Rose Bed Installation
We were recently awarded a grant of £4,000 from the Scotland Loves Local Fund and £500 from Cambuslang Community Council from the Renewable Energy Fund Micro Grants Scheme for the purpose of reinstating the rose bed in the park. This week we have the lovely fellas at Glasgow Garden Maintenance at the park installing the surrounding block border. It's so exciting to finally have some features back in the park! (See the 'before' picture). But watch this space as there is more to come!
Day 1: An early start on a foggy morning saw the team at Glasgow Garden Maintenance break ground. The area was measured and marked out before digging out to the required depth. The inner garden area was then marked in preparation for the surrounding path and all the spoil was taken away.
Day 2: The ground was prepared for laying the surrounding block paving. Layers of hardcore material were added and compacted to provide a strong, stable base to support the path and ensure it lasts for years. The inner border around the garden section was cemented in.
Day 3: It's a bit cold for laying the path today but the blocks were delivered and a layer of sharp sand put down to provide a level surface for the blocks. The edge of the old tarmac path was also tidied up to provide a nice straight join with the new block path.
Day 4: It was a bit of a slow day today but some artistic block castles were built in advance of laying the blocks tomorrow.
Day 5: Fantastic progress today! The path border around the bed is almost complete! More sharp/cement sand was laid to ensure the area is level and the blocks have been cut and shaped to provide a decorative, yet functional, path. We also took delivery of the compost that will be used to fill in the garden area in advance of planting roses and other flowering plants.
Day 6: It's a Saturday but the guys are back to finish off the last bit of path, fill in the sand between blocks and compact with the wacker to firm down. Finally, the disturbed grass around the edge of the working area was re-turfed. The next stage is to fill the bed with soil and compost before planting the roses and other flowering plants. However, it is looking fantastic already and has reinstated the focal point of the park. Filling the bed is going to be the job of volunteers so that may be not be done until next weekend so watch this space for further updates! Meanwhile, have a look at what else we did today! We have some new planting and a noticeboard.
Saturday 13th March: The path has been down for a week and it is looking fantastic and providing a wonderful focal point for the park. In preparation for new roses and other plants, we dug over the soil and replaced some of the soil removed during the construction of the path. It's starting to look more like a garden already! We are not due the delivery of top soil for another couple of weeks but that is giving us time to choose the plants.
Top soil and roses: Last week, we added 3 bags of top soil and a bag of compost which filled the bed nicely. Yesterday (2nd April) we planted the roses! We ordered David Austin roses and have planted seven plants. We chose a selection based on their tolerance of wind and benefit to bees. The diagram below shows where each type is.
- Princess Anne: This has a large, deep pink flower with a tea fragrance and a long flowering season.
- Iceberg: As its name might suggest, this fragrant rose has a white flower - medium sized double flowers of continuous flowering well into winter. This is also good for bees.
- Roald Dahl: This has medium-sized peach flowers, few thorns and a tea fragrance.
- Scarborough Fair: This has a light pink flower with a rose musk fragrance. Bees like this one too.