I discussed quite some time ago how I was going to plant trees. I’m dog sitting my Son’s Lab, he forced my hand, the Dog not my son, by ripping up the trees I had in open ground awaiting transplanting in the spring… Ah well I’ve fixed it now, the trees are looking great. I hope my midsummer transplants will survive, the dog may not….
To do the job I developed a couple of SST’s (special service tools - see details here;http://www.gscalecentral.net/general-g-scale/home-made-dremel-circle-cutter/msg304069/#msg304069 ) necessary to cut the holes in the base board, the grass had to be cut 5mm wider all round than the hole for the pot to allow the rims to sit down so the grass can hide the edge. This was a test for the cordless Dremel and carbide tile cutting bit but it did the job with my complete satisfaction and the pots slipped into their holes nicely. A simple jig (easily adjusted to cope with any sized pot) assisted in shaping the massive convict hewn sandstone blocks so that they would fit around the pot rim, they are held in place using 2 part superglue that actually does bond with the plastic pot. The plan is that the pots and the roots are underneath and hopefully will be protected from the extremes of weather.
So I have a shade tree in the park (I can see Captain Mainwaring leading his Platoon in a rousing chorus of ‘Underneath the spreading Chestnut tree’ with Private Godfrey leading the “Happy Actions”). It’s actually a miniature Diosma, tough as old boots, it was twice this height so I pruned of half of the top of it and also half the roots (in strict accordance with Bonsai first principles – prune the roots and prune the shoots).
The Lemon Scented Conifer is also extremely hardy (and slower growing) but does like to be kept moist. It has been planted so as to be adjacent to the bandstand and can be pressed into service as an Xmas tree as appropriate.
The other tree is a Cypress it also had a bit of a prune and is also as tough as…
My “Lone Pine” which is a real “Grand child” of the real Lone Pine. Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith from the 3rd Battalion retrieved a cone from the battle site and sent it back to his mother (Mrs. McMullen) in Australia, who had lost another son at the battle. Seeds from the cone were planted by Mrs. McMullen in 1928, from which two seedlings were raised. One was presented to her home town of Inverell, New South Wales and the other was forwarded to Canberra where it was planted by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in October 1934. The AWM lone pine lost two of its large lower limbs from strong winds preceding a thunderstorm on 27 December 2008, although tree surgeons were brought in to save the historic tree. This tree is my tree’s father. You could say its “By Appointment”. It’s at its “correct scale” height (though it will have to flesh out a bit) and will be given the “Bonsai Treatment” in spring. I’m still battling the bureaucracy over the use of the “Rising Sun” on the commemorative plaque to be installed at its base. Their main concern is that they think that the LVS&ET may some how make a profit out of the tree – I wish…. I’ll wait till the new GG takes office and seek his permission.
I’m thinking about growing some real hedges, though as yet a plant suitable has to be sourced, it needs to be a very small creeper with teensy leaves that will handle Canberra’s weather. I’d also have to custom make some pots.
The advantage of planting this way is that I have created a modular system; my “trees” can be moved or changed easily. It’s simply a matter of disconnecting their sprinklers and lifting them out of their holes.
I dressed the tops of the pots with very fine gravel of similar tone to the surrounds; the little black knobs that can be seen are the “sprinklers” for the tree.
Overall a very pleasing result… Some park benches enhance the effect.
The sandstone cutting jig
Cutting away the grass
The first tree "planted"
Looking south east
Looking North west
I can envisage kids climbing in that tree.
To do the job I developed a couple of SST’s (special service tools - see details here;http://www.gscalecentral.net/general-g-scale/home-made-dremel-circle-cutter/msg304069/#msg304069 ) necessary to cut the holes in the base board, the grass had to be cut 5mm wider all round than the hole for the pot to allow the rims to sit down so the grass can hide the edge. This was a test for the cordless Dremel and carbide tile cutting bit but it did the job with my complete satisfaction and the pots slipped into their holes nicely. A simple jig (easily adjusted to cope with any sized pot) assisted in shaping the massive convict hewn sandstone blocks so that they would fit around the pot rim, they are held in place using 2 part superglue that actually does bond with the plastic pot. The plan is that the pots and the roots are underneath and hopefully will be protected from the extremes of weather.
So I have a shade tree in the park (I can see Captain Mainwaring leading his Platoon in a rousing chorus of ‘Underneath the spreading Chestnut tree’ with Private Godfrey leading the “Happy Actions”). It’s actually a miniature Diosma, tough as old boots, it was twice this height so I pruned of half of the top of it and also half the roots (in strict accordance with Bonsai first principles – prune the roots and prune the shoots).
The Lemon Scented Conifer is also extremely hardy (and slower growing) but does like to be kept moist. It has been planted so as to be adjacent to the bandstand and can be pressed into service as an Xmas tree as appropriate.
The other tree is a Cypress it also had a bit of a prune and is also as tough as…
My “Lone Pine” which is a real “Grand child” of the real Lone Pine. Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith from the 3rd Battalion retrieved a cone from the battle site and sent it back to his mother (Mrs. McMullen) in Australia, who had lost another son at the battle. Seeds from the cone were planted by Mrs. McMullen in 1928, from which two seedlings were raised. One was presented to her home town of Inverell, New South Wales and the other was forwarded to Canberra where it was planted by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in October 1934. The AWM lone pine lost two of its large lower limbs from strong winds preceding a thunderstorm on 27 December 2008, although tree surgeons were brought in to save the historic tree. This tree is my tree’s father. You could say its “By Appointment”. It’s at its “correct scale” height (though it will have to flesh out a bit) and will be given the “Bonsai Treatment” in spring. I’m still battling the bureaucracy over the use of the “Rising Sun” on the commemorative plaque to be installed at its base. Their main concern is that they think that the LVS&ET may some how make a profit out of the tree – I wish…. I’ll wait till the new GG takes office and seek his permission.
I’m thinking about growing some real hedges, though as yet a plant suitable has to be sourced, it needs to be a very small creeper with teensy leaves that will handle Canberra’s weather. I’d also have to custom make some pots.
The advantage of planting this way is that I have created a modular system; my “trees” can be moved or changed easily. It’s simply a matter of disconnecting their sprinklers and lifting them out of their holes.
I dressed the tops of the pots with very fine gravel of similar tone to the surrounds; the little black knobs that can be seen are the “sprinklers” for the tree.
Overall a very pleasing result… Some park benches enhance the effect.
The sandstone cutting jig
Cutting away the grass
The first tree "planted"
Looking south east
Looking North west
I can envisage kids climbing in that tree.
