When it comes to preparing for my annual tree trimming exercise, I'm always amazed by the amount of stuff I need to move out of the way to minimize the risk of damage to potted plants and decorative items. I'm about halfway through my preparations for Thursday's event.
Luckily, I was finally able to hand off large batch of agave bulbils, succulent cuttings, and small potted succulents to a contact at the local Cactus & Succulent Society, which helped a lot.
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| I was just about to toss what I'd accumulated to hand off to the C&SS representative when she came through. She even accepted the very heavy Agave 'Blue Flame' rosette I'd recently pulled out of my back border (wrong spot). |
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| From the same area adjacent to our garage, I removed plant shelves, potted cuttings, bird feeders and other miscellaneous items, tucking them behind the garage or stacking them atop my potting bench |
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| I couldn't budge this cat statue from its spot beneath one of the peppermint willows scheduled to be trimmed so I can only hope it's left unscathed |
Cleaning up the area surrounding the lath house took longer as I emptied pots that were looking scruffy in the process.
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| I stowed the potted plants on the exterior of the lath house inside it as shown in the top photos (with the exception of the potted Plumerias) |
I moved a few large pots out of the north end of the back garden, then got side-tracked with a pruning project I'd put off.
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| Before and after shots of the northeast garden area after I cut a mass of Lobelia laxiflora to the ground and raked up the leaves that had blanketed the base of all the plants in this area. The Lobelia spreads by rhizomes so it should spring back. |
I've yet to tackle cleanup of the area under the Magnolia tree. I'll be doing that after the gardeners are done blowing leaves around this afternoon and then maybe I'll be ready for the tree trimmers.
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| There are a LOT of pots to be moved out before the bench itself is dismantled for temporary storage in the garage; however, most of the pots are small and manageable. I'm leaving the half barrels in place and hoping for the best. |
Every time I turn around I see something else that should be moved out of harm's way. My fingers are crossed I catch them all before work begins at 8am on Thursday.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
So nice of you to give away your cuttings--very impressive! I envy you your lath house. Your entire garden and the setting are, of course, dreamy, too. <3
ReplyDeleteI was so glad those agave bulbils are going to people that have the patience to do something with them, Beth!
DeleteOh, everything looks so tidy. Such an inspiration. I'm sure you are out there now moving things around before they arrive early tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI think everything that can be tucked away has been. There's always some collateral damage but at least I did what I could to minimize it.
DeleteGosh, it tree trimming time again???
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought the preparation is so demanding and time consuming? I imagined having the tree serviced is a time of leisure for you :-D Apparently only in my mind.
Chavli
Well, things would be a lot busier if I was the one doing the trimming, not to speak of the massive chore of hauling the debris away! A crew of 6 is here and at work right now. My turn came up a little earlier than I'd expected this year but with temperatures running on the cool side again, especially in the nighttime hours, it should be all good. Then everything needs to go back to its place and I'll be attending to the casualties.
DeleteAfter reading your replay, looking at the last photo of this post (and fully recovered from jet lag), I realized you could really benefit from having a mover's utility cart!
DeleteChavli
Moving the pots and decorative stuff really wasn't so bad - the only thing requiring my husband's help this time was taking apart the bench under the Magnolia and putting it back together. Unfortunately, the collateral damage was worse than expected but more on that in an upcoming post.
DeleteI hope you enjoyed your trip, Chavli. Was this the one you'd mentioned that took you to the UK? If so, did you see the Minack Theatre?
I hope it's going well for you--with little or no damage to plantings. Great you were able to get rid of some succulent cuttings to a club.
ReplyDeleteHot weekend ahead--again. Sigh!
The tree service crew didn't leave until almost 6pm so I haven't had a chance to fully assess the damage. They cut back the Arbutus on the northeast side more heavily that they have previously and the Agave attenuata that came with the garden already show disfiguring due to sunburn - or due to being covered by a plastic tarp for too long while they were working. That's disappointing - and something I probably should've anticipated. I may be renovating more of the succulent bed in front of the garage than I'd originally planned to :(
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