April

 It may seem obvious but working outside you do notice the changing season the warmer days are on the way and there is an awakening, a gradual emergence of new growth with that zing of fresh green and non more so than the lovely wild plants we have been generously gifted from from a friend's vegetable plot,most of these have been planted and hopefully when established will self seed in the grass area to the left of the path. Also we are still busy removing sycamore seedlings by the bucketful. As a contrast to unwanted seedlings our Yellow Rattle sown last Autumn is doing well and establishing in our trial patch if this works by the end of the season we can harvest some of the seed and establish another area. 

Sycamore seedlings and Alliums

 

Today is the last day of March 2023, February was quite dry and March has certainly redressed the balance and has been very wet something you really atune to working outside. Despite the odd damp Saturday morning work has continued planting up where we can, last Autumn we potted up quite a number of various Allium varieties overwintering them outside in a cold frame, these have now been planted up next to the top of the path leading to Church Street South and if the foliage is anything to go by we should be in for a spectacular display in a month or so. 

Whilst working in the churchyard we have been struck by the overabundance of Sycamore seedlings, there are literally hundreds of them in the grass and every nook and cranny. This is a fair indication that last year was a 'mast' year where a tree puts a huge amount of energy into seed production, 2020 was a mast year for our native Oak according to The Woodland Trust so it would appear 2022 was a similar year for Sycamore. 

February

 February is not my favourite month, Winter always seems reluctant to release its grip however the mornings are slowly getting lighter earlier and buds are appearing on bushes etc. On the plus side the snowdrops in the churchyard are quite frankly

stunning. Lovely clumps of fresh green leaves and crisp white bells of flowers, a real treasure on any day be it bright or dull. On the maintenance and gardening side of things we continue tidying and planting, over sixty bluebells in the green have been planted in a freshly prepared area at the top of the Churchyard, the new dead hedge is finished and a composting area has been  created to pile up our jute bags of collected dead leaves. There is a sense of satisfaction in tidying and organising in an ecologically considerate way. 

January

 January ia a good time for tidying and we have a few piles of material branches etc from cutting back plus a donation from Old Glossop Community of their village Christmas tree. One of our team suggested another dead hedge in a location that would provide a screened off area and additional habitat, the original hedge is a success as birds have been observed foraging presumably for insects living in there. The new hedge sits on a framework of poles built on a curve, not quite finished yet but we have the material to complete it. On a different note before the nesting season gets underway we decided to check on the birdboxes constructed and sited the previous year. We were delighted to find that on careful inspection each box exhibited evidence of having been occupied. Very encouraging to find that all the new habitats are in use. 

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.