Busy day in the park, we were weeding, tidying (especially leaves) and a little bit of planting. The autumn colours dominate and the leaves are falling fast but there were still a few signs of summer. A young assistant spotted a two spot ladybird, there are still a few roses and there’s plenty colour in the primiulas in the south border.
Lots happened while I was on holiday. David Jamieson, the Council’s Parks and Greenspace Manager, came along to help and see what Friends of Starbank Park were getting up to on Wednesday mornings. He did a good chunk of work, helping plant out over 400 plants in our new herbaceous borders with Jen and 14 volunteers. We all appreciate David’s interest and help. Special thanks to Jen Johnstone, our Park Ranger, who arranged for all the plants and put together the planting plan.
The herbaceous border planted for next summer
Wednesday morning sunshine again! Weeding, digging and tidying were today’s activities. The geraniums in the north wall of the park were looking good
And we came across a surprising patch of toadstools near the house. came across an unusual patch of toadstools.
Lots of weeding and tidying today but much of our effort was focussed on getting four old rose borders ready for the herbaceous plants coming next month. Almost all the roses have been cleared (we didn’t have the heart to dig out a couple that are still laden with flowers) and we’ve made a good start on digging over the borders (first time for quite a while judging from the state of the ground).
And Stan has built a fine heather border near just at the top of the hill.
It was another glorious sunny morning in the park today. Lots of volunteers and, although more weeding and tidying was yet again the order of the day, the burden was greatly lightened by the free runner beans. The park is looking good, with strong autumn flowering and the terrace hedge breaking away strongly after its summer “crew cut”.
It was a perfect for gardening this morning. We had an excellent turnout, made a lot of progress (I even managed to get a picture of some folk working!) and had a lot of fun. We concentrated on weeding and tidying, together with clearing out the dead and dying roses so we’re ready for the planting of four new herbaceous borders in October. It’s all looking quite good!
Another fine Wednesday morning. There was an excellent turnout of volunteers and loads got done. It was the usual tidying and weeding and everything is looking good. The flowers are even enjoyed by a resident peacock butterfly!
It was a fine bright morning on Wednesday, although very autumnal. We got a lot done, trimming, weeding, edging and tidying. Stan has transplanted the primulas from the SE corner so we now have a large, thriving primula patch in the south border. Also, thanks to Julie for cutting the hedge at the top of the banking, a great improvement.
And the poppies in the Newhave Heritage boat are flowering!
The star is the centre piece of the park and the Council plant bedding plants in it twice a year. This year, the Friends have done their best to keep it tidy. The star is a bit dull this year and this is because almost half of this year’s geraniums have been uprooted or damaged. We keep replanting them but you can see the gaps, particularly near the top in the photo below.
Vandalism and inadvertent damage are not serious issues at Starbank Park but the star isn’t the only problem area. Many of the rosemary plants round the edge of the terrace border have been flattened since the border was revamped last winter.
After all the excitement with the wine and cheese party and cutting back the terrace hedge, it was back to normal today with aIt was the usual weeding, tidying and digging. But we are beginning to feel that the weeds are starting to lose and it was a lovely sunny morning. 
After a long exhausting chase, Sandy managed to catch this fine green caterpillar. I don’t know what it is and, while I’m sure it was not eating the weeds, we still put it back near where we found it.
