Pastures New

THERE is that hint of autumn in the air. The suns rays are slightly paler, the blue in the sky a shade lighter and the trees have the smallest tinge of yellow in their leafy canopy.

We seem to have gone straight from spring into autumn this year. The intermediate period seems to have been filled with rain. Perhaps I have been pre-occupied this summer though, having yet again changed jobs. I have recently started working at Houghall College in Durham - technically called East Durham and Houghall Community College, as it is amalgamated with Peterlee College, but known locally, and in the horticultural and agricultural worlds as Houghall College - working to re-vamp the Plant Nursery and Garden Centre there.

The college used to have a national and, indeed, international reputation for top quality farming and gardening training, but I suppose as the importance of these professions waned with increased mechanisation and importation of food produce, so did the need for the education. Much of the infrastructure was left to fall into ruin; herds sold off, the dairy demolished and equipment and plant collections were forgotten about or given away. Consequently, the college lost its status in these fields for a while.

The good news is that it is now gradually climbing back up the ladder. The arboriculture team are top of their league (or tree'), the farm has a new manager who is building up good quality and rare breed stock, there is a stateof- the-art equine teaching block, and a very smart small animal centre. The floristry department is creating some fantastic displays and the horticulture lecturers are made up of seriously professional tutors who know their stuff inside out.

For the past few months I have been concentrating on setting up a farm shop and café, which will link the produce from the garden centre and the farm to the customers. It has been tremendous fun liaising with local producers who might be able to supply us with goodies.

I have met pickle people in car parks, soap makers at markets and scone bakers in their kitchens. We have tasted and scored organic soups, quiches and muffins.

My manager and I have experienced the thrill and frustrations of catering auctions to buy kitchen equipment. We have negotiated on-line for the perfect paper bags, and had lengthy creative practical sessions designing leaflets and websites.

It is only recently that I have been able to get back into the gardens, the nursery and retail areas and assess the resources.

I thought I would miss the wilderness and forests and the stream of Clow Beck Eco Centre in Croft where I had worked for most of the last two years, but Houghall College has acres of ancient woodlands, miles of discovery trails, a bounty of wildlife, and the River Wear running around it.

There is a weasel that lives in the garden centre and regularly fights an unwinnable battle with the resident blackbird.

There are flocks of woodpeckers that chip' as they dive from tree to tree, accompanied in chorus by the yobbish bubbles of the long-tailed tit and the light-hearted chirp of the goldcrests chasing aphids in the conifers. I still get glimpses of badgers and foxes and have been told that the deer are out there somewhere. A planned wetland wildlife reserve at the top of the site will only add to the diversity of the area.

On the horticultural front, a wander around the college grounds throws up astounding discoveries. There are cercis trees and shrubs poking out everywhere.

A healthy, foliage-covered tulip tree stands in one border, while the foxglove tree is in another. The large, fragrant white globes of the leatheryleaved magnolia grandifolia release their perfume from behind the library. A tall pink mecanopsis stands proud in a border filled with similarly rare species.

Climbers cover the red bricked walls of the college buildings and apples hang pendulously from the boughs of named varieties.

There are two fields that house the national collection of sorbus - well, nearly the whole collection as one was "accidentally"

chopped down last week.

There is a pinetum, an old apple orchard and a large demonstration garden filled with rare and unusual species collected over a lengthy period of time.

I still have much to explore and many tasks to undertake, but I hope to be able to bask in the horticultural history and eminence of the site, and perhaps leave my own mark amongst the distinctionfilled borders before I see the leaves turn golden in a new employment environment.

JOBS THIS WEEK

* IF you are buying containers for winter bedding, make sure that they are frost proof and if possible, buy some of those little clay feet' to raise the pots off the ground so that the plants don't get water logged. If you can't find or afford the feet, then a few bricks will do the job.

* Cut down asparagus foliage as it begins to turn brown. This will give it time to store up energy in the roots for next spring's crop.

* Nip out the tops of dahlias that have reached a good height (2-3ft) and deadhead any spent flowers.

This ensures a bushier, more colourful plant.

* Brigid presents the BBC Tees Gardening show every Sunday from 1- 2pm. Questions can be answered on the day by e-mailing brigidpress@bbc.co.uk anytime during the week, or texting 07786200995 and phoning (01642) 225511 during the show.

WHAT'S ON

MARTON Garden Club are holding their annual Flower and Vegetable show in the United Reform Church Hall, Cypress Road, Marton, Middlesbrough on Saturday, September 8. It is open to the public from 2pm and admission is Free.

CROFT on Tees Allotment Society is also holding a vegetable show on Saturday, September 8 in the village hall.

On September 19, it is Darlington Amateur Gardening Club's turn, when it holds its autumn show, where members get the chance to submit photographs, flowers, fruit and vegetables.

September 22, as well as being Stokesley Show day, is also the finale of the Design of the Times (DOT7) project, which has been encouraging local communities to grow tubs full of vegetables. The produce will be gathered and cooked by a series of chefs and served up in a midday Town Meal at MIMA in Middlesbrough.