Preparations for the Secret Gardens 2026

Although there are still a couple of months to go until the Secret Gardens of Oxton event 2026, our volunteers are already thinking ahead and are busy propagating plants for the stall which we run in the centre of the village.  Our team of gardening experts are on the lookout for potential perennial clumps which could be split as they are weeding the Long border.  Many keen gardeners start tidying up their own gardens at this time of year, assessing which plants may need dividing or moving around the garden.  Has this plant done well where it is? Has that plant spread too much and is encroaching on other nearby plants?  Perhaps you have your mind set on acquiring a new particular plant and need to make space for it? 

Plant donations are always well appreciated from the local community and help us to make the plant stall a success.  Each year we are unsure how many plants people will donate until literally the day of the event.  Some donations are dropped off a few days before, but many arrive early on the morning itself.  So please give us a thought as you prepare your gardens for the year ahead and pot up what you can for our plant stall.  A huge thank you in advance. 

  

Yet another Shrub bed transformed!

As you walk up the main path from the Storeton Road entrance, you see the Long Border on your right. Halfway up the path on your left is what we call the weeping Birch shrub bed, so called because of the two weeping Birch trees which are its main feature.  This area has caused us concern for some while as the Eleagnus had spread to such an extent that it had killed off the grass and shaded out other plants too. There was a lot of bindweed in the ground which was hard to reach and control properly.  The bed also contained many wild dogwood ( Cornus) which had sent suckers up and was also getting out of hand.

Once again our trusty duo Dave and Sian Turner, who had already worked to improve other shrubby areas, decided to take on the task.  With help from several other volunteers work began on cutting down and digging out many overgrown and unwanted  shrubs .  The aim was to open it up and give the two trees a chance to stand out.  Dogwoods with substantial root systems were carefully dug out and taken away.  The Eleagnus was chopped back drastically but will soon recover, albeit on a more modest scale. Some evergreens were removed as the plan was to introduce a selection of more choice shrubs once the clearing work was complete.  After all the digging was finished, Dave and Sian planned out the new shape of the shrub bed and turf was purchased  and carefully laid to create a smart edge to frame the newly designed area.

The new shrubs which have now been planted are as follows:-

Magnolia Stellata

Prunus Incisa Kojo-No-Mai

Winter Flowering Honeysuckle

x2 Skimmias

Sarcococca

Cornus Midwinter Fire

Hypericum

Many passers-by have already commented on the magnificent weeping birch trees which they had previously not noticed properly.  It will take time for all the new shrubs and magnolia to mature but it has been a mammoth undertaking to transform this area and now it will be much easier to keep on top of any weeds which will inevitably appear. We hope you agree that this work has been a huge improvement and special thanks go to  'Team Turner' for all their efforts and vision.

Planting more new roses.

 Each year we aim to improve the rose beds by planting bare root roses.  Some years we manage two phases, November and early March.  As you may already have read from previous posts, we are only planting roses using the cardboard box method.  This way of planting gives each rose its own fresh compost/topsoil mix, both within the box and directly outside of the box. Although the cardboard will disintegrate with time, using this method gives the roses the best possible chance to get established, free from any viruses which may be present in the rose bed from previous roses which have died.  It does appear to be a success, as evidence from other beds we have replanted indicates.

On Monday 9th March the gardening volunteers set to work planting up bed number 41 with eight new Rosa Hansa roses.  Compost/topsoil premixed had been delivered and with cardboard boxes and wheelbarrows to hand, as well as Rootgrow Myccorhizal Fungi granules, planting began.  These granules help the rose to establish a good root system faster than just planting alone. With the weather staying dry for once, all 8 roses were successfully planted during the morning.  This is one of the smaller beds so it wasn't  as much of a challenge for the team. Below you can see that this Hansa variety of rose is a lovely magenta colour with fragrance and also produces large rose hips in the Autumn which will be appreciated by wildlife as well as extending the season of interest. Hopefully, being a Rugosa species rose variety will also make it very resilient and long lived. 

Hansa rose

We have also purchased eight roses called Wild Edric from David Austin Roses.  Our volunteers will soon be planting them in another bed as soon as more compost/topsoil has been delivered.  This variety forms a large shrub with rich pink flowers but exposed yellow stamens for attracting bees and other pollinators.  It has a strong old rose fragrance. 

 Wild Edric rose

It is only possible for us to buy the roses and topsoil/compost ( Dandy's) by raising funds from the community through our plant sales, membership fees and any extra donations.  Your support is essential for us to be able to carry out these works to maintain and improve the Rose Garden for everyone to enjoy.

Bug hotel number 3!

 It has been over a year since the sad arson attack on our last bug hotel.  As you can imagine, we felt reticent to build another one for fear that the vandals would just return once again.  However, it was so popular with the younger children visiting the Rose Garden that we decided to try again.  This time, however, in the footsteps of the famous 'three little pigs', we wanted something made of brick and much more indestructible!

Bug Hotel number 1

Charred remains of 1st bug hotel.

 

 

 Bug hotel number 2

Our volunteers sourced various materials for the build such as bricks, slates etc.  A local bricklayer came and built the main shell of the bug hotel with air bricks on three sides to allow creatures to climb inside. At first we were unsure how to proceed.  With the design ideas of Peter and the creative handiwork of Roger, another of our volunteers, work began on transforming it into something more attractive. 

We gathered sticks, bark, pine cones, dry leaves, straw and other natural materials to fill up the inside of the bug hotel.  As we were adding these, some spiders were the first to take up residence. The roof is made of metal and slates, and the front entrance has been covered by a fine metal mesh so that children can get a glimpse of the materials within.  

Although this bug hotel is more of a bug fortress, it will hopefully stand for many years to come. Fingers crossed!

Good old-fashioned manure.

 

 

Here you can see Karen and Carole, getting stuck in with their wheelbarrow and spades.

Our volunteers have been busy spreading this delivery of horse manure over the rose beds to add some nutrients to the soil.  It has been heavy and back-breaking work. Fortunately this pile is at the top of the sloping Rose garden, so gravity has helped a little in barrowing it downhill before shovelling it between the plants and roses. 

We hope to source another pile of manure over the next few months, once our volunteers have had a rest!

The Little Arno

 Over the last couple of years there has been growing concern over the neglected state of the Little Arno.

Something had to be done. The Council Parks and gardens team went in first to hard prune all the shrubs, shredding the prunings up and using them as a mulch around the site.  The Friends volunteers agreed to continue maintenance as long as it was all cut back to begin with. 

We were helped by volunteers from The Spider Project.  

The Spider Project is an award winning creative arts & wellbeing recovery project established in 2007.They recognise the significant challenges faced on the journey of recovery and wellbeing. Their mission is to empower individuals by providing a wide range of creative arts courses, holistic therapies, and physical exercise sessions.

They removed the bench from the site and repaired it before having it reinstalled in the Little Arno, for the public to relax on.

 There will be a second bench going in, which is on order. We are grateful to the Lib Dems Wirral Together Fund, for their donation towards part of the cost.

Our volunteers have spent many Monday morning sessions clearing brambles from the site. This has been very labour intensive and has involved lots of scratches and cuts. Now, work has begun on digging out any remaining bramble roots as they appear. Some of the Laurel bushes also need trimming back. As ever, the volunteers have kept cheerful in the face of such a daunting task.

Some of the volunteers who live nearby offered the use of their brown garden waste bins for the disposal of the brambles from the park.

Going forward, our volunteers will need to allocate time away from the Rose Garden to keep on top of the weeds and brambles. Bulb planting in the Little Arno has also been suggested in the near future to improve the park for the public to use as a quiet spot to sit and contemplate and enjoy the view from the top of Mill Hill. 

Improvements to planting areas.

 Two of our volunteers, Dave and Sian Turner, decided to tackle a shrub area on the left as you enter the Rose Garden from the Storeton Road entrance.  Underneath a mature holly tree, which already contained a few old fuchsia shrubs and mostly wild dogwoods, which had taken over, they took on the mammoth task of clearing it.  The dogwoods were hard to dig out as they were well established.  The plan was to plant some prettier dogwoods, Cornus Alba Sibirica, which has beautiful red stems which stand out in the Winter.

 The work was carried out over a month or so, digging out all the weeds and unwanted roots.  It was also a little shady, so Dave cut back some of the lower branches of the holly tree to allow more light and rainwater to reach the bed. Money had been generously donated to purchase the azaleas, which would add beautiful colour and scent in the Spring.  Altogether six azaleas were bought for the new planting area.  Due to the dry Summer we had experienced, it was decided to delay planting them until the soil had been improved with ericaceous compost and it had rained significantly.

The azaleas were finally planted and then stakes and mesh barriers placed around each one to protect them until they were more established.  The following images are the varieties used, apart from one, which was bought in a sale from Premier Plants of Ledsham, and was unlabelled.

 

 

As you can see from this photograph, the other side of this bed has also been replanted with  some red stemmed dogwoods ( Cornus Alba Sibirica ), a Viburnum Plicatum Maresii and some yellow stemmed willow, which were donated by Steve Ferguson. These shrubs are most pretty in Winter and Spring, when the Viburnum produces lovely white lace-cap type flowers on tiered branches.  

There is also a twisted hazel (Corylus Contorta) which was donated by Sian's brother.

 

The final planting was the low growing perennials dotted around the shrubs and near to the front edge of the border. Dave and Sian chose Alchemilla Mollis. Phlomis Russeliana, Sisyrinchium and Stachys Byzantina, which are mostly evergreen and will spread to suppress weeds.

 

All their hard work has made a real difference to improve the areas you see on your left as you walk along the path from Storeton Road entrance towards the rose beds.  Over time, this excellent selection of shrubs and under-planting will enhance the rose garden even more.  We hope you like the new look. Roll on next spring!