govt. house rotation - wk 4

Today at Govt house is all about operating different machinery along with lots of Plant I.D. thrown in along the way. In the morning I was teamed up with Russell who manages the garden beds and areas around the house. As we did some clearing and cutting back in the beds he was fantastic at testing me on plant ID and giving me opportunities to figure out the names of all the different plants around us. 

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This Papaver poppy flower was huge! Bigger than my hand.

 I was actually surprised how many I did know or could perhaps work out and in some cases start to make educated guesses based on the similarities of the genus within the same family. I'm really quite loving Plant ID, being someone who likes to memorise things and has a reasonably good memory (at least before I had kids anyway!)


Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) in the front bed.



Anyway there are still plenty I didn't know of and one of the quite impressive ones we come across is a tall shrub/small tree called Brugmansia (previously known as Daytura) from South America. It's common name is Angel's Trumpet, of course referring to the large pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers. They can come in white, yellow, pink, orange or red cultivars and hybrids. Flowers can be single or double. Interestingly all parts of Brugmansia plants contain dangerous levels of poison and may be toxic or fatal if ingested by humans or animals, including livestock and pets! So not one to toss up in a salad.







As we continue through the garden there is another beautiful shrub that takes my eye, flowering prolifically and cheerfully at this time of year. Russell informs me the genus is Impatiens but is not sure of the species. When I go to look it up I find out this is a genus with up to 1000 species so I might be searching for a while. Perhaps a better idea is to ask Steve or Marcus.



A pretty form of Impatiens.



The Tree Dahlia's look fantastic at the moment.



Next we go on to do a quick division exercise of some clumping perennial Helianthus (sunflower). We simply dig up a large section, work out how many sections we are going to divide it into and get a nice sharp spade to do the work. Once separated the Helianthus is shared out to the other sections of the garden with a now much smaller piece planted back in the same hole.



The Helianthus clump we are going to divide.

After morning tea, Tara gives Mel (a polytec student) and myself a quick run through on how to operate a rotary hoe in the veggie patch. We go through all the pre-start checks for the rotary hoe including checking fuel (this one uses unleaded fuel for its 4 stroke engine), oil levels, then disengaging the spark plug and lifting the safety flap at the back to check the tines are OK and will rotate freely. A general look over the whole machine to establish it is in working order, then Tara explains the different levers and controls. I make sure to ask about the correct PPE which in this case are safety boots, earmuffs and gloves if required.

Tara running us through the pre-start check and controls.



My first go at a line up the bed next to Tara's lovely straight efforts looks like I've had at least three bottles of wine before attempting! In my defence the soil is very deep and soft and because we are on a slope the hoe really wants to steer down the hill. However I figure out that a bit firmer handling and using the steering levers will help keep me on the straight and narrow. After a couple of good runs I feel I'm getting the hang of the controls and practice turning and reversing to make sure I feel completely comfortable with manoeuvring it around the bed. Tara is happy so it's onto the next task......



My turn with the rotary hoe.



........which is pruning! A lovely old crab apple tree in Russell's section has seen better days so our next task is to start removing it piece by piece. A simply perfect candidate to teach me about pruning with an extendable arm pruning saw (no pressure to get it right first time as it's going anyway!)



Removing the old crab apple branch by branch.



We do several straight through cuts that tear the underside of the bark down the tree, just as an example of what not to do! The tearing of the bark, caused by the weight of the branch, is of course undesirable, so Russell teaches me how to avoid this by doing an undercut first. The top cut is then half an inch or so back from this and the weight of the tree snaps it evenly off half way through with no tearing. 

I practice this over and over as I'm keen to get it just right, with Russell helpfully correcting and adjusting my cutting angles as we go. Finally we get a text book one to photograph and I feel very confident about the technique now. This is of course only the first cut, so must be now followed up with the second cut to make it flat, so it can heal over nicely. Important points for good pruning (so the tree can heal well and not become a point to introduce infection or rot) include not cutting too close or too far away, leaving the right amount of room for a healing collar to form around the cut area. Also getting the angle the same as the branch you are cutting back to. All in all this has been a really good learning exercise. Although my heart did skip a small beat when Steve calls out "NO - not that tree!" for a bit of a giggle when walking past!

A perfect clean cut!

After lunch Steve and I head off to initiate me with a hedge trimmer. I have visions of a lovely soft box hedge with a few wayward growing tips to learn on, but quickly find out mine is going to be a baptism of fire (or thorns!) as we head down to a long beast of a Crataegus hedge in the lower paddock that hasn't had a haircut for a 2 years!

Before......

Pre-start for the hedge trimmer is a fuel check (2 stroke so a separate oil check not needed as it is mixed with the fuel), clean free lubricated cutting teeth (we apply a quick spray of WD40), switched on and throttle engaged before starting up. PPE is definitely earmuffs, protective glasses (although now I've done it I would say a face shield is maybe an even better choice as it does kick up a few thorns), safety boots so you don't trim your toes off as well and for this hedge in particular - good thick gloves! Steve runs through the start up and controls which are very simple and I get started. After explaining the technique Steve watches my first cut and corrects me. I was trying to keep a straight back and half squat down to get to the bottom edge but this is unnecessary and Steve explains I should be able to do it by simply lowering and raising my arms. I quickly get the idea and off we go. Steve is cutting the top and I am doing the sides, making sure to taper out slightly at the bottom which is the correct technique for cutting any hedge to allow light to get to the bottom to prevent dieback.



Like a hot knife through butter.

As I get into it, despite the thorns, I am really enjoying myself! The hedge trimmer doesn't feel as heavy as I thought it would be and it cuts so well and handles even the thickest of branches. As I go I build in confidence with my lines (being the very particular, attention to detail type person that I am!) Further on when we get to a thick section of hedge that is growing out towards the sun, Steve demonstrates how much it needs to be cut back which involves me hacking very confidently into the deeper thicker wood. The final job is to clear the prunings off the top and rake them out from under the hedge and tidy up any straggly pieces at the bottom of the hedge that may have been missed. Crataegus thorns are long and super strong and as Steve points out can actually punch through tractor tyres so we diligently rake the prunings off the drive as carefully as possible to avoid yet another puncture!



......After

All in all another super learning day in this garden. Thanks to Russell, Steve and Tara for taking the time to give me more great learning experiences. I take my soon to be aching forearms home with a big smile on my face once more.