Weekend Practical Cuddy Gardens

October 17^th-19^th

Mike Masson, Vida Hale, Rob Rochon

 

Friday October 17^th, 2014

Vida and I arrived at Cuddy Gardens Friday to a mild 10 degrees Celsius overcast morning. It was nice working conditions minus the chilly wind. We began our day by collecting and putting away the summer planters that remained on the property. Following our walk around with Lucas, we were very excited to hear that we would be replacing three dead Serbian Spruce, located in the east side garden bed next to Centre Road. Earlier in the week a shipment of Picea omorika stock had arrived at Cuddy’s from Connon Nurseries. We were both able to use the backhoe on the back of the Kubota tractor to dig holes for the new spruce.

 

 Our first time using the backhoe went very smoothly and we were able to dig the correct size holes at the proper depth to ensure a long life for these beautiful trees. On Thursday we were given an excellent demonstration on the removing of large tree limbs on the two Walnut trees located on the lower lawn. We spent an hour raking and removing the remaining debris surrounding the trees. The area was left in pristine condition and it looked as if we were never there.

Saturday October 18^th, 2014     

The weather on this day was less than pleasing giving us cold rainy work conditions. We began our day by topdressing multiple sites on the property, leveling the lay of the land and making each area optimal for grass seed germination. While Vida compacted the compost pile with the front loader on the Kubota I powered through the cold rain and took a load of debris down the long road to the burn pile narrowly escaping large mud barriers on my way. At this point we were well ahead of schedule on what we had to accomplish so we completed many small tasks like cleaning the interior and exterior of the donated tractor and skid steer. After an arrival of very large boulders the garden bed next to the back parking lot was left in shambles. We raked and leveled out said garden to meet the expectations of our superiors.

Sunday October 19^th , 2014

With conditions being much improved from our Saturday we were anxious to get going on our large scale topdressing of the old horse paddock/ CLT testing area. With a new team member joining our elite force we systematically maneuvered topsoil with the Kubota tractor while raking and leveling as we went.

 

 The rain on Saturday had made the topsoil not the easiest to move but we did the best we could with the situation. We were able to complete this task by lunch.

 

 After lunch we completed many small tasks like power blowing off paths on the property and watering plants that needed it including the newly planted Picea omorika.

 

 We capped off our weekend at Cuddy’s by cleaning everything we could and returning everything to it’s home.   

Ginkgo biloba

 

Family: Ginkoaceae

Genus: Ginko

Species: biloba

Category: Woody

Type: Tree (deciduous)

USDA: 4-8

Canadian Hardiness: 2a- 8a

Temp C: - 34 - (-9)

Temp F: - 30 - (-20)

Height: 15 m

Growth: Medium

General Description: A very unusual and different looking tree that sometimes can look quite sparse. This tree is perfect for boulevard planting as it is very salt and pollution tolerant.

ID Characteristics: Fan shaped leaves. Vomit-like smelling fruit on female trees.

Shape: Spreading crown and sparse branching.

Propagation: Can be from seed but grafting is popular as well for certain cultivars. Males are the desirable sex for these trees.

Pests: None.

Notable Specimens: Western University, London, Ontario (female). A.M. Cuddy Gardens, Strathroy, Ontario.

Habitat: Mountains.

Fruit Description: Green and then turning yellow when ripe in an orbicular shape. Noticeable vomit smell emanates from the fruit when ripe.

Leaf Description: Green throughout the summer and then turning an amazing yellow-gold in autumn. Fan shaped 8 cm long.

Texture: Course bark.

Bark Description: Grayish and deeply furrowed with a somewhat corky texture.

Flower Description: The male tree has 3-6 cm long pollen sacks and the female has 4-5 cm long stalks with green ovules.

 

 

 

Bibliography

"Canada Plants." Canada Plants. V.P., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014 .

"Ginkgo biloba." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014 .