Last updated 10:27, Thursday, 04 September 2008

Gardening with Toni Magean, head of parks at Copeland Borough Council

GREAT PLACE TO LEARN: Park apprentices Sam Ducket, Callum Scott, Iain Turnball (head gardener at Rydal Hall), and Dean Norman

There are many reasons as to why the department keeps winning awards for its work, from excellent and strong leadership to staff development. But one of the key reasons why I believe the parks department is so successful is due to the unique apprenticeship scheme that Copeland offers its trainees.

For any organisation it is vital to forward plan and develop skills to ensure consistency.

Last week, I organised a visit to Rydal Hall Gardens with the three Parks Apprentices – Dean Norman, Sam Duckett and Callum Scott. We met the head gardener Iain Turnball, who gave us a wonderful insight to the historic gardens. The visit kept us all so focused that it was after 7pm when we returned home!

Horticulture is such a wonderful and diverse career and it’s so enjoyable for me to spend time with keen individuals, such as Iain and the apprentices. Working in a council parks department provides an excellent opportunity and a good base to learn skills, through visits to other organisations such as Rydal Hall.

The garden at Rydal Hall was designed in 1909 by Mr Thomas Mawson (1861-1933), and is a splendid example of the work of the leading garden designer of the day, whose work is of national and international renown.

The gardens are of particular historic interest for the extensive use of exposed aggregate precast concrete, instead of more usual stone which was often used at the time. The main elements in the design shows a very early use of concrete.

The Carlisle Diocese, in association with The Cumbria Gardens Trust and in consultation with English Heritage, have recently restored the garden.

The apprentices and I owe Iain our sincere gratitude for the behind-the-scenes look of the gardens – we all learnt so much!

It’s not hard to miss the early signs of autumn, even though once again the recent weather has been making it feel more like winter! Last week I wrote about powdery mildew appearing on my petunia, and yesterday I noticed activity of leaf miner on the petunias in my trough. At this time of the year leaf miner is a pest that chrysanthemum show growers will know about!

Leaf miners is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths (Lepidoptera) and flies (Diptera) and can be difficult to control with insecticide sprays as they are protected inside the plant’s leaves. However, the simplest control method is to remove the affected leaves and dispose of carefully.