microb's blog: Garden Update

What's new? Must be something considering all the hard work that seems to need doing.

The End Garden - No work done in this area but did notice, today, a few small bamboo seedlings growing under the large clump that went to seed.,, The bees are buzzing around the grass seed sprays way at the top of the clump. I think I will journey out there with a pot of soil and collect some seedlings. Most of the Giant White butterfly gingers are in The End Garden and what were bloom heads are now swelling seed pods. I have a feeling they will burst open with bright orange seeds and be spread by the birds. In a couple of years we will know if that is good or bad.

The Wood Pile Garden - Now that I have a gravel path to the lower end of the garden I have been clearing paths that were previously "roughed in" for access. One sloping path is getting the stepping stone (slices of tree trunks with roofing shingles attached to stop slipping) that were previously used for paths now gravelled. The level paths are getting the forest foliage cut back on either side and new plantings of Coleus, Heliconias and Costus etc have been added. A stand of Waiwi trees with 5 inch trunks fell down many years ago but are still green and growing as the root ball is still active. Those long trunks have just been waiting for me to discover them. They will be cut into lengths and used as path edging.

Q Gardens - This is the area between the bridge and Near Gate, which goes into the Wood Pile Garden. Now the gravel path has been installed I have easy access and clearing and planting is taking place. Lots of trimming to be done. Large clumps of red torch ginger with leaves towering 15 ft have to be thinned. Some small sapling waiwi trees have to be removed. We have an invasive weed called Kostners Curse (Spelling?) Grows from runners and from seed. Everyone has it. If there was a local award for best plant I would win hands down.

The Sunken Garden - Almost finished here. All targeted trees have been removed and stacked in a large wood pile. Planting areas have been mostly raked clear of debris. Path ways have been marked and the first loads of gravel were applied this week. Final 3 ton load of gravel was delivered last Thursday. Hernia problem has eased off so wheelbarrow is being pushed again. (Had ultrasound today so should know Hernia status tomorrow) Certainly not a health problem in my mind. More plants are being added to The Sunken Garden almost daily, either from other areas of the garden or from local nurseries. Plants that were added a couple of months ago are showing signs of getting established. New bamboos are shooting up new canes.

Back yard Ponds - There a six ponds at the back of the house numbers 1A, 1B, 2 and 3 - then lap pool and Violets pond. Number 3 is in good shape and just needs excess weed skimmed off the surface from time to time. It contains about 20 gold fish and maybe a dozen black and gold koi. Number 2 is also in good condition but was severely overshadowed by a huge clump of bamboo. This past week I have been removing the overhanging bamboo. The pond is now much brighter, needs the same weed skimming from the surface. Just 5 gold fish in this pond along with 2 grey talapia. Each pond measures about 18 feet long and 8 feet wide and 18 inches deep. Pond 1B had been neglected and was choked with hyacinth and pickeral weed. This past Saturday I dredged just about everything out and found that there was still a good amount of water remaining So 1B is now officially viable with a couple of small swordtail fish. I need to keep skimming and cleaning and add a few more fish. Pond 1A needs major work. Abount 1/3 is filled with sludge, mainly decaying bamboo leaves. Water level is low and and some baby water lily plants are visible. I will have to shovel out the sludge, rake out bottom debris and check to see if it still holds water. Both 1A and 1B are about 8 feet square and 1 foot deep. It used to be one pond but I split it in two when the original liner failed years ago. The Lap pool is a pond about 18 feet long and 5 feet wide. It's in good shape but overshadowed by that same clump of bamboo. Needs work to dredge out debris and bamboo needs to be trimmed to let in light. When I say bamboo to trim, these are leaning poles about 50 feet long from the clump that is 20 ft from the pond. Violets pond is so named as it was created in memory of one of my wifes friends who passed away many years ago. Its kind of heart shaped, about 5 ft by 8ft. Should just need plants trimmed around the edge and weed skimmed from the top. I see that being scheduled about 2 weeks from now.

The derelict green houses have had the torn plastic sheeting removed and the wood frame has been taken down. So I'm left with plant benches contain grass fill pots of Amaryllis and Amorphophallus bulbs. Two of the four benches have been cleared of old Orchid cactus pots so the Amaryllis and Amorph. will be moved to those empty benches.

Bottom Berm Trail. - This pathway runs from the Sunken Garden along a fence line though the forest past the Secret Garden to the bridge. Pigs have been very active along this fence line, even pushing wet mud through the hog wire. I will be using old rusty fence wire, old lattice gates or anything else I can find to strengthen the fence and stop access.

Max's dog yard. - The giant yellow daisy shown in my last blog finally stopped blooming and looked really ugly so yesterday I cut it back to about 3 feet from the ground. It will bounce back for next year. Trick is to pile the branches on the green waste heap and cover them with more green waste as soon as possible to stop them growing. Any small piece left on the ground will grow.

Same applies to the Brazilian Cloak bush that grows just outside of Max's yard on the far side. It's in full red bloom at about 20 feet high right now but as soon as it has finished blooming down it must come. This is worse than the daisy. Just mention touching the ground and the trimmings will take rooting.

I finally had success rooting the Purple Butterfly vine. During a long wet spell the leaf nodes of the vine sprouted air roots so I bent a section down, buried it in a pot of soil while leaving it connected to the parent and placed a small stone on top to hold it in place. Now I have new growth and a pot full of roots. I will be doing more of that in the very near future.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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