Trinity College Cambridge. Cut Flower Patch Action.

Trinity College and its gardens have always been synonymous with quality and the highest standards, so it was a great honour when their head gardener Den was to ask for our help in setting up a cut flower patch.

Den is ace, not at all what I was expecting the head gardener at Trinity to be like… he’s about 7 foot 20 inches tall, covered in swirly outlandish tattoos and has long flowing hair… he’s like a cross between Gandalf and Lemmy, which is what a gardener should be… half magician, half rock and roll star. {Karen wonders “Isn’t Gandalf a wizard?” *giggles at thought of a cross between Paul Daniels and Lemmy}

As you would imagine of someone in his position, he knows his plants… so I kept pretty quiet with my Latin pronunciation… which was fine because Karen was with me… and she is quite happy to chat away… she is a ‘good talker’. ;) {Karen “Usually, he just calls me Big Gob…”}

Meanwhile, whilst these great horticultural minds chatted in an ancient language about flowers or football or frogspawn whatever it was…yours truly did all the graft. {Karen “Hmm, by graft does he mean sitting on the grass reading Zen and the Art of Flower Farming, whilst popping up every now and then to pose for photos, having rubbed a bit of earth on his face?”}

The patch for this, the first year, is relatively humble in size. We made three beds of a metre wide each and about eight metres longish. We (read I) made the left hand bed for seeds that we (I) would sow direct and the other two to plant seedlings or sow seeds in, through apertures made in the fabric. {Karen “Note mine and Den’s trademark perfect circular apertures – we don’t let Ben near scissors since he cut his own hair – see below”}

In this left hand bed I sowed… Ammi majus, Gypsophila, ‘Black Ball’ and ‘Blue Ball’ Cornflowers, Calendula and Larkspur ‘Imperials’. Just short rows of each.

The middle bed has been left for half hardy seedlings which we will put out after the frosts and the monsoon have gone. Cosmos, Tithonia, Ricinus, Zinnia and others…(tight squeeze)…this bed will be the most groovy and one of the most productive too.

The right hand bed has been sown with Lupins and various sunflowers…mainly ‘Earthwalker’ because they are the hot biscuit for 2012…you heard it here first. {Karen “And we had a glut of seeds left over”}

…meanwhile, whilst I was working away like a mule trooper, if there is such a beast…Karen and Den were still chanting away in Latin…I presumed Gandalf and the Elven woman were conjuring up evil leviathans to rise up from the college cellars to get me. Luckily, I had spotted Den’s line which could clearly double as a Gothic wizard killing death sword and I was about to pierce them both through the heart when the college bell rang to mark the lunchtime sherry meeting….close call.

So…we have arranged to go back mid May and survey the situation and get some plants in…it will look great when it’s done…can’t wait.

We of course will keep you all updated on how this most salubrious patch develops over the course of the season.

Take care out there flower fans.

Benjamin ‘Orc Slayer’ Ranyard

PS Amazingly I managed to get a pic of Karen working… {Karen *shakes head, summons leviathan}

You can follow Den (@denmetal69) on Twitter and his blog, The Tattooed Gardener, is well worth a visit.