Glen the IHS Groundsman

Welcome to the new account for IHS Grounds. I'll be posting on here about work that's been done, plants that are looking good and any wildlife that I've seen.

🗣️TALKING HEADS 🗣️ Mr Browning meets…Mark Speakman, Director of Curriculum & Achievement #interview #teachers #finalfour #school #independantschool #suffolk @IpswichHigh

The local partridge has been busy, a new nest right in front of the main entrance to Woolverstone Hall!

It’s been a lively week at Woolverstone Hall with squirrels and rabbits. It is lovely to see so much spring energy about!🙄🌳 #GroundsLife #WoolverstoneWildlife #IHSGroundsman #SpringOnTheEstate

The Autumn bedding has been planted. Pansies, Cyclamen and Bellis. We've recycled an old sink that was found when clearing behind the woodshed. Thanks to @Katies_Plants for supplying the bedding. Exceptional quality as always.

Two pictures of Woolverstone Hall, 62 years apart. Fascinating to see how the site has developed. #ThrowbackThursday

I've been trialling the Turf Tidy from @GeorgeBrownsLtd this week. Does exactly what it says. Excellent at clearing the build up of grass cuttings on the River Lawn. Brilliant for scarifying too.

The weather recently has been perfect for foxgloves. There's some excellent patches of them on the edges of the woods. Good for the bees too.

The rhododendrons are at their peak of flowering at the moment. There are mature specimens of many varieties on site.

A brief wildlife encounter, blink and you miss it!

The warmer weather this last week has given the spring flowering plants a boost. Clematis, Rhododendron, Bluebells and Cherry trees all doing well.

The Summer sports' pitches have been marked out, astropitch cleaned and set up for tennis, long jump pit prepped, the three main fields fertilised and the lawns in front of the hall scarified and fed.

Lambing season is in full swing in the field alongside Nelson's Avenue.

The obelisk is the finishing touch to the Well-being Garden. It remembers HMS Woolverstone, the naval base that was one of the launching pads for the Normandy landings.

When the sunlight catches it, the names carved into the wall on the end of Design Technology show up. The dates range from 1964 to 1977.

Planting has started on the Wellbeing Garden. We think that the birdbath is the same one that appears on photos from 1933. The ferns behind it are a nod to the fernery that used to be on site too.

On a cold but bright and clear winter's day, the mature evergreen trees really come into their own.

The hedging for the Wellbeing Garden has now been planted. Thanks Andy at A.R. Landscaping for constructing the paths, @Katies_Plants for supplying the top quality laurels and caretaker Jonathan for his hard work on the spade.

The concrete planters have been moved from in front of the stable block to the areas at the entrance of Woolverstone Hall. I believe that they were originally used in the Orangery. The plant at the centre of each is a type of Mexican Orange Blossum, a very tenuous link perhaps.

Despite some very challenging weather conditions, work continues on the Wellbeing Garden. The path bases are now done.

Quite the crop of holly berries this year, making the grounds look very festive.