Mowing

There are several mowing regimes within the cemeteries

a) General Areas - the majority of the cemetery (including the lawn sections) will be maintained as follows:

Regular (fortnightly) mowing throughout the growing season with max. grass height of 50 mm and a minimum of 20 mm. 

A rotary type machine either Ride-On or pedestrian will be used and the clippings will not be collected.

b) Formal Lawns - areas around the flower beds at the entrance to each cemetery and Military Graves

The lawns will be mown weekly with the height of cut being set at 20 mm. A six blade cylinder type mower will be used where possible with a rotary type mower employed on the remaining areas. The edges will be strimmed and clipped.

In bulb planted areas, mowing will not take place until 6 weeks after flowering when the area will be cut and returned to the standard of the surrounding areas.

c) Conservation Areas

The grasscutting operations in the meadow areas will be infrequent to allow the indigenous species to develop. In the majority of cases the grass will be cut and raked once per year but expert advice will be sought regarding the maintenance of any areas which are considered to be important for the well-being of wildlife.

d) Beds and Borders

Flower Beds

The flower beds throughout the cemeteries will be planted twice per year. Once in May with Summer flowering plants and once in October with spring flowering plants to create an almost, year round display of colour.

During preparation for planting fertiliser and other organic matter will be incorporated to improve the nutritional value of the soil

The bedding stock will be supplied by our maintenance contractor and will be of excellent quality with the design and layout of the beds coming from the experience and artistic interpretation of the Council's Horticultural Staff

The beds will be kept weed free by regular (monthly) hoeing and hand weeding throughout the summer along with treatment for pests and disease and reforming of the bed edge.

Watering is undertaken as and when necessary.

Pruning will be carried out in early spring to remove any dead, diseased or damaged wood along with formative pruning using good horticultural practice.

Shrub - Class 1

All of the shrub borders within the cemeteries will be treated as formal, Class 1 shrub beds minimising the use of pesticides.

The base of the beds will be hoed once per month throughout the summer and the edges of the bed trimmed. Any vegetation dangerously overhanging the paths will be removed.

e) Hedges

Formal Hedges

The hedges in the cemeteries will be pruned to form a neatly manicured appearance twice per year in June and September, though avoiding the Bird Nesting season.

The base will be kept weed free by regular monthly hoeing throughout the summer, when the edges will also be trimmed.

During March the base of the hedge will be cleaned and forked over and the bed edges reformed.

f) Leaf Clearance

In an environment so heavily populated by mature trees, autumn leaf fall is a major problem.

Full and thorough leaf clearance is undertaken three times a year during November and December and all leaves will be stored ready for mulching and recycling as a valuable source of organic material when decomposed.

The maintenance operations i.e. sweeping and bed work will also result in the removal of fallen leaves as per the prescribed frequencies.

g) Sweeping and Litter Collection

The majority of waste baskets have been replaced with 1100 litre wheeled bins which are emptied on a weekly basis. Wire waste baskets are still used in Washington Cemetry and parts of Mere Knolls Cemetery where access difficulties make the use of wheeled bins impractical. These baskets are emptied twice per week. Paths are swept twice per week.

h) Mature Trees

All trees will be regularly inspected by the Arboricultural Officer. Any defective limbs/branches will be reported and necessary works will be carried out.

Any defective trees that require removal will be replaced with a similar species, where appropriate after the appropriate approvals have been received from the City Council's Environment Department