Clearing the decks

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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