Blog
29 July 2025
At last, there is some light relief in the gardens. After five months of above-average temperatures, the days feel more like normal and the few rainy spells that we have recently had have enabled the grass to return to a healthier shade of green.
The temperatures are much nicer to work in too. The gardeners (including myself) have been flagging in recent months with about fifty percent of our time just trying to keep things alive. The issue this year was not only the hot temperatures and the lack of rain, but the very warm winds that have been the hardest for the plants to deal with. At times, the plants have been subjected to what I can only describe as the equivalant of a hot hairdryer being blown against them for up to 12 hours a day.
It was indeed extremely hot as we welcomed supporters back to the college for this year’s Garden Party. I would like to thank many of you for taking the time to come and have a chat with me in the Community Garden. There were many encouraging conversations, and it was wonderful to hear some of your stories and lovely memories of your time at Emma.
We also trialled something a little different this year in the Paddock Pond. Earlier this year, we were donated a floating fountain by our Fellow, Juliet Usher-Smith. The fountain had been in her mother’s lake and Juliet kindly offered it to us. We had fun as a team installing the fountain and I hope some of you enjoyed the water works on the day. We had many wonderful comments.
The gardens themselves are a little quieter now, which, in some ways for the Garden Team, is a bit of a relief. Although we enjoy the gardens being full of students for most of the year, the chance to complete some other tasks in the garden is always handy. The quieter periods mean we can catch up on tasks such as tree pruning. This sometimes means we must erect scaffold towers. This is something that is not easy when the college is at capacity.
We do, however, still have a few weddings and conferences to be mindful of. This means the teams are busy deadheading the plants to keep the show going for as long as possible. The transition between early summer and late summer in the borders can be tricky. There are many pruning jobs that need attention such as summer wisteria pruning and trimming back of herbaceous perennials to allow a second flush.
In other news in the department, our apprentice, Virginia Fairclough, recently passed her spraying exams. The Garden Team is very proud of her!
Best wishes.
Brendon Sims, Head Gardener