Apr 30 2012

Bertie’s Cascade Cotoneaster

When I was at Bertie’s house last week I spotted this little cascade Cotoneaster and thought that it could do with a repot. He had a suitable pot on the shelf, maybe not the perfect choice, but a big improvement on it’s current home. This is it before and after the repot.

It will be given a year to settle in, and if all’s well, it’ll get a restyling.

Apr 29 2012

Ben’s Berberis Revisited

Friday saw Ben appear with his Berberis. It was repotted in February and has grown strongly since then.

Robert some how managed to get a pass out for the night, he was an unexpected but very welcome guest. I asked him to have a look at the Berberis with Ben and a short time later, with some light wiring, this was the result.

This was Ben’s choice of front but Robert pointed out a few more options. These are still achievable even though we stuck with the original front. This was another angle worth exploring. Some branches would be moved but I must admit I like this option.

For a while it was a bit like, Paddy Scotsman, Paddy Englishman and Paddy Irishman started t style a tree 🙂

Out of interest, this was it in 2008

Apr 28 2012

Where’s Bertie??

Had a couple of friends around last night. One, who I finally managed to catch up with earlier in the week was Bertie, a past club committee member and now current member again. Hadn’t seen him for years and it was great to catch up and talk trees. I tried to capture a photo of him but he is an expert camera dodger 🙂

He spotted me coming and turned his back! Phil giving him a hand thinning out a yew.

Here he ducked behind the yew for cover.

Nearly managed a clean shot here but Phil points out how many failed attempts I’ve had 🙂

This is as good as I got, good to see you Bertie 🙂

This is his Yew that was worked on before we started.

It was first styled as a demo tree by Kevin Willson way back in 1997. Here’s a few other angles and a look at the deadwood.

And after some work. Thinned out and a little basic wiring.

Apr 27 2012

Majestic Scotties

It’s hard to beat a mature Scots Pine.

Great spot for a birds nest too 🙂

Apr 26 2012

Belfast Skyline

Snapped these first two recently whist driving past. I’ll rephrase that! I snapped these whilst a passenger in a car driving past 🙂 They are the famous Harland and Wolff Cranes that can be seen in Belfast docks area , now called the Titanic Quarter. They were built in the late 60’s, early 70’s around the time I was born and are called Samson and Goliath.

They are truly massive erections 🙂

This photos shows both and gives you a better idea of scale.

Apr 25 2012

Taiwanese Flower Market Video

Thought I would share this here. Not the usual sort of video I would share but I found it fascinating to see what’s on offer in a different country. A great explanation from the video taker about what he’s seeing helps too. The older lady must be a relative, either that or he’s being stalked through the market 🙂

Apr 24 2012

A Tale of Bird Vandalism

Just for fun 🙂

Apr 23 2012

Bet it Still Works Too.

Apr 22 2012

Love/Hate!!

I have a real love of wild birds, always have. My Dad was always pointing out birds when I was young and it has stuck with me.

I like watching them bounce around my trees beside the window were I sit at the computer.

Today I was typing away happily and all was as it should be on the benches. A few minutes later I spotted this.

My Orchid accent had been hauled out of the pot and scattered. A quick look around the benches and I spotted the offender.

Apr 21 2012

Stephen’s Hostas

Stephen took a drive up to Bali Hai Nursery today and brought back a box full of Hostas. Robert and I took a run down to his place for a look around the trees and see what Hostas he had come home with.

As usual Stephen had a cup of coffee in his hand 🙂