Week 2

It is the Friday night of my second week of working in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and I have found myself trapped within Tannock House, unable to venture outside without running the risk of encountering a man wielding a shotgun. No worries, though! My supervisor had warned me over a cup of coffee earlier in the day that this would be the case. Nighttime shotgun patrols are a semi-regular occurrence here in the gardens as a cultural control of possum and rabbit populations. Originally introduced from Australia in 1837 as a means of establishing a fur trade, the Brush Tailed Possum has since gone on to become a major pest throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Their penchant for nibbling at lush native vegetation has led to significant damage to forest areas and created competition for food with native bird species. The wiley little critters, unhindered by their usual predators and nourished by the lush New Zealand flora, have seen their population reach as high as 50 million in the mid 1980s. Currently, almost half of New Zealand’s vegetated land has some form of possum control in place and the population has been reduced to around 30 million as of 2009*.

*Further conservation efforts to introduce a species of predatory Chinese Needle Snake to reduce possum numbers, followed by a subsequent introduction of snake-eating gorillas to quell the snakes have been widely discredited and may in fact be a quote from a Simpsons episode.

New Propagation House

A large development is currently in the process of being about to take place at Dunedin Botanic Gardens. In the coming months, work is to begin on the construction of a new propagation facility that will completely replace the gardens’ current setup. The new facilities are to be built on an area known as Lovelock Bush, which currently falls under the jurisdiction of the Native section of the gardens. Within this area are a number of plant specimens that the gardens intend on preserving and as such need to be moved. These include the native trees and shrubs Coprosma crassifolia, C. tenuicaulis, Melicytus chathamicus, Myrsine divaricata, Phyllocladus alpinus, Syzygium maire and Manaoa colensoi. Throughout the course of this week, I helped to move a number of these specimens to different areas within the gardens. One such a location was a makeshift holding area that my team had created to store plants until a permanent site has been chosen for them within the gardens. Due to the size of the specimens it would not have been possible for my colleagues and I to move them by hand. Instead, we enlisted the services of a digger, which allowed the native trees and shrubs to be dug out and transported with ease. The plants were deposited and their roots covered with soil and compost in the holding area to prevent them expiring. Hopefully they won’t be there for too long.

Digger damage! And replanted bed in background. (24/9/2013)

The digger also transported two trees, Melicytus chatamicus, along with two shrubs, Olearia hectorii, to a large bed by the southeast entrance of the gardens. Following a quick reshuffle of some Camelias that were already present in the bed and a general sprucing up of the area, Joe and I successfully replanted the trees and shrubs. In the process of depositing our plants, the digger’s treads caused a significant amount of damage to the turf in front of the bed. We amended this damage by raking the area over and sowing turf seed into the affected areas before giving everything a long hearty drink of water. We shall see how things develop in the coming weeks!

Succulent Spring Show

Unknown funky cactus. (26/9/2013)

During the latter part of this week, I assisted my colleague Joe in setting up a plant display that he had designed. The display was to be part of the local spring flower show, which is held every year in the bar of a horseracing course on south side of Dunedin. As the theme of his display, Joe had chosen ‘Cacti and Succulents’ and had been allowed access to the vast array of the weird and wonderful specimens that are held in the glasshouses of the gardens. After VERY carefully gathering together all of the required specimens for the display, Joe, Lucy the propagation apprentice and I set about arranging the various cacti and succulents into their final design. The next morning we once again VERY carefully dismantled the display and loaded it into the gardens’ van to be transported across town to the Spring Show.

Joe's display in its early stages. (26/9/2013)

Plant Sale

The gardens also played host to a plant sale this week. Members of a group known as the Friends of the Botanic Gardens divided a number of ornamental perennials and displayed them for sale in the propagation department, which was opened to the public for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I am led to believe that the sale was a resounding success with around $400 being raised.

Plants ready for sale. (27/9/2013)

Identification Test

Finally, I opted to take part in the monthly plant I.D. test that is held for the gardens’ apprentices. The theme of this months test was ‘Evergreen Trees and Shrubs’. Each month, twenty-five plants are chosen from around the gardens with twenty being present in the final test. The apprentices must then learn the plants’ Genus, Species and Family be able to identify a sample of each. For my old class back in Edinburgh (and anyone else that might be interested), here is the list from this months test:

1. Acacia baileyana 'Pupurea'

2. Azara integrifolia

3. Chiranthodendron pentadactylon

4. Choisya ternata

5. Correa alba

6. Corynocarpus laevigatus

7. Desfontinia spinosa

8. Eucryphia cordifolia

9. Acca sellowiana (syn. Fijoa sellowiana)

10. Griselinia littoralis

11. Hebe salicifolia

12. Hedycarya arborea

13. Leptospermum lanigerum

14. Melicytus chathamicus

15. Melicytus ramiflorus

16. Melicytus macrophyllus

17. Myoporum laetum

18. Nematolepis squamea

19. Pennantia corymbosa

20. Peumus boldus

21. Pittosporum cornifolium

22. Podanthus ovatifolius

23. Rhamnus californicus

24. Streblus banksii

25. Syzygium maire

Revision! (26/9/2013)

Tales from the Wiggy Wig Bush!

The Wiggy-Wig Bush (Muehlenbeckia astonii) (20/9/2013)

Following a much-appreciated week of relaxed acclimatisation and gentle meandering, I began my work with the Dunedin Botanic Gardens. During my first week I was lucky enough to be involved in a wide range of activities including label making, pricking out bedding plants, flax pruning and seed collecting. 

Labels under construction in the workshop (20/9/2013)

As is customary for those undertaking student placements such as mine, I am to spend my initial weeks working in the New Zealand Native Plants’ section of the garden. I will be doing so under the guidance of Shirley Stuart, the curator of this particular collection and a wonderfully knowledgeable and helpful supervisor.

The Native section actually comprises a number of areas spread throughout the gardens. These include an alpine scree garden, native forest or ‘bush’ and a butterfly-friendly embankment. Overall, 3 hectares of land is given over to cultivated borders with a further 10 hectares being used for native bush. Within this area, a diverse array of New Zealand’s flora is exhibited, from mature trees to near invisible alpine mosses. A large portion of the work that I undertook during this first week was general maintenance i.e weeding, pruning and tidying of the various areas of the Native section. However, there were a couple of new tasks and a whole load of plants that I had not encountered back home.

Native Alpine Garden (20/9/2013)

Save the Butterflies!

After having just managed to come to grips with some of the more common native plant species of the UK, I had once again been thrown back into the deep end. The isolated nature of the islands comprising New Zealand has lead to the development of a unique variety of flora with a large number of endemic species. Thankfully, though I was able to pick a few familiar faces amongst the unfamiliar masses.  But first, to work! Along with one of the garden’s senior apprentices, Joe, and a student from the local college, Oliver, I was assigned to the butterfly bank. Set on an embankment in the lower gardens, the butterfly bank is an area populated by plants that are particularly hospitable to butterflies. However, in recent years large portions of the embankment have started to erode quite severel, leaving large areas of exposed rock face. In response to this my team and I planted out specimens of Hebe pubescens subsp. pubescens and the ground shrub Muehlenbeckia commplexa to act as ground cover as well as fortifying the ground through the future development of the plants’ roots. The flowers too of the H. pubescens subsp. pubescens provide a luxurious hangout for a weary butterflies.

Butterfly Embankment covered in Hebes - (16/9/2013)

Flax Pruning

Another task that I was asked to undertake was to prune a large stand of flax (Phormium tenax) situated on the edge of the gardens. Never having pruned Flax before, I was given a demonstration by Shirley as well as an insight into the significant status that flax holds within New Zealand’s horticultural history.

Stand of flax (Phormium tenax). (18/9/2013)

The name Flax refers to two species of large, herbaceous monocot Phormium tenax and P. cookianum and the range of cultivated varieties that exist of each. A common ornamental plant seen in many present-day gardens, flax and the use of its large leaf fibres for weaving has been a mainstay of the New Zealand’s Maori culture for centuries. Though not a Maori myself, the cultural traditions surrounding the pruning of flax make sense from a horticultural stand point and if adhered to will ensure a healthy plant that produces strong growth over multiple seasons.

A stand of flax is comprised of numerous ‘fans’ of leaves with between two and fourteen leaves growing around a central leaf in each. Pruning of flax should take place during the day and not whilst it is raining or snowing. Leaves are usually harvested in late spring. When pruning, the central leaf along with the leaf on either side of it is left untouched. This will allow the fan to regrow in subsequent growing seasons. The remaining leaves are cut at a downward angle away from the central three leaves with the cut staying as close to the base as possible. This will minimise the potential for water collecting in the base of the fan and leading to rot of the remaining leaves. When cut, the flax leaves at the base of the fan expel a thick sap that has excellent antiseptic properties. The cut leaves should then be gathered into piles and tied into tight bundles for storage. It is worth noting that, out of respect for the flax, Maoris would not step over these bundles at any point during the harvesting process.

A pruned fan of flax (18/9/2013)

There you have it! A somewhat abridged account of the more in depth tasks that I was asked to carry out during my first week in Dunedin. Keep checking back for more updates as they arrive.

Arriving at Tannock House

Tannock House Front Garden 8/9/2013

The last time I set foot in the Botanic Gardens of Dunedin was just short of three and a half years ago. I had been hitchhiking my way around New Zealand for the past six weeks and through a twist of fate had been able to convene with a friend of mine from Scotland who was in much the same transient state as myself. Together we idled away an afternoon, exploring the various areas the Gardens had to offer. Having not yet become horticulturally inclined at this point in my life, I never expected that I would one day return not only to work but also to live in the very gardens in which we sat.

Following a bout of travel that lasted somewhere in the region of thirty six hours and spanned three continents, five countries and fourteen thousand miles I found myself once again bumbling my way back into New Zealand, ready for a new adventure. Unlike my previous forays into the world of long distance travel, I was this time equipped with something I had never before possessed- a plan. What a luxury it was then to alight at the bus station in Dunedin and rather than attempt scour the local hostels and campsites, be met by Barbara Wheeler, the collections supervisor of the Gardens and escorted to my residence for the next ten months.

My new home, Tannock House, does not have an official physical address. This is because it is sandwiched between the Gardens’ propagation department and Rhododendron Dell on the top of a hill overlooking Dunedin. A more beautiful and staggeringly convenient location I could not have asked for. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by my new housemates Margaret, Tony and their dog Asia all of whom live in the house full-time and act as informal hosts to students being put up by the Gardens. Currently, I am the only extra lodger staying in the house, though there will be a few popping up over the coming weeks. As I am due to stay for ten months, Margaret and Tony have kindly put me up in an exceptionally large and comfortable bedroom for which I am eternally grateful. To my delight, there is also a wee vegetable garden that I have kindly been permitted to commandeer.
 

Tannock House Veg. Garden- Watch this space!

Tannock House was built in 1904 following the appointment of the Scottish horticulturalist David Tannock (1873-1952) as the Curator of the Gardens. Originally from Tarbolton in Ayrshire, Scotland, Tannock had worked as gardener at Pollok House in Glasgow before enrolling as a student at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, aged 22. After only nine months as a student gardener he was appointed the position of deputy-foreman in charge of the palm and tropical lily houses. Throughout this time, Tannock attended classes in botany, physics and chemistry at the London Polytechnic, where he obtained a first class Science Certificate in Advanced Botany. In 1899 he was appointed to the Agricultural School of the Dominica before finally taking up residence in Dunedin in 1903. He was joined the following year by his fiancé, Jessie and together they took up residence in Tannock House in the as yet undeveloped upper gardens.Throughout the following thirty-seven years he spent as Curator, Tannock was to prove instrumental in the development of the Gardens. His initial proposal that the Gardens be split into four sections- Arboretum, Herbaceous Ground, Flower and Rose Garden and Shrubbery Collection- and their subsequent development are still defining features of the Gardens as they stand today.

It is comforting to know then that I am not the first Scotsman to uproot himself and move out to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens. However, it would seem that I have quite an act to follow...

View from the Front Garden 8/9/2013

First Things First

Fritillaria imperialis- Dunedin Botanic Gardens (10/9/2013)

As a student of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh I have completed one year of the Horticulture with Plantsmanship degree course. In lieu of entering straight into the second year, I have opted to undertake a year of work experience to supplement my academic studies. Over the next ten months this blog will document my time spent as a Student Trainee with the Dunedin Botanic Gardens on the South Island of New Zealand.  However, I intend for my subsequent ramblings to act as more than merely a diary of my day-to-day endeavours. What follows here, in addition to being a chronicle of my work within the Gardens, will hopefully also facilitate communication and information exchange between Dunedin and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh (as well as anybody else that may have a question or two along the way). So don’t be shy! Comments and feedback of all sorts will be warmly welcomed.  Queries can also be emailed to craighuggan@hotmail.com. Enjoy!