Ahhhhh, Spring

...and the smell of biosolids is in the air.

With an artful combination of gin/tonic and old outhouse smells emanating from the field application across the street, golfers are welcomed to Highlands Golf .  "It's downright awful," said a lady yesterday.

Whew!...wonder if the operator is wearing a respirator *gasp*

Maybe they'll be done soon.
Hope it doesn't rain on that slurry...

It's spring.

Time to open up the palms...yup, palm trees, here.

Carpenter Hughie removes the heated palm hut from the Trachycarpus fortunei...on St. Patrick's Day.

The Trachy came through winter unscathed...and why not:  it had electric heat!

Then the planting of the Canary Island Date Palm at the clubhouse patio:



A couple of little palms were planted.  At left is a Sabal; to the right of the mattock tool is a Chamaerops humilis.

...and Hughie admiring the flowering Jade Tree (almost 40 years old...the tree, not Hughie!)

 

The Yucca rostrata "Sappire Skies" came through winter, unheated, but with a plastic cover to keep them dry, and are already growing.



Two Washingtonia filifera palms (just being unwrapped).  They did fine, albeit with a bit of fungus damage, which will be pruned off.



The little Brahea armata did well over winter, with only a plastic (vapour barrier) cover and C-9 Christmas lights for heat, on a T-3 thermocube.  The Brahea has grown a couple of inches since the photo was taken.



Inside the house this winter, the Bird of Paradise shot up a lovely flower:



And the Cymbidium orchid was lovely.



Both of the above are now enjoying the outdoors at the clubhouse patio.

And here's Kia, waking up from those long winter naps...ready to greet golfers:



"Yawn, OK let's get going," says Kia, refreshed.

Yippeeeee, spring.

Palm Trees Protected for Winter

...and not a moment too soon, with a -10.7C low at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 20th.

Hughie the carpenter had some extra help this year...Hayden and Patrick...and the Trachycarpus fortunei's panels went up quickly.

After electric heater and T-3 Thermocube were installed and hooked up to the GFI, the palm is all set for winter.

Now for the two Washingtonia filiferas and three Yucca rostratas...A more substantially-insulated covering (than shown below...a stop-gap measure) will be needed for the five-month winter ahead. 

  

 

 

 The first Washingtonia is heated with two strands of C-9 Christmas lights, set on a T-3 Thermocube, again into a GFI...the light string continues on the ground (un-needed bulbs are unplugged) to the three Yucca rostrata (about 10 lights each) , concluding with the last two strands of lights at the last Washingtonia filifera.

Topped off with waterproof covers after setting black garbage bags filled with leaves (for additional insulation near roots), the electricity is plugged in and ready to go.  Remote sensors register temperatures in all the palm enclosures, and display it in the residence.

Fortunately, this unappealing set-up isn't visible from the road!

And then there are the tropical, indoor palms. ...some require a rather cool temperature during winter, so they're in the clubhouse:

And then there are the warm-winter loving tropical palms...back into the residence.  So that's what a foyer is for!!!

The seven-foot Wodyetia bifurcata (Foxtail) above is one of about a dozen large tropicals that overwinter in the residence.  Others are Hyophorbe verschaffeltii (Spindle palm), Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (Bottle Palm), Cocos nucifera (Coconut palm), Phoenix roebellenii (Pygmy Date Palm), three (yes, 3) Dypsis decaryi (Triangle palm), Strelitzia nicolai (Bird of Paradise), as well as Cycas debaoensis and Wollemia nobilis among others.

"Did you apply for a building permit for the outdoor palm huts?" quipped Kia.