Post by admin on Aug 31, 2011 22:45:59 GMT 10
The Royal household has advertised for an eco-gardener responsible for keeping the grounds of Buckingham Palace tidy and environmentally friendly.
The £15,000-a-year post entails maintaining the 42-acre garden "to the highest standards" and recycling 99 per cent of the waste – even from the Royal Mews stables.
The successful applicant must also be able to maintain shrub, herbaceous and rose borders in line with "good organic horticultural practices" and "to assist in the development of the wildlife in the gardens".
The green waste recycling duties will include managing the Royal '"arisings" – straw and manure from the stables – and transporting them to allotment sites around the grounds and to other Royal households around London.
The emphasis on green credentials points to the growing influence of the Prince of Wales on the Royal household.
He has already had solar panels fitted to Clarence House and added a vegetable patch to the garden. A famous supporter of organic gardening, he once admitted talking to his plants to help them grow.
The new gardener will also have some responsibilities for waste management at Kensington Palace, Marlborough House and St James's Palace.
Mark Lane, Gardens Manager at Buckingham Palace, revealed the high green standards on the Royal Household's website.
"At Buckingham Palace, 99 per cent of green waste is recycled on site," he writes.
"Green waste includes grass cuttings, twigs, branches and 'arisings' (soiled straw from the stables in the Royal Mews).
"Waste is also brought in from Kensington Palace, Marlborough House and St James's Palace grounds. This is put through a shredder so that bacteria can operate more quickly on smaller pieces of material.
"The waste is regularly turned until it has rotted sufficiently to be used as mulch.
"We then use this when preparing new flower beds. The mulch protects plants from heat and cold, retains water, suppresses weed germination and prevents soil from being washed away in the rain."
The new gardener will also be asked to encourage wildlife in the grounds.
Larger pieces of wood are stacked in piles in the Palace grounds to provide habitats for a variety of flora and fauna, including beetles, spiders and fungi.
Tree stumps are not removed, but are left to rot away naturally, providing a perfect environment for insects to lay their eggs and hatch their larvae in.
Dead trees are also left alone, with one such tree at the bottom of the Rose Garden currently providing a habitat for a family of Woodpeckers.
The use of pesticides is kept to a minimum and should eventually be completely phased out, he pointed out.
Weeds are burned to stop them growing through cracks in the pavement and the grass is allowed to grow out in parts of the grounds to create meadows.
"The use of pesticides is kept to a minimum, and the aim is that eventually they will be phased out completely," said Mr Lane.
Sustainable plant life is encouraged, with a long grass policy currently in use over approximately 10 per cent of the Buckingham Palace garden area.
Around 320 different types of wildflowers grow in these areas, such as Creeping Buttercup and Herb Robert.
In addition, an 800 metre stretch of ground around the edge of the lake is cut on a rotational basis every four years, again, allowing flora and fauna to prosper uninterrupted.
As well as sustaining existing flora and fauna, new wildlife and plant life is also encouraged.
Over the last 10 years, many more seed bearing plants have been introduced into the garden; these encourage a wealth of bird life to come into the Palace grounds to feed during the winter months.
More native plants have also been brought in. Seed bearing plants include a wide variety of Cotoneaster and Rowans, and natives have included the Aspen and female Black Poplar.
Mr Lane added: "We also ensure that the machinery which is used for the upkeep of the gardens is environmentally sound. The weed burning machine runs off the same liquid petroleum gas supply which is used for The Duke of Edinburgh's taxi. Biodegradable diesel, lubricants and oils are used in lawn mowers and other pieces of machinery.
Closing date for applications is February 13.