With our Hanami Party just one week away we held a Japanese Garden working bee to prepare the garden for next Sunday's gathering at Frankston High School's Senior Campus.
Not quite the numbers we had hoped for but a huge thanks to Peter, John and Nicole who came along to help with a variety of tasks in the garden. The first was to remove the protective netting from the tree favored by the local possums, with the upper leaves now growing through the netting and affecting the tree's growth.
We then removed a dead tree located near the shishi odoshi (deer/wild boar clapper) at the back of the garden.
Peter then set about cutting and spraying the unwanted bamboo shoots while John helped me with pruning and trimming the many shrubs and trees in the garden - predominantly azaleas, but also camellias and plums.
Nicole did a fantastic job of removing the many dead flowers from the different varieties of azalea bushes.
Other tasks included removing the fallen bamboo leaves from the Foot Street end of the garden; repairing the shishi odoshi; raking, blowing and removing the cuttings and ever-present gum leaves; cleaning the cobwebs from the classroom windows; and finishing with pressure washing the brick work adjacent to the rooms.
And a final water and it was time to take a few snaps.
Thanks to Therese who arrived with a delicious morning tea - sorry Nicole, it was about 5 minutes after you had to leave. Many thanks to John, Peter and Nicole for giving up a few hours of your Sunday morning to come along and help tidy the garden!
