DFB's Greenthumb Project

[prydey]

The one I have looks identical to that hunter one. If that's as good as it gets then I'll just have to accept it. I still don't find it that user friendly, esp if you want to quickly change part of the program.

Oh well. It does work. Maybe it's the operator...

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

The one I have looks identical to that hunter one. If that's as good as it gets then I'll just have to accept it. I still don't find it that user friendly, esp if you want to quickly change part of the program.

Oh well. It does work. Maybe it's the operator...

No, they all have their quirks. They are like programing a clock radio, press this button twice, count 3.4445, press another button, hold your tongue out for 3 seconds.........

[DFB FGXR6]

Five days into autumn and the Camellia Sasanqua's are already starting to flower. Autumn is my favorite season by far.

[Tonz]

back to controllers Hunter for me.

about 18 years ago I bought the top of range Hunter for $99 from Hugall & Hoile in Reynella, then dropped over to the recently opened Bunnings. just out of curiosity I checked their irrigation section.... same thing same ID identical except $199.
Asked if i got the discount and duly showed them the receipt and all hell broke loose.
I was accused of trying wholesale V retail.

We finished up with manager having a fruit loop reaction and myself being escorted out with security. mind you I performed very well for the shoppers and forced the security to stop in front of main doors so I could smile with V sign at the cameras.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Ok, I have used three main types over the years.

These ones with sliders are very easy to program and adjust -

image

The worst are the Toro ones, I hate the how complicated they are to program, push this then this then this........avoid!

image

The Hunter controllers are the one to have. They sit in the middle for ease of programming.

image

I like the slider style controllers, and have used heaps of richdel over the years, and later orbit versions, they’re the only one my customers are able to switch on a station manually, the rest are too hard. Buttons and dials give me the irrits, not user friendly at all, my current faves are the orbit b-hyve ones controlled over the internet from my phone, so much easier to make changes from the comfort of your lounge.
I was out at lunch with my family the other day when my baller customer texted that the tennis court had just been fertilised and needed a watering cycle, get phone out, click, manual cycle running…..love the future 😀

[DFB FGXR6]

Hedychium or Ornamental Ginger at one of my clients garden today.



These do best in a shaded position and feature fragrant flowers. I give these no care of special attention other than cutting back the spent flowers.

[Citroënbender]

Snap!

These are indestructible and easy to propagate. Ours finished a month ago, due to their exposed positions.

[FTE217]

Snap 2 lol we have heaps of them as well and having bloomed not long ago getting ready for another - indestructible, I cut back many for they keep hanging over our walkway and re shot like mad.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DFB FGXR6]

We sell the variegated form at work. I like this variety for the bright yellow contrast it provides.

[DFB FGXR6]

At one of my commercial gardening jobs today, I noticed an area that has been butchered by a painting contractor.











I'm probably going to offend someone by saying this but construction contractors would have to be the most arrogant people I come across. I have had to share job sites with various trades over the years, and the self absorbed, arrogant and oblivious nature is common theme. So long as they get their job done, then nothing else matters. I can guarantee the damage to these plants wont be cleaned up or replaced. One plant had been completed snapped/rubbed out of the ground. I have spent hours tending to these plants, all destroyed in a matter of minutes. But hey, at least the freshly painted wall looks good, right?

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I'm probably going to offend someone by saying this but construction contractors would have to be the most arrogant people I come across. I have had to share job sites with various trades over the years, and the self absorbed, arrogant and oblivious nature is common theme. So long as they get their job done, then nothing else matters. I can guarantee the damage to these plants wont be cleaned up or replaced. One plant had been completed snapped/rubbed out of the ground. I have spent hours tending to these plants, all destroyed in a matter of minutes. But hey, at least the freshly painted wall looks good, right?

No argument there. Yes plenty of similar experiences with some contractors.
I remember not to long ago on a reno build, going to some lenghts on a Sunday to help the owner pick and load field stone from their land Carefully backing down his drive to avoid his well mantained garden, we both placed the stone in order of how he would want me to build his fireplace alongside the house.
Monday morn and here are 2 jokers with both there utes parked all over his garden beds, (why is it tradeguys have a need block in use drive ways) lenghts of timber stacked on top, the stone thrown over against the fence with offcut wood piled over it.

Lets just say it wasn't a pretty site when I arrived. Got even worse when the owner showed up.

Concreters are the best, park anywhere, always in a hurry to pour their slab, don't give a s**t about anyone else, swear thier heads off while doing the prep work, loud annoying bossman, radios blasting around them, concrete splatter left all over everyone else's work.

[Citroënbender]

A properly managed project would have paid for the garden to be heavily trimmed, temporarily relocated, tied back as required - well in advance. What’s gone on there is typical sub-trades work.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

A properly managed project would have paid for the garden to be heavily trimmed, temporarily relocated, tied back as required - well in advance. What’s gone on there is typical sub-trades work.

Correct. In theory, I should have been contacted and advised of planned works and asked to make necessary arrangements for sufficient access. Instead, they have butchered two advanced specimens and completely destroyed another.

As a tradesman myself, my goal is to leave a property as I found it or better. Most tradesman forget this aspect of their job and leave the cleanup to the next person, who then leaves his mess to the next person and so on and so on until some sucker (usually me) to finish it all off.

[Tonz]

Most tradesman forget this aspect of their job and leave the cleanup to the next person, who then leaves his mess to the next person and so on and so on until some sucker (usually me) to finish it all off.
and if I was the client, I would have complete confidence in the quality and high standard of all your work.

[DFB FGXR6]

I don't want to come across as slagging off on all tradesman. My comments are coming from a genuine place, I don't want to be hating on people for no reason. But I have come across enough sloppy tradesman over the years that have no interest in being sympathetic to those they are working around.

At the end of the day, I want to get my job done as much as they do, but I don't want to be babysitting them as much they don't want to be picking up after me.

[DFB FGXR6]

Two plants caught my eye on the way out today.

First off was this red Abutilon or Chinese Lantern. This variety is called Lucky Lantern Red, these versions only grow to about 30cm x 30cm, making them ideal for pots. Abutilons just about flower all year long.



Gardenia White Goddess living up to her name with stunningly fragrant flowers. This variety can grow up to 1.5 mt high and is best tip pruned regularly to encourage bushy growth. Many believe Gardenia need to be grown in the shade, and while they can certainly be used in a shady spot, they grow best in a warm and sunny position.



The latest trend in plants is lush, glossy green foliage, meaning gardenia's have become very popular over the last couple of years.

[DFB FGXR6]

A few progress shots of my renovated back garden.

Overall, I'm happy with how things are going, although there have been some failures.

The Atro Maple is slowly establishing, it has done really well in this hot sunny spot.

April 2021 -



April 2022 -





The Magnolia White Caviar has done exceptionally well, as has the Magnolia Kay Parris.

July 2021 -



April 2022 -





A couple of things have struggled, owing to a blocked dripper and my four-legged friend has been pretty rough on a couple of others.

In the corner of the yard, the Pyrus Edgewood (behind the white bench seat) for some reason has slowly been dying for 9 months now. It barely flowered last spring, then did not burst into leaf. I have no idea what has caused this, a shame as it was a perfect shape. I will need to chop it down, most likely at Easter, and replace it with something different. I have set aside a very nice advanced Autumn Blaze Maple at work.

https://www.flemings.com.au/nurserie...ick-treer.html

These are stunning trees for Autumn colour, hopefully filling this space nicely.

[Citroënbender]

Good result, I’ve just been swearing at an azalea that won’t stop blooming - want to prune it hard. Looking at holes in my front border; stuff that died and plants that got nicked. I want to plant Jalapeño chillies there for a bit of diversity.

You’re a bit young for a blocked dripper! #prostatitis

[DFB FGXR6]

The Kerria japonica I planted at a clients a while ago surprised me with a few flowers today surrounded by a mass of Salvia blooms. The resident bees absolutely love the Salvia's planted in the garden, to the point I added another three to the mix last week.



I also started to drop the dead ornamental pear tree in my backyard today. I will need a little bit of assistance getting the very tall branches to fall inside my yard and not the neighbors. The little Stihl MSA 140 battery chainsaw performed extremely well.

[DFB FGXR6]

Today I cut down the dead Pyrus in the corner of my backyard.

This variety of ornamental pear was 'Edgewood', a medium tree that had a really nice spectrum of autumn colour. This tree was the largest of the trees in the garden and was a main focal point. Sadly, this tree never really took off after the last winter. I have no real idea why it died, it just slowly went backwards to the point where there was no return.

https://www.flemings.com.au/nurserie...-edgewood.html



The first thing I did was to remove as much material from the main branches as possible, with both my chainsaw and my new pole pruner. The Fiskars PowergearX Telescopic Tree Pruner is pretty decent to use, cutting smaller branches to reduce the weight of the remaining material.







I then started to drop the main branches using my battery powered Stihl chainsaw.







The MSA 120 managed to cut pretty well, I have two batteries for these tools and used the larger on in total and half of the smaller capacity one. The limitations of the chain size and the lack of stamina meant I had to get out the petrol chainsaw.



The Stihl 009L is an odd machine. I have had this from new for 20+ years, these saws are much different design to regular Stihl chainsaws. The top mounted handle allow for one handed operation which leads me think it was more of an arborist saw. Despite the small footprint of this saw, the engine is unusually large at 41cc and has more than enough grunt.

Tree gone, I also had to dig up the Loropetalum to make room for the new tree.



The replacement is a Autumn Blaze Maple -

https://www.flemings.com.au/nurserie...ick-treer.html



I had this specimen selected and held aside for a number of months now so I got the pick of the bunch.

A nice big hole was dug, I'm blessed with beautiful soil in my yard. Not an ounce of clay to be found.



Loropetalum relocated and the new tree staked.



I will most likely add a couple of shrubs behind it, undecided on what to use yet. Lets hope I have better luck with this tree to allow a nice shady spot to sit on that bench.

[Citroënbender]

I’m stuck on something you might know.

Vaguely, I remember a term for when the “emissions” of one plant deter the growth of (some species of) others around it. An example is how many trees planted close to a cedar will “shy away” from the foliage intermingling.

Do you remember the terminology for this behaviour?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I’m stuck on something you might know.

Vaguely, I remember a term for when the “emissions” of one plant deter the growth of (some species of) others around it. An example is how many trees planted close to a cedar will “shy away” from the foliage intermingling.

Do you remember the terminology for this behaviour?

I have know of this concept but not the terminology.

"Allelopathy is defined as the effects (stimulatory and inhibitory) of a plant on the development of neighboring plants through the release of secondary compounds. Autoallelophaty is the beneficial or harmful effect of a plant species on itself...."

"Plant allelopathy is the 'chemical warfare' among the plants imposed by one plant on another to suppress the latter and take advantage from that suppression."

[Citroënbender]

That’s it! Thank you!

[DFB FGXR6]

Now that the nights and mornings are getting cold, the various deciduous trees, shrubs and vines start to prepare for winter. The result is a stunning array of colours.

This ornamental grape vine I planted a few years ago is one of my favorites of this garden.





Once the display is over, I will go through and prune or train the vine back to the main wires suspending it along the back porch of this property.

[Rallye Sport]

Stumbled across this the other day, now I know theres not alot of love for the bougainvillea but this was truly amazing. Shame I only had a crappy phone to take a pic.

It runs down the fenceline of a market garden and goes as far as you can see in both directions with every perceivable colour.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Stumbled across this the other day, now I know theres not alot of love for the bougainvillea but this was truly amazing. Shame I only had a crappy phone to take a pic.

It runs down the fenceline of a market garden and goes as far as you can see in both directions with every perceivable colour.

image

Looks great!

Best bit?....................................... I don't have to prune it!

[DFB FGXR6]

With the nights getting genuinely cold now, the vigor has left the lawns for another season. I have to say, it was nice doing my mowing run today and not having to fight the grass.



The fight ended being a broken sprinkler. I don't often break sprinklers, this one would have to be every bit of 20 years old and so was very brittle. I normally grab a set of multi-grips to extract the tube from the ground before inserting a new one. This one was so brittle it was just snapping with the slightest amount of pressure. I ended up having to make another lengthy trip back to the ute and get a shovel to dig it up. This sort of thing is why I hate doing irrigation repairs, one simple and small job just turns into a 10-15-30......min job.

At another job, another favorite Camellia was flowering.



Camellia Sasanqua 'Setsugekka' is a vigorous growing variety ideally suited to screens, topiaries and large filler shrubs, this particular specimen has been trained into a standard. If white is not your thing, 'Plantation Pink' and 'Hiryu' are both similarly vigorous varieties in light pink and cerise/red.

Plantation Pink -



Hiryu -



I love the subtle aroma of Sasanqua Camellia's, its a hard scent to describe but one I can pick whenever they are in my presence.

By the way, Setsugekka is pronounced SET-SUU-GEK-KA, learning Japanese at high school really paid off in terms of being able to pronounce the various Camellia varieties.

Fuji-no-mine, Kogyoku, Mikuniko, Narumigata, Shishigashira, Hanafuki, Kamo-honnami..................

[DFB FGXR6]

Cornus Kousa Chinensis or Dogwood.

These have been a beacon of colour in the nursery over the last few days.



These small to medium trees are generally prized for their spring flowers, however I love the autumn display just as much.



Mature, these trees reach about 4 - 6 meters. They are somewhat delicate trees, needing plenty of moisture and rich soils to do their best. In my area, the summers can be pretty hard on them, but in the right spot though they are a real talking point and worth the effort.

[Rallye Sport]

Jealous of those Camelia's. They rarely grow over here in our dry, sandy, lime soils. They do grow further south though, there are some crackers in the older homes around the Margaret river region.

This one seems to be an exception though its growing in my parents garden and always puts on a good show.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Jealous of those Camelia's. They rarely grow over here in our dry, sandy, lime soils. They do grow further south though, there are some crackers in the older homes around the Margaret river region.

This one seems to be an exception though its growing in my parents garden and always puts on a good show.

image

That's a nice specimen, looks to be 'Hiryu'.