March 2023

Beautiful Battle gardeners took delivery of 1080 plug plants from Ball Colegrave. These included antirrhinum, ageratum, begonia, bidens, scaevola, and verbena. All these were potted on at Uckham Lane Nurseries by BB gardeners. The plugs will be grown on and planted out in June/July 2023.

January 2023

BB's main activity for January was clearing leaves, weeding and cutting back dead growth. A focus was made on the Almonry gardens with maintenance and plant planning for the front garden and clearing overgrown plants and weeds in the rear garden.

December 2022

Battle was hit by snow storms and temperatures down to -4C in December. This hampered planting out polyanthus and bulbs for Spring 2023. Luckily, the temperature eventually warmed up and allowed the gardeners to complete most of the planting before Christmas.Just before Christmas, BB held a reduced AGM in the Almonry followed by its Christmas party for the volunteer gardeners.

November 2022

Beautiful Battle has started to clear the Lower Almonry Garden of builders' debris, weed and clear dead plants. This month the containers and tubs in the town have been cleared and planted up with bulbs for the Spring and polyanthus for the winter months.

October Update

The judge for South & South East in Bloom 2022 awarded Battle Town gold. He wrote 'The overall standard of horticulture is very good with excellent attention to detail. The high street colour scheme, with plants chosen to reflect the Queen’s jubilees, and grown on from plug plants in a rented green house, is attractive and ensures a unified look to the street. The maintenance of other planted areas is consistent and undertaken to a high standard. The gardens in the Almonry Courtyard and Wellington Court are good examples of this. There is also a strong awareness of the need for planting pollinator friendly plants and to support a variety of insects and wildlife. The wild flower meadow at Caldbec Hill and the churchyard at St. Mary’s are good examples of this.'

September Update

BB took delivery of polyanthus plug plants from Ball Colegrave this month. Unfortunately, they were stored upside down at the Almonry for 5 days before BB was advised. BB lost over 600 of the 1000 plugs and had to reorder more plugs from Ball Colegrave and Brookside to ensure that there would be enough plants for the town. The polyanthus plug plants have all been potted on at Uckham Lane Nurseries and will be planted out in November. BB also took delivery of bulbs from Parkers.

August Update

Battle is suffering from high temperatures. Volunteer gardeners' main task has been watering and, where necessary, replanting where plants have dried up. Battle Muffins have very generously donated £500 to Beautiful Battle for planting and maintaining Battle floral displays.

July Update

Battle Town Council entered the town into the 2022 South & South East in Bloom Competition. The judging took place on 7th July and covered Battle Cemetery, St Mary's Church, Battle Abbey Walled Garden, Abbey Green, Abbey Court, Battle Recreation Ground and the Almonry (photo opposite).

June Update

This month Her Majesty the Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. Beautiful Battle planted out the hanging baskets, containers and flower beds for the Jubilee Weekend of street parties, parades and the Medieval Fayre. Planting will continue throughout the month. New containers have been located on the station concourse. As the Almonry front entrance has been completed, BB hopes to gain entrance to the front garden which is in need of attention. No date has been set for gaining entrance to the rear garden. Battle Town Council has entered the town into the South & South East in Bloom Competition. Judging will take place on 7th July 2022.

May Update

Plug plants in the BB greenhouse have been grown on and this month being planted in window boxes, hanging baskets, barrier baskets and containers in the town ready for the Jubilee weekend. The colour scheme was chosen by Battle Town Council to reflect the Queen's Jubilees - Silver, Gold, Diamond and Platinum. The plant list is shown in the April update below.

April Update

Beautiful Battle has taken delivery of plug plants this month to meet Battle Town Council's Jubilee colour scheme for Summer 2022. These have been potted on at Uckham Lane Nurseries by BB volunteer gardeners. The plants chosen were ordered from Ball Colegrave, Brookside and Flowers Green as follows:

PLATINUM (SILVER) JUBILEE PLANTS:
Dichondra Silver Falls
Cineraria Silver Dust
Heliochryssum Silvio Spreading

GOLDEN JUBILEE PLANTS:
Marigold Durango
Rudbeckia Toto Gold
Calibrachoa Can-Can Sunrise

DIAMOND JUBILEE PLANTS:
Euphorbia Glamour
Petunia Fanfare
Lobelia Infinity
Antirrhinum Sonnet White
Alyssum Clear Crystal

ROYAL PURPLE:
Salvia Victoria
Verbena Endurascape
Fuchsia Delta Sarah

March

The Spring Floral display in Battle is in full bloom and looking good. Beautiful Battle planted polyanthus (Crescendo Wine, Rose and White), prince and princess tulips and tete-a-tete daffodils in certain areas. BB gardeners have been back in town on Thursday mornings since February, weeding, pruning and preparing the beds. BB expects to receive
plug plants for the summer display in April.

Recently, Beautiful Battle planted a bird cherry tree in the Recreation Grounds to honour Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in accordance with the Queen’s Green Canopy Scheme. The planting was attended by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Sussex and the Mayor of Battle. Two other trees were planted – one by the Battle & Horticultural Society and the other by Battle Town Council.

This year is providing its own difficulties (in addition to Covid). Battle Town Council decided on a colour scheme for the town for the Queen’s Jubilees – Silver (silver leafed plants), Gold (yellow), Diamond (white) and Platinum (grey). BB does not usually have a colour scheme imposed by BTC and, this one, specifically restricting due to its reduced palette and lack of colour. BB ordered plug plants to meet this scheme from Ball Colegrave (BB’s main wholesale supplier). Unfortunately, Ball Colegrave have since cancelled two plug orders. Their reasoning was that they need to supply their larger customers first at the expense of the smaller ones. Luckily, BB has managed to source replacements from Flowers Green Nurseries and Brookside, who have been very helpful.

The Almonry Gardens have been maintained by BB for many years and won many Gold and Silver Gilt Awards in the South & South East in Bloom Competitions. The Council instigated major repairs to the Almonry main building that have gone on for two years and are still incomplete. Under repair, the gardens became a hard hat area and a place for the builders to dump all sorts of rubbish. In February, BB was allowed back in the front garden and a team of gardeners has started restoration. No date has been set for entering the rear garden, where piles of brick and tiles are heaped. Most of the planting has been lost and it will be a major garden restoration project for BB, if and when BB is allowed in. This is sad and, even more so, as coaches of visitors are now coming to Battle. They wander into the Almonry, with its unfinished entrance and gardens in disarray. It is hoped the Council do not intend to enter the Almonry into any competitions this year as it would receive a wooden spoon at best.