Hows The Serenity

Today was the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere. Its the Winter Solstice. The Summer Solstice, this year, is in December. Ive been really noticing of late how late the sun is rising and early it is setting. Joys of having been away on workers comp, Ive been missing mornings so much. I know that the Solstice and Equinox (where both night and day are equal times) would play a part in old pagan rituals, unfortunately my knowledge on this topic is extremely lacking. The colours in sunrise this morning were particularly beautiful, even without clouds to beak the light up. The photo really doesnt do it justice. Im sure somebody must have sacrificed something really cute and fluffy for such a beautiful sunrise.

Battle Scars.

This is what I hate the most about pruning the roses. The constant splinters that dig into you, regardless of whether you're wearing gloves or not. They're actually the tip of the rose thorn that has broken off after it stabs you. They start out as annoying little dots that you see on my fingers and every so often you get one like the sod on my thumb, that gets all infected, painful and a down right nuisance. Its part and parcel of having roses really. So ways to prevent or fix this situation:

Riggers gloves, or good leather gloves. They don't fully stop the splinters when the gloves get worn, then they will start to slip through. They are well worth it in the beginning though.

To help you get rid of the darn things, I recommend a little sewing needle to dig it out. They are sharp and quite narrow. If you thread some cotton through the eye, it makes it easier to retrieve when you drop it. Yes, it will hurt. There is no pain free method to get rid of splinters that I have found and if somebody can find such a method, I will quite happily worship the ground they walk on. As you can tell by the infected splinter on the thumb, you cant always dig them out. When that happens, I use a little bit of Jarrah Honey on the splinter and wrap a bandaid over the top. I specifically use Jarrah Honey, as it has antiseptic qualities to it and it acts as a drawing agent and pulls the splinter to the surface so it is easier to pick out. If you cant get Jarrah Honey the you can get a paste called Magnoplasm from a chemist. It is typically used on boils to work them to the surface but will work just as good on splinters. Use it in the same way I use the honey.

Good luck.

Rose Pruning 101

First of all, I am not an expert! I know more then the average Joe Bloggs Nobody simply because I studied horticulture and have been actively working in the industry for the past 11 years. I dont know everything, I make mistakes, I learn as I go along. Im my own words I like to say that I know enough with room for improvement.

Now with rose pruning everyone has their own methods that work for them. This is how I have learnt to do them, as as it is probably the most common question that is asked of me at this time of year, so this is what I will try to teach you. If you think I am doing it wrong or that your way is better, then please dont use my method. I dont mind, honest.

Roses in Perth are pruned in July. If it is exceptionally cold where you live, aim to prune them closer to August so they dont suffer too much from frost bite. I am pruning the roses early at work as I have been put on light duties and this is the only task they can find me to do. The very basic rules of rose pruning are,
1. Your aiming to get the rose back to about average knee height. So at least 30-40cm high. If it is a very old rose, then you can play on this rule and leave it taller due to the old wood (iceberg roses are notorious for this), however the new growth that you have pruned should be about 20cm.
2. Your aiming to get between 3-5 healthy canes that are growing from above the graft. Cut off anything that shoots from below the graft as this is the root stock. Your aiming to keep the healthiest canes, but they need to be at lest pencil thickness.
3. Try to keep the outside canes and remove the ones growing in the center. Your aiming to get a basic vase shape (like you can see in the bottom picture)
4. All cuts you make should diagonal (this discourages disease) and be made just above an outward facing node. A node is a growth point on the stem. They look like little dots with a line underneath, they appear just above where the leaf grows out of the stem. So outward facing would be a node that doesnt point to the center of your vase shape. The cut should be made just above this node. You should also try to leave at lest 3 nodes per stem.
6. Pull any remaining leaves off the stem. They will just die and add to disease problems.
5. Once you are happy with your pruning, clean away the ground around the base of the rose. Remove any dead leaves (this will help control diseases such as black spot), weeds and prune any other plants that may crowd the crown of the rose.
6. Spray with an insecticide and a fungicide (you can find rose sprays that will be inclusive of both if you hunt around), we use eco friendly brands, Eco Oil and Eco Rose.
7. Fertilise with an organic fertiliser. This will help improve the soil more over time then granular fertilisers. Organic fertilisers include, sheep manure, cow manure, blood and bone, dynamic lifter, etc. We tend to mix blood and bone with potassium. Try to avoid mulching up to the base of the rose.

Now there are some exceptions to my method of pruning steps 1-4, steps 5-7 are the same for all roses, regardless of type:
Roses less then 12 months old. These roses are too young to handle heavy pruning. Its best to just cut off any flowers and/or buds, cut off any growth from below the graft, remove any touching stems, then pull all the leaves off the stems. You can gently follow the normal pruning steps next year if the plant has grown sufficiently.
Standard Roses. The point of a standard rose, is to get a lovely round shape to them. So dont aim to get a vase shape, aim to keep the shape of the bush and prune off any thin, sickly or touching stems. Use your common sense and dont get carried away. You want to get rid of approximately 2/3 of the years growth. You also dont have to be as fussy with the nodes pointing outwards. Remove any shoots from below the graft (the graft should be at the top of the long standard stem).
Climbing Rose. Same again. You want to preserve the shape. So just prune the rose back to the shape of the arbor it is growing to.
Carpet/Ground Cover Roses. I hate these roses with a passion. They are a royal nuisance. They look messy and are a bugger to garden around. However if you must grow them, then I suggest pruning back 2/3 of the new growth and anything that looks very diseased or sick. My knowledge on these roses is limited simply because I avoid them like the plague.

Another Random Fungi Moment

Almost always after the rains, you get pockets of fungi popping their little heads about the place. Fingi is something Ive always wanted to study, but unfortunately classes are few and far between so I have never gotten round to it. I think these ones are mushrooms but as usual, please dont quote me on that.

Achievement Unlocked!

I know this seems pretty plain and unachieving but Im pretty damn stoked about this garden bed. It has quite literally taken nearly 2 years to complete! We dug out the dietes and removed the old tree stumps over 18 months ago. That was when we started it, then we ordered some plants and put in the Magnolia. We planted some of the ordered plants when came in but we still had to wait for the next lot. By the time they came in, the first lot of plants werent working, so they either died or were transplanted. So this bed has never been properly finished and mulched in that time. A couple of weeks ago, the order for the Alternanthera (the red boarder plant) and we planted them before somebody took them to plant elsewhere. So here it is, fully planted and mulched in all its glory. It seems a little silly how proud I am of this.

Off Guard

There is something delicious about wandering around work, the morning after rain. As odd as it sounds, the world seems so fresh and clean. Ive been a gardener for around 11 years and in that time Ive developed a bit of an eye for the small things. The best thing about a morning after it has rained, is the water is still clinging to the plants and the light from the rising sun gets caught in it all. If the light is right it will catch your eye and its wonderfully distracting.

Native Hedge

This is the flower of a native hedging plant, called Westringia fruticosa. It goes by the common name Westringia, or very occasionally you will hear it being called Native Rosemary. I imagine the latter of the common names comes from its appearance. It has small, narrow leaves and little white flowers that are about 1.5cm in size. It grows about 2m in height and definitely grows best as a hedge. It isnt as deep green in colour as Rosemary is, instead it has a lovely bluey silver appearance to it. It loves full sun and benefits from a good pruning to hold it into shape. Honey Eater birds enjoy the nectar in the flowers, but I wouldnt really call them a big bird attracting plant. In my experience, birds dont tend to seek it out, more along the lines of; they will come if they see it. So it would compliment a bird attracting garden beautifully.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

This is a remnant of a time long since passed. Many years before I started at the counsel, the mowing crew boys would work in fixed teams. Now they shuffle the teams around on a fortnightly basis, so everyone gets a chance to work with each other. The Bunker Crew (my crew) and the Bush Care Crew do not do this as we are small, specialised teams to work in specific areas. Back then, when the mowing crew teams were fixed, they would name them alphabetically and they each had their own sheds to store their gear. I guess it was too much of a novelty to pull down the sign on the shed when that system changed to the present one, so it lingers on and the staff still refer to the shed as The A Team Shed.

Popular

This is a bizarre thing that happened to me quite a bit at the beginning of April. Bees kept landing on my shoulder. These are the ones I managed to get photos of. I realise that the flouro colour attracts them and they think Im some kind of massive flower, however it only seemed to be me that they were aiming for. All the outdoor employees have the same uniform, we are all dressed in the same illegally bright yellow clothes. So when i was working in a group I still had bees landing on my shoulder and nobody else had it. It was quite strange, confused all hades out of me and definitely made me smile.

The Nuclear Banana

Rainy days are never particularly fun at work. If something has to be done, then it has to be done, regardless of the weather. Work does kit us out in weather proof gear, and this is essentially what we look like when the heavens open. Flouro, as much as they can paste upon us. Plastic pants, plastic vest (thankfully lined with polar fleece) and a plastic jacket which Im not wearing here. Hell, they even give us flouro beanies which I refuse to wear, thats crossing a line. At any rate, I took this photo of my reflection in the glass doors of the town hall as there are no mirrors at work and Im not particularly good at explaining to my mates what I look like when I have to go the Full Nuclear Banana.

Coffee Anyone?

This picture was taken back in April. We were prepping the gardens in Memorial Park, so it would all look pretty for ANZAC Day. While raking out one of the garden beds near the edge of the park, I noticed an electrical cord dangling out of one of the bushes. Fishing my hands in, I managed to pull out this little machine. It turns out that some little grommet decided that the best place for a coffee machine to live, is in the bushes at the park. How they were going to plug it in I dont know. Guess it gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Power Plant'.

How Regal

There is always a bit of confusion with this plant when you live in a world somewhere between gardening and flower arranging. In the gardening world it goes by the name 'Princess Lily', however in floristry it is known as Alstroemeria (the genus name). They come in a range of colours from reds, yellows, pinks, whites and pale purples. It grows from rhizomatious roots, which are large, swollen stems underneath the soil surface. Ive had problems trying to explain to people, that unless you have the whole root, it wont grow from cutting or just 'pulling out a bit of it'. They tend to run through cycles of looking really good then looking really mediocre (that usually occurs just after flowering). Most Princes Lilys that you see now are extremely hybridized. They cross breed the Brazilian species (which is summer growing) with the Chilean species (which is winter growing), so that the resulting plant flowers and grows almost all year round.

Peace Offering

I apologise for taking so long to write a blog. Ive been going through some rough patches of late. I have also been laid up on workers compensation for the past 2 weeks. Hoping to get back to work soon. Life it seems has been throwing some hurdles at me and I think Im over the worst of them. So with some luck, I'll be blogging again soon

In the mean time, this is an old photo of a rose that grows out the side of the Old School. In floristry, yellow means friendship and pink means innocent/sweet love. So this rose always makes me smile when its in bloom. In another month the roses get pruned, so enjoying the blossoms while they last.