lane have become increasingly concerned about the twitten that runs between two properties on the corner of Horebeech & Laundry Lane, South Oaks & Shipton Brigg. The twitten is a public right of way and part of a very popular and well used public footpath.
They have observed that ever since the Rosemead Estate has started to be built, the path is constantly water logged and incredibly muddy, almost to the point that it is becoming impassable at times. Many residents in this clump of houses have lived there for up to 20 plus years and have never seen it as bad as it is this year.
Residents contacted Wealden about the problem and two of their officials, (including one of their most Senior engineers)met residents on site to see if they could fathom out the reason for the problem. The Wealden representatives both concluded that there is no way of proving from where the water is coming, although they did not dismiss resident's suspicions that it is a direct result of the water table being adjusted and disturbed since the arrival of the new estate. The engineer suggested a probable solution and has agreed to discuss this with ESCC Highways. In addition, he advised that he would investigate as to whether they would have any budget to implement his suggested solution. So residents are now waiting for their response.
In the meantime, the residents have written to Horam Parish Council to enquire if CIL monies (Community Infrastructure Levy) that are paid by developers to local councils can be used as funding toward costs to address the issue, once they know how Wealden responds.
Residents have asked Horam Parish Council if they can raise the matter at the next full Council meeting.
Residents have thanked Horam Parish Council for the lovely bench they have replaced on the corners of both Laundry and Horebeech Lanes applauding money well spent, but bemoaning the fact that very few people are able to make much use of it because of the mud surrounding the site!!! Watch this space.
ESCC project on local water levels
Over a six-year period from 2021 to 2027, The Blue Heart project seeks to work with the communities of Eastbourne and South Wealden to co-deliver a project to provide an understanding of the local water levels and how they interact with the environment and the community. The project will mitigate the impact of flooding in the local area caused by climate using technology to manage and monitor water for the benefit of communities and businesses.
Many local residents are repeatedly highlighting the increase in water levels following the build of new developments in their objections to planning applications. As mentioned before, this is hard to prove but anecdotally appears to be happening more and more. It may feel like a too little too late initiative as residents may feel that Wealden's allowance of so much development in the area has contributed to the problem but it is important to share your thoughts.
