Yesterday the weather was really weird. We saw sunshine, really strong wind, rain and hail. All in the same day.
Me and Hanna were copping and pruning hydrangeas yesterday. We also were weeding and tidying up the border.
Tinja removed old and bad looking plants and rearranged the pot flower display. She also removed already grown chillies so that they wouldn’t take all the energy from the plant. Removed tip growth bud from chillies so that the plant will grow sideways.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
I was planting in the walls yesterday. It’s not common even in England. First I removed old soil out of the horizontal pipes. Then I put new compost in, the same that we use for potting. Then I did normal planting which was hard because the angle.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Last weekend we went to get a coffee (hot chocolate and tea) at a café and to the the cinema. We also visited local library, small and a cute one. And there was free wi-fi! <3
On Friday we went to the café at town. Me and Tinja got a hot chocolate and Janita took a tea. All shops and cafes close pretty early, around 5 so it’s a bit hard to go anywhere after work (because we leave work 16.00 and by bus we are at town around 16.30-16.45.
On Sunday we went to the cinema at the Bognor Regis (it takes 20 minutes by bus). Me and Tinja went to see Zootropolis and Janita went to see Batman v Superman. Movie tickets were cheap there, on weekends £3,50 and Monday to Friday only £2,50.
We accidentally took the sweet popcorns, never going to do it again! It was weird that they sell alcohol at the cinema..
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
This week went quickly as usual. Lots of working.
Hanna has been working with Shaun, the kitchen gardener. Mostly planting lettuce and onion. Sowing carrot, beetroot and lettuce. Supporting peas and beans with string and hazel branches. Keeping tidiness in vegetable display in a glasshouse. Taking bad leafs off and taking pots out if they are already flowering.
Tinja has been working with Anne and planting lilium etc. weeding. thinning side-shoots and tying in cucumbers. Cut some branches. Making support cages for herbaceous.
Janita has been helping Laura, glasshouse gardener. Replanting orchids, planting Gesneriads rhizome (they looked a bit like worms) potting fuchsia and begonias. Checked succulent plants of mealy bug and aphid. Moving strawberries to a different glasshouse.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
We have been 2 weeks (soon 3) in England now and it have went quite good and really fast.
We have eat the English breakfast at 12 o’clock afternoon in restaurant, went to Brighton doing shopping, saw some live music and met friendly people.
Brighton was beautiful, although all our time went shopping that day so we need to go there again to see more of the beach. To get to the Brighton from Chichester we needed to take the bus to Little Hampton and from there a bus to Brighton. The journey took about 3 hours but it was worth it.
Yesterday when we were going to work, our bus didn’t arrive. Apparently it broke on the way. So we didn’t arrive to work on time, we called that and explained it. The next bus was on time and we get to work only a half hour late.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Using tools are part of our work routine. We use them everyday.
Here we use a paper to check when we take some tools out and then check it again when we return them.
Hand tools (that needs to be checked)
Hori Hori
Is used in weeding because it’s sharp and long. It can also be used in cutting. It’s a traditional Japanese tool.
Jakoti Shears
It has long cutting edge. It’s used to cutting. We used it to cut hydrangeas.
Secateurs
Used to cut smaller branches and shoots.
Snips
Used more in glasshouses and cutting flowers and pot plants.
Penknife
Can be used to take cuttings and it’s handy tool to keep with you, all the time.
Saw
Really useful in cutting trees. It cuts when you pull it not when you push it. Very sharp, be careful.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Yesterday we were pruning Salix alba vitallina ‘Britzensis’ trees and copping Hydrangea. We also were pollarding Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’.
Cutting Salix was interesting and new to us. We cut all last years’ growth off. They may look a bit weird now but it maintains the shape of the tree and it doesn’t grown too big. It was traditional way of cutting so that the sheeps wouldn’t eat the branches.
Salix alba vitallina ‘Britzensis’ is producing haze of striking red winter shoots. It usually is coppiced every 2nd or 3rd year. Here they do it every year.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Why?
If the pot is too small and orchid have grown too big for it. If they are really old and if there is dead parts that you want to remove.
How?
First take the orchid you want to replant off the pot, carefully. You can divide the plants by cutting them parts. As big as you want.
Make orchid growing media
4 parts bark
1 part perlite
1 part charcoal
Mix them together and put small amount to bottom of the pot. Orchids prefer little bit smaller pots.
Put the orchid in the pot and fill rest of the pot with growing media. Planting has to be quite tight.
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Our first week went well. We worked from Monday to Thursday because we had a course of how to grow cut flowers on Saturday so Friday was free.
Hanna
– Planting and replanting
– Weeding
– Pot washing
– Burned old hay on field
– Raking
– Removing planted plants
– Cutting apple and pear trees
Tinja
– Checking temperature at glass houses
– Taking plant cuttings
– Pot washing
– Removing bad leafs
– Cutting apple and pear trees
– Planting plants
Janita
– Cutting apple and pear trees
– Planting salads
– Sowing seeds
– Pricking out basil
– Putting support canes for cucumber
– Cutting Gooseberry
– Hanna, Tinja & Janita –
Hello,
We are three horticultural students from Jämsä college. We arrived to England, Heathrow airport last sunday. We are staying here six weeks in total, five weeks remaining. Our work experience place is in West Dean Gardens at Chichester.
Our flight went well and our journey to Chichester from London was a bit difficult but we made it! Our flight left Helsinki-Vantaa airport on sunday (3.4.2016) morning 7.45. We were at the Westgate Halls of residents around three o’clock. We all had separate rooms with own bathrooms and showers. We share a kitchen with three other students and it was pretty dirty… But after we cleaned it, it’s okay, but not what we expected.
West Dean Gardens is at West Dean and we have to take a bus to get there. It takes about 20 minutes by bus. Gardens is big and beautiful. It’s more like a show garden, everything must to be clean and good quality.
There is working ~10 permanent workers and every week around 15 volunteers to help to keep the gardens looking good. There is high expectation of our skills, language and knowledge. It is bit difficult to understand some words about gardening because we haven’t had any studies in profession english.
Workers are really nice and helpful. That was a relief that work atmosphere is nice, makes it easier to fit in.
On our first week in West Dean Gardens went fast. On first days we get to know to the place, we had car ride with Jim to explore Gardens’ lands more closely. There were lots of sheep.
We are looking forward to what the next 5 weeks will bring to us.
Best regards,
Hanna, Tinja & Janita, JTP14.