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)