Practical Weekend April 4, 5, 6 Johnny and Hilary

Friday morning started with a warm greeting of “Welcome to CLT testing!” During the morning Johnny took part in the CLT testing I, Hilary had the opportunity to practice some of my pruning skills before I took part in the CLT testing in the afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

Adam P. worked alongside of me aiding in the garden clean up along the driveway before he was to be tested in the afternoon as well.  Once 12 o’clock rolled around Johnny and Matt continued the tasks of spring clean-up in the garden bed area we had started. Matt collected two crates of Liquidambar seed pods while Johnny did what he knows best and gave the front turf area a good scalp clean by racking the leaves and broking up the grey snow mould patches. To finish out the day all grasses in the dry garden were cut down although the dry garden wasn’t so dry with the rain that had been so subtle and persistent for the afternoon.

Saturday morning started off a bit on the cool side. Taking a load of debris to the compost pile proved to be a bit more chilling than intended since I did not have the tractor in high gear but rather low gear. I could see the snow slowly passing me by as I made the trek there. Cold and cloudy did not stop the work that needed to be done. Johnny and I played peak-a-boo all day as we sheared the grasses down and coppiced a few of the shrubs in front of the Cuddy hatchery.

 

Stepping lightly from grass to grass we could see some of the spring bulb leaves barely breaking through the surface of the soil stretching towards the warmth of the light. Sedum popped its head out to say hello as well.

As for Sunday it turned out to be a gorgeous day. We were met by a whopping 11 degrees, a slight breeze from the south east, and hardly a cloud in the sky. I’d say it’s almost time for shorts and t-shirts. It made for a perfect day to get the leaves off the lawn areas, touch up our fallen garden edges, and finally clean off the driveway of all that winter sand.

 

Removing the leaves from the turf area is always a good thing to do. Blanketing turf with leaves can kill turf off. A perfect spot for our leaves here was to place them in the woodland garden. Acting as natural mulch and an insulating layer on the ground it aids in protecting the baby shoots of the spring bulbs that are trying to emerge from the frosty nights. As the day came to an end we are always sure to clean off all our equipment to keep it in good working order.