Introduction
Greetings, Newhall residents! Louis here – February may be the shortest month, but it certainly didn’t hold back. With mud on our boots and bark in our beards, the mighty Majestics prepared for a month of planting triumphs, pruning finesse, and a woodland litter-picking quest worthy of song. So settle in for another chapter of the Head Gardener’s Diary for February 2025—aka Diary DOAM (Diaries of a Majestic Head Gardener)!
Stonebond Gets Upgraded
We kicked off the month with remedial works on the Stonebond areas, supported by seven additional team members from the Majestics crew. With their extra hands, we were able to plant a wide variety of trees and shrubs, as well as spread a huge amount of bark to complete the project—an absolute godsend!
New Planting Across Newhall
Additional planting also took place across various pockets of Newhall. If your garden was included, please consider reusing grey water (like from washing up or rinsing veg) to help support the new plants—every little bit helps, especially in dry spells.
- Resident Note: You can find more information on how to harvest and reuse waste water here: https://bit.ly/NewhallGardenandTreeCare
Winter Pruning
We carried out some winter pruning throughout the month to tidy up beds and borders. This mainly involved a light prune of lavender to help prevent woody growth and encourage healthy shape going into spring.
Wild Life Corridor Gets a Trim
Over on Sparrowhawk, we strimmed the wildlife corridors with the intention of increasing our maintenance from two cuts per year to four or five, depending on growth. This will help keep the space accessible while still supporting biodiversity.
TLC for Our Woodland Areas
Our woodland areas also got some TLC with a thorough litter pick—14 sacks of rubbish removed! We aim to repeat this every couple of months to keep these spaces enjoyable for all.
Grit Bins Get a Top Up
Lastly, all grit bins were checked and topped up as needed. If you notice any running low, please report them to the Estate Manager.
Roll on spring – which officially started on March 20th!
Fly-Tipping
- Resident Note: If you are a resident and need a bulky waste collection you can organise this through Harlow Council. TAP: https://bit.ly/HarlowBulkyWasteDisposal for more information and to book.
- Altenatively you can book and take larger items to the Harlow Recycling Centre: TAP: https://bit.ly/HarlowRecyclingCentre for more information.
For residents living in apartment blocks, disposing of items outside the designated bin or bin store areas constitutes fly-tipping. It’s important to note that this is classified as a block-specific issue rather than an estate-wide concern. In such cases, our Estate Manager collaborates with the respective managing agents of the block to address and resolve the matter effectively.
February Gallery
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- The Newhall Fox
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- Adding Shrubs – Stonebond
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- Replacement Planting – Stonebond
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- New Trees for Stonebond
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- Preparing Ground
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- Replacing Trees
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- Trees in Place!
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- New Planting – New Pond Street
Conclusion
With February bowing out with bark laid, borders pruned, and bins brimming with litter no more. With every planted tree and every strimmed path, we’re sowing the seeds for a greener, cleaner and even more magical Newhall. As the days grow longer and spring peeks over the horizon, our gardening adventures are only just beginning. Stay tuned, stay green, and we’ll see you in the next edition of Diary DOAM—where the mulch gets deeper and the tales even taller! 🌱
All the best – as always,
Louis, Majestic Head Gardener
Great write up Derek.
Louis and the Majestic team are a dedicated, hard working, polite bunch of guys.
We should all be so grateful to have these guys look after our environment.
Best wishes Tony, Lorraine, Heidi & the rest of the Rapley / Caine clan ♥️
Hi Tony, thank you for your kind words, which I will pass onto the Majestic Team.