Every month Julie, our Tree Nursery Manager, brings readers a blog post all about our nursery, plants, gardening and more.
Whether you’re an avid gardener or nature enthusiast looking for inspiration, or simply interested in learning more about what’s happening at our nursery, we’ve got something for everyone in this monthly blog series. So sit back, grab a cup of tea, and join us as we explore the wonderful world of trees and gardening at Emmaus Cornwall!
June’s activities in the nursery site
Volunteers have started to arrive at the tree nursery, pushing the efforts of the growing site further. The blistering summer heat is welcome, but the poor trees are suffering from the lack of water, no shade and salt winds blowing up from the coast. The main job this month has been weeding out the grass along the rows and protecting the trees from the extreme weather. We are now plotting out where the nursery beds will be going and preparing for more trees arriving. There has been a welcome arrival of a caravan where we can take a break from the heat of the day. The caravan has now been renovated and tidied up by trustee Rod, providing the perfect place for volunteers:
Here’s a picture after we finished laying down Mypex to kill the grass on the area we will be using for the nursery beds. Moody clouds but no rain!
What’s flowering this month
It has been abundant month for the insect population and the bees have really benefited from the nectar flow. Lime trees are in flower and the black berries. When bee keeping, there is a time called the June gap which will be upon us shortly where from the abundance there is a gap before the autumn flowering plants start. Lime trees are very good for wildlife and it is said that the bees gorge themselves so much on the nectar and honeydew that they can be found drunk on the ground. It looks like there is going to be a bumper of blackberries too.
Honey suckle
The scent of summer, the heady sweet scent in the evening of honey suckle and the sweet pea. Whenever I smell a plant I find myself reminiscing and bringing back vivid memories. These two plants are special to me and I always grow sweet peas in my garden simply because they make me happy!
I’m finishing off this blog post with another tree nursery picture and one of my dog! Barney loves visiting the tree nursery and is currently supervising the weeding of tree lines!
