150 Planted and More to Come

Yesterday and today were again spent in the garden, I really enjoy the time Karren and I spend together in the garden but my muscle and joint aches and pains are really pushing my patience with it. We are close to having the front garden done so I will need to push on...

I counted late yesterday afternoon how many plants we have moved, replanted or bought and planted and the tally came to more than 150. That is a lot of holes to be dug and when you dig that many holes you are bound to put some holes in the irrigation system and I did, hence I have more repair work and moving of existing sprinklers and new irrigation work for new garden beds to be done! The killer yesterday, however was the second last Golden Cane Palm, it was a biggun, over three metres high and  despite digging around as much of the root ball as possible we were only able to move it with the aid of mechanical advantage.

I'm stuffed already!

The root ball measured 900mm in diameter and was over 600mm deep, unfortunately this meant a hole slightly bigger was required.

Ooh that's a big root ball!

Opening up the gaps between the Palms means that a lot more morning sunlight will reach the Cycads, so hopefully they may grow a bit quicker.

Hopeless without the winch!

It was a massive root ball, I would never have moved it without applying 8000lbs of pulling force thanks to Mr Warn. The Hilux was then used to drag it into position adjacent to the orifice for insertion. When it came to digging the hole it was lucky for me we had some rain Friday night and the ground was marginally softer and just that little bit easier to dig. You can see some Agave Attenuata, Song of India and Bromeliads above the hole in the photo below.

Ground still very hard.

You see how far Karren got before she ran out of puff and the hardness of the ground overcame her ability to penetrate with the spade, from here on it was all Mattock and Crowbar. More than an hour later the big Palm was in the ground

Last two Cane Palms planted

Then it was just a case of planting more of the plants we had bought that morning at the Moggill Markets. We have been getting heaps of cheap plants at both Moggill and Rocklea markets, however I am beginning to think it is a false economy, especially when we end up spending mega bucks on breakfast and brunch at the markets, Omelettes, Gozleme, Dumplings, Bratwurst, Bockwurst, Bacon Rolls, Orange juice, Sushi, we have spent nearly as much on lovely food as we have on cheap plants!

Looking West

Planting a Dracaena in this shot, Rhoeo and more Cordyline Rubra and Red Star to follow. I would never have realised just how easy a purpose made hole shovel could make digging holes when planting. It has been one of the best tools I have bought - ever!

View from down the street.

We planted an Asparagaceae called Snake Plant or Mother-in-Laws tongue this afternoon, apparently named thusly because of the leaf sharpness! It was once used to make bow strings...

Mother-in-Laws Tongue

We also planted a Mauritian Hemp plant Urcracea foetida, which was once grown as a commercial fibre crop, is another member of the Agave family. Pretty soon we will be twisting our own rope!

A sad looking Dracaena - Song of India

In the photo below which is looking west north west you can see the Mauritus Hemp in between the hedge and the Cane Palm, hopefully it will grow to fill this gap nicely. From here on we will be planting heaps of ground cover. There is another Mauritius Hemp behind the Palm, they should look great once the fence is removed, it is ugly and superfluous.

Looking down the hill.

This photo is a little disappointing, I am not sure you can even see all the plants in the garden, the weeds stick out like the proverbial dogs though.

Does it look any different?

Looking better?

Now we need a good rainy season to get all the plants established and growing.

One of Karren's favourites a Strelitzia or Bird of Paradise.

Next weekend we will get a welcome reprieve from the garden when we have some guests visit us. Looking forward to catching up with them and giving the aches and pains a chance to abate.