Reflections

It is almost exactly one year since I started writing this blog, an appropriate moment to look back on the past twelve months. Much has been achieved in that time, thank you to everyone who has helped in many different ways. Donating plants and seeds, supplying history notes and drawings, coming along on a Saturday morning to join in with the gardening. All of these contributions are greatly appreciated.

A couple of Wednesdays ago the churchyard was inspected as part of All Saints application for Eco Church Gold Award. Having taken the inspection team on a tour of the Churchyard looking at all we have achieved so far and listening to our plans for the future I am pleased to say we have been awarded Gold. Thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve this landmark.

If you are walking through the churchyard on a Saturday morning do stop by to say hello.

I wish everyone all the very best for 2023.

Leaves & Bulbs

November and the annual job of sweeping up and clearing away piles of leaves. Wherever possible our policy is to recycle or compost and this year we are trying out collecting the leaves together in Jute sacks. With the leaves compressed down in each sack they are then stored in an area where rain will fall on them and they can compost down, the jute itself breaks down so we should be left with a nice crumbly compost to use on planting areas.

At the top of the path leading down from Church Street South an area has been cleared, uncovering a grave slab buried under years of leaf mould. To the right of the grave slab the cleared area has been planted with 100 in Hyacinthoides non-scripta or English native Bluebells. These will hopefully establish and multiply in the coming years.

October

 I write this on the day the clocks have gone back by an hour. Light for working in the churchyard will naturally be less with the shorter days but we will gain some light as the trees shed their leaves this Autumn and this will be a major part of our November work sweeping and keeping the paths through the churchyard clear. Despite rainy days this month has been good, work has continued clearing away and planting up, most of the areas between the gravestones in the lower churchyard are choked with grass which leaves little scope for anything to grow. Carefully clearing these areas is a painstaking job carefully saving bulbs and other plants, where there are no flowering plants we will be filling in with varieties that will spread and flower. The first picture is one such area carefully cleared and planted up with several Geum variety Banana Daiquiri. On the far side to the right of the main or West door grass on the bank has been raked to remove accumulated thatch, and expose the soil. Yellow Rattle seeds have been sown which will hopefully germinate and spread providing a source of pollen. Yellow Rattle is parasitic on grass roots so hopefully it will establish. 

Bug Hotel

Earlier this year in line with our objective of creating habitats for wildlife we decided to identify a suitable site and build a bug hotel. Fortunately there is plenty of information out there to help in designing and building a suitable structure. Some features we wanted to incorporate were a structure of reasonable size and also a green roof to be planted with Sedums. We collected pallets that were surplus and destined for recycling all of the same size and old bricks for spacing. Uprights were added to the corners for stability and a tray with lining and drainage to form the roof. Finally it was filled with various materials to create nooks and crannies for insects to crawl into. As a finishing touch one of our team painted and added a panel on the front depicting various insects. 

Ash Trees

We have had to have three trees felled in the lower churchyard opposite the porch. The trees were of the common Ash species Fraxinus Excelsior, common Ash can fall victim to the fungus Hymenoscyphus Fraxineus first scientifically described in 2006. The first signs the disease is present is a loss of the tree canopy caused by crown die back. Once fifty percent of the canopy is lost it is unlikely the tree will recover and also the tree is also unable to resist other diseases. The only remedy currently is to cut the effected tree down. The fungus has no effect on humans or animals just a danger of falling branches. Because of the difficulty of accessing the effected trees a fourth tree, a Sycamore had to be felled to enable a crane to be used to support the trees during the felling operation.

The Churchyard now has a more open aspect in the cleared area allowing more light in and we have four stumps which we may incorporate into planting providing a different habitat.

Hotter than July

As I write this we are experiencing a first ever red heat warning. Hotter than July was a label on a box of bedding plants I purchased one year, never more appropriate than today! It is of course important to remember other creatures that require habitats cool and damp. Beetles are an essential part of the insect world being beneficial in so many ways to the world in general and specifically our churchyard. To this end it was decided to create a specific habitat for them and a Beetle bucket has been made and sited in the churchyard.

June

The end of June approaches and it is hard to believe, the month has flown by. May was ‘no mow May’ and so this month saw the grass cut back in most of the Churchyard leaving a strip down the RH side of the path where we have been clearing areas and planting. Some of the plants struggled at first in what has been a very dry month but monitoring and watering has seen them through and they have established quite well. A meeting earlier this month on Jubilee weekend with a local historian Paul was most interesting and informative. Areas discussed were the history of the church building itself and interesting gravestones in the Churchyard. Paul has very kindly written a brief history of these and we will be putting together an information sheet on these to be available from the church building and ultimately on line as well. We are extremely grateful for his input on this. I should add that work continues in the lower churchyard which is looking fantastic at the moment to clear away years of accumulated cuttings and rubbish and that is going well.

Bluebells

Hyacinthoides non-scripta.To use their Latin name. At the back end of last year 2021 it was decided see if we could establish a small plot of bluebells, native variety of course next to the pathfrom Church Street South. Fifty bulbs were ordered from a UK company responsibly sourced as they actually propagate them. These small bulbs were planted in small pots using a suitable compost and then left against a sheltered house wall to start sprouting. They remained dormant for the early part of 2022 but in late spring shoots emerged these pots were then transplanted to the present location adjacent to the path and have flowered quite successfully. They have now set seed which is encouraging as that means pollinators have been able to utilise the nectar in the flowers. A 'win win' situation. So a success and note to self ' order more bulbs for September.

Building a Dead Hedge

As work continues to tidy up overgrown areas of the churchyard a large pile of offcuts and brashings soon accumulated and we realised we could use these to create a dead hedge as suggested by the RSPB. A dead hedge would provide a refuge for insects and habitats as it slowly decomposed the centre can always be topped up with more material. Having chosen a spot against a sunny wall it soon took shape using the available material from cutting back. Once the framework was finished Honeysuckle were planted at either end and they will grow to cover the hedge providing sustenance for pollinating insects.

Birdboxes

The nesting season is upon us. The birdsong in the churchyard is wonderful. In the Autumn of last year 2021 three birdboxes were constructed to a plan available from the RSPB, each has a hinged lid to facilitate cleaning at the end of the nesting season, also a metal plate with a hole is fitted to the front protecting the entrance from being damaged by predators and affording the potential occupants more security. An additional fourth box was constructed to the open front design preferred by Robins.

The Jackson Gravestone and Memorials

The Churchyard in Old Glossop has a considerable number of gravestones, and there are also a number of gravestones and memorials within the Parish Church of All Saints. One of the gravestones in the Churchyard commemorates Issac Edward Jackson and his wife, Harriet Jackson;there are also memorials to Issac and Harriet within the Parish Church,including the window in the Lady Chapel depicting Hilda,Abbess of Whitby. Friday 18th March 2022 marks the centenary of the death of Issac. The recording and care of these historically significant gravestones and memorials fall within our stewardship of the Churchyard and of the Parish Church. We are grateful to the descendents of the Jackson family for the re-gilding of the gravestone commemorating Issac and Harriet Jackson in time for this anniversary. On Sunday,20th March 2022 the family will gather in the Churchyard to celebrate and give thanks for the life of this remarkable local benefactor. Read more about Issac Jackson here

Planting up the beds

 

Having given some thought to the subject it was decided to plant up with a mixture of some perennials, herbs and native plants. The accent would always be on providing for pollinators. In preparation months before some plants had been split up and potted on from stock at home. Varieties such as Foxgloves and Lemon Balm were planted incorporating an organic fertilizer to encourage root growth. Watering was going to be essential and we are very grateful to people who have kept an eye on these and ensured they never dry out. Thank you.

The Flower beds next to the Path

 The railings that line the path down from Church Street South have two inset planting areas situated either side and  towards the top of the path just down from the steps. The railings frame three sides of both beds. Both beds were choked with grass and tangled roots. Early in 2019 it was decided to plant these up with flowering plants that would attract pollinators. Digging the beds over was a challenge but they were turned over and after much hoeing and raking a decent planting medium was achieved.                  Next the rewarding part for any gardener, planting up!

The Path from Church Street South

 The path from Church St South cuts through the churchyard and joins the open paved area with the other path from the centre of the village. Over the past number of years the path had built up a covering of old leaves which were rotting down to provide a growing medium for grass and moss leaving only the centre of the surface to function as a path. Clearing the path was an essential task and several hours later having removed twenty barrow loads of good compostable material we have a lovely clean tarmac path, the surface of which is in remarkably good condition. Under this material at the bottom of the path was revealed a grid well and truly clogged. Another job for another day!                                                     

Thank you for reading and please do check back for updates.