Mulching, giant chippers and Christmas decorations.

Weather: Sunny, High of 89oF.

First thing this morning I helped Joe (an older part timer, good chap) blow down the paths. Its a large area and certainly much quicker with two. I took the idea garden, rose garden, catalpa room and Shakespeare's plaza. Couldn't get my darn blower started for awhile,typical old two stroke. Joe got his going easy, it was four stroke. Don't think Ive seen any other four stroke blowers around. Ah well, at least it was a back blower and not handheld!
Then me and Joe got onto a small project. Some of the mulch at the train display is getting soggy (possible with water running out of the mulch piles when plants are water?) and muddy. To help with this we put down a layer of permeable fabric, and then covered it back up with fresh wood chipmulch. While the water will get through (which will probably happen no matter what we do...), it will hopefully keep the mud down and separate from the mulch. To get the fabric we had to drive to Abonde, where the recycling facilities are located. And... The giant industrial mulcher was in mulching all the wood waste. It was massive, and pretty amazing/awesome. I watched them bring in to Beech tree rounds about 4 1/2 feet diameter, 7 feet long. It ate them... ! Probably slightly bigger than this, Giant chipper, but on tracks instead.

After lunch I helped Adam and Mike Leventry (of IPM fame) make some christmas decorations. Everyone has a project for Christmas, and Adams and Mikes is designing and setting up one of the large trees that is displayed outside. Today we were making ornaments out of Catalpa seedpods. Long thin pods reminiscent of bean pods, though Catalpa is actually in Bignoniaceae, the trumpet vine family. Today we were wiring clumps together and hanging them up to dry. After they're dried, they will be spray painted gold.

After work. A yeasty affair! Made bread, and also got another brew of beer on the way. This time a Belgian Harvest Ale.

Building a pumpkin playground

Weather: Sunny, ocasional cloud.

Today I started work with Harold, Adam, Doug and Susan in the West. I enjoyed my time in the west during my last rotation through outdoor so it was nice to come back. Everythings grown hugely in the Idea garden! The staking I did when I was here last (on some Zinnias and Aclepias) now seems justified.

Todays main project was with Adam in the vege garden building a 'pumpkin playground' for Autumn. First step was to pull the melons and the annuals on the bed. I then bought in loads of compost to level the area (the melons had been planted in raised beds). It was good practise using the tractor loading up the Toro.

 I then leveled a border area, and we then got a bunch of straw bales from Abonde. On the drive to Abonde we passed the field of sunflowers that Longtwood is growing. Pretty cool!
We built a wall around the playground, and also a pyramid like structure (though I thought it more resembled and Aztec sacrificial alter...) in the center. We included a small tunnel thought the middle. I tested it, bit tight and reminiscent of caving, but I got through. Good fun.

The last step was to fill the area with a bunch of pumpkins... And apparently its just the beginning, with a whole lot more coming in. Later on in the season there will be squash and gourd exhibit and giant pumpkins! Looking forward to it. Twas a good day.

Planting, design meeting and field trip to

Draft notes to self
Weather: Sunny and calm in the morning but a bit colder, 55 or so. Getting overcast and windier throughout the day

-am. set up irrigation, thenripped out heliotropium arbore and  for the entire morning planted mums around the fountain and thensome salvia luecantha salvia cobalt blue and more mums in the blue border.
-design meeting at 12.30 Allen talk about virus in cannas. 3 viruses. 2 cant go through seed, 1 can. no one vendor is reliable. Worldwide proplem.

watered. then field trip to allenhopf .
-chinese prickly ash tree.

Watering and edging

Weather: Hot and sunny, but a little different today in that it was also windy. After Wellington it really wasnt that bad! High of 89

-First off in the morning I set up irrigation (this time in the pink border) and then watered the Brugmansias. The Brugmansias are a cultivar called 'Milk and Honey'. Pale cream  and scented flowers. Over the weekend the have flushed and currently have a huge amount of flowers on them. Very cool. But at the same time, they also require a lot of work. Lots of fert and water.
-After watering I got on with the main task of the day; creating a edge between some Ivy and grass bordering the cow lot (the large expanse of turf in the middle of Longwood). The Ivy was growing into the grass, and as the mowers were only mowing up to the Ivy it was starting to look a bit messy. Do build the edge I first used a edge trimmer (edgers) to cut the Ivy back by about a foot. After ripping the Ivy out I then edged the grass and filled in the foot wide strip with some mulch. Looked  tidier. I then spread what mulch I had left around some of the trees and trimmed some more Ivy along paths near the open air theatre.

Watering drive and clipping back Taxus

Draft, notes to self

weather: sunny, warm though a nip in the air in the morning.

-am, watered drive.
-then helped prune taxus (sp ? check, japenese yew). Yew=poison, reference telegraph article. talk poison plants?
-last thing pulled out some kentucky coffee tree (?) seedlings. Is it a cassia? research cassias. also noticed a large tree nearby, a cunninghamium (spelling)l, chinese fir? beautiful specimen, large. L numbers, so here before du pont died.

Watering and Wisteria

Draft

Weather: Hot. Muggy. Again.

-morning. watering. So much watering. Dang this hot weather. Set up irrigation on the red/yellow border. Then watered square fountain, Ruellia hedge and alocasias, rose arbour containers, Brugmansias...etc
on brugmansias note. Im not sure if I like them. Heavy on the water and feed, lots of yellow leaves, lots of maintenance. But yes, awesome flower. And the arbour will be cool when it grows over. But i don't think it will bet the ones I saw outside in Vanuatu...
-Arvo. More staking...
-then helped Mark with the wisteria arbour. Geez! I trimmed it hard two months ago, and its wild. Plus apparently has been trimmed since then. Vigorous to sat the least.

Today was D day (drink day) for the homebrew. Pillage Ipa has developed nicely and was quite drinkable. So definaltly worthe the start up cost. a kit for $30 equals two cases and its a lot of fun, so I have to get the next one on the go!

Water water water

Weather: Hot... Sunny. High of 95oF. Maybe hotter...

-Am. Water. Set up tripod irrigation on the pink border.
-Then got into white border and staked Nicotianas that have been falling over. The job has been put off  an bit, because well, Thyre sticky and its not a pleasant job. I had no idea the were so sticky! But I guess that fits as theyre solanaceous. Like petunias, tomatoes, daturas... Theyre all kinda furry, sticky. But none like Nicotiana! I learnt a new plant while I was in the white border, Veronicastrum viginenicum. It is a perennial in the Plantaginaceae famnily native to the eastern united states.-

-Arvo. More watering... the square fountain Salvia splendans 'Van Houttei' were flagging. And in the yellow border the mums and the Solidago were starting to show signs of stress. I found it interesting as the soil seem moist. But as Mark pointed out, many of the plants, esspecially newly planted plants like the mums havent extended their rootballs yet. So while the soil may be moist, the plants rootballs are dry. And I was surprised by the Solidagos, which I thought were pretty dry/heat tolerant. But again, theyve come out of a nursery were their every need was catered to, a spoilt kid into the real world will drop a little.