November

 

Apart from clearing away leaves etc November and indeed late Autumn seems a good time to tidy up around the gravestones and get around to the list of jobs. The Braddock grave that sited under the yew tree opposite the South Porch ( see a earlier post'u covering the past') sits lower than the bank of soil on three sides, it was always our intention to put some boards around the edge to retain the soil keeping the gravestone surface free from debris and so using some upcycled old boards this has now been done enabling us to plant up right to the edge. Another job has been to plant up a few pots with Allium bulbs which means we can plant them out 'in the green' in Springtime.

John Clare (1793-1864)

 

John Clare one of the great English poets wrote of the seasons and in particular Autumn.

Nature now spreads around in dreary hue.  A pall to cover all that summer knew;          Yet in the poets solitary way;                            Some pleasing objects for his praise delay; 

John Clare, The Shepherd's Calender (October) 1827.

John Clare expresses his sadness at the passing of summer but encourages us to look around and take pleasure in the colours the berries and the conkers on the path, the late flowering plants adding a splash of colour against the tall wands of grass. And so it is in the churchyard with the Calendula making such a bold splash of orange against the tall wands of grass and colours of Autumn. 

On the corner where the path down from Church Street South meets the West side of the church building we have planted Wallflowers, a different variety this year, Harlequin, multi coloured so a splash of colour and lovely scent to look forward to next spring. 

September

 

One of the aspects I personally like about working in the churchyard is the variety of jobs and the pleasure of seeing an area transformed I was not expecting a job to literally drop at my feet though! A exceptionally strong couple of days strong wind left the churchyard littered with broken branches, so armed with a bow saw, croppers and secateurs we set about clearing up, the bigger wood will be used to add edges to planting areas and has been stacked on one side, the brush wood was neatly piled and made into a dead hedge, another winter habitat. Which reminds me, we must clean out the bird boxes. Elsewhere a replacement frame has been put around the sign next to the South Porch so it seemed a good time to tidy that area and plant up some urns we have been given with black grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) that has lovely white or violet flowers in spring.

August

As Sylvia Plath wrote, August is a time of in-betweeness, summer is on the wane and the month of September the start of Autumn is around the corner. Looking around the churchyard things are going over, turning to seed but there is still plenty to do not forgetting as Alan Titchmarsh said to find time to stand and enjoy the last flowers of summer and I did just that standing by the sweet peas enjoying their heady scent and watching the pollinators also attracted by that very same scent. Elsewhere there has been time to tidy up and our work area at the side of the church is better organised with our water butt having a couple of additions and a tool storage rack made from upcycled wood.

Flowers

 

The flowers around the churchyard are a joy to behold! The spring wild flowers have been and gone to be replaced by other seasonal perrenial and annual plants, all annuals we have grown from seed, the Cosmos and Nicotiana in tall pots against the church building add a lovely splash of colour and the sweet peas in the frame opposite the West Door are simply fantastic, not just because we grew them from seed but also the scent is lovely, they are old fashioned heritage varieties that have that heady scent from years gone by, several people have mentioned to us how this takes them back to years ago when relatives usually grandparents used to grow them in the back garden and put bunches of them in the house filling each room with their scent, one of the most powerful memory stimulants and of course the pollinators are busy around them. What's  not to like as they say. 

All thanks to the hard work of one of us preparing the ground and building the willow frame. Thank you. 

Elsewhere Calendula and Poppies have been planted between gravestones the Calendula adding that lovely 'pop' of orange. 

Was that really June?

 

Like everyone having endured a wet winter, autumn and low light levels I really thought we might see an upturn in temperatures and a bit less rain. In between these wet Saturdays work has continued in various parts of the churchyard, we have planted up the grey pots outside the church with plants grown from seed, Nicotinia and Cosmos, we have also planted up a wigwam of Hazel poles with Heritage Sweet Peas. Further along from the Sweet Peas work has continued to clear between a row of gravestones planting up in the spaces as we go along including sowing Calendula, the lovely bright orange flowers are such a highlight against the green sward of the churchyard. At the top of the churchyard near the gate to Church Street South tidying and clearing has taken place uncovering two gravestones which date back to the 1840's, these are being researched. As always with the churchyard it's a lovely peaceful place to work whatever the weather.

Mental Health Awareness

 

May saw Mental health awareness week and this made me think about the churchyard in relation to mental health, it is something that I often think about. So are there any benefits to working outside on a project like the churchyard? The answer would be and is a resounding yes! So the question is what are they? The answer is not one aspect but the combination of many, here are a few that occur to me: working outside in the fresh air, gardening is recognised as good for physical and mental health, conversation with other team members, and the satisfaction of seeing a project take shape. Add in the fact you are doing something to help wildlife be it birdboxes or sowing and planting for pollinators and it is a win win situation. 

So if you are interested and like to have a look at what we do pop by on a Saturday morning and say hello, we often have the kettle on. 

April Colour

 

We are very fortunate to live in a very green country, people from overseas travel to visit this island just to enjoy our green vistas and as a resident I can appreciate what they see when the end of April approaches and we start to see that lovely fresh green of this year's new growth, add some sunshine and it is the perfect antidote to a long and very wet winter. In the churchyard the fresh greenery is punctuated by lovely highlights of primulas, hellibores and assorted other spring plants. The Wallflowers are a real statement of colour on the corner near the West Door and considering the wet weather we have lost relatively very few, interestingly we put three varieties in and I think it is one variety that has suffered. Gardening, the constant learning curve.

March

 

The start of March it felt at times that the Winter would never relinquish it's grip on the weather but as we approached the end of the month the Saturday mornings were sunny, that early spring sun that cuts through the still bare trees picking out bits of the Churchyard, one such beam shone low across picking out the top of a very old headstone that is a Celtic cross, a moment to stand and stare in wonder. Elsewhere work continues on tidying around the grave slabs gently cleaning the surface so they can be read and cutting around the edge with a lawn edging tool leaving a nice crisp outline. At the foot of one next to the path a slightly raised area has been created using cuttings from around the Churchyard, backfilled with our own compost and planted up with English Bluebells. Against back wall of the old Churchyard the living green Saxifrage roof of the bug hotel is a wonderful display of white flowers and a very welcome source of food for early pollinators. 

February

 

I have a gardener's almanac written by Alan Titchmarsh in his usual well informed and amusing style, one thing we definately agree on, February is neither here nor there, neither Winter or Spring, a month of waiting for those first early signs of spring. In the churchyard in the past week those first signs are to be seen, Tete a Tete Daffodils, Snowdrops and bright yellow Primroses all very encouraging bright spots on dark rainy days.

Of recent we have had a little companion whilst working in the churchyard, a Robin very friendly and very bold, announcing itself by flying past my head alighting on a nearby branch singing merrily away until I start digging and then the freshly turned earth is scrutinised for anything edible, frequently using my trug as a perch closer to the area.

Until next month enjoy the seasonal display.

 

January

 January and another wet month but fortunately a couple of dry Saturday mornings one in fact extremely pleasant with winter sun filtering through the framework of tree branches and illuminating the hillside beyond, a time to stop and just take it in after so many gloomy dark days and it makes you want to get on with something. After last year's success growing Yellow Rattle another area was cleared including tidying around the adjacent gravestones then sown, since then we have had a very cold snap down to minus ten which is exactly what Yellow Rattle needs to trigger it into germination so here's hoping. We were also gifted the branches from the Old Glossop Christmas tree so they have been trimmed to size and used to top up the dead hedge at the top of the path. Whilst working on the hedge it was good to note that the Honeysuckle is firmly established and starting to spread over the top of the hedge. Honeysuckle is a great source of food for night time pollinators, moths to you and me.