Have I mentioned how good the people doing the level 2 Certificate course are? I’ve not worked with such motivated people for a long time. If I mention anything and they are not sure what I mean, they ask for me to explain it better, so my English is now a mix of Toktok, English and scientific names. Every one is happy knowing the latin names for the plants, they all come from different provinces here, and there is a different common name for everything, so we stick to the latin nomenclature, and we all know exactly which palm/tree/shrub we are meaning.
It’s good for me, I’ve been doing such a mix of trades for the past few years, engineering, landscaping, bakery, nursery work, to settle in one occupation for the next 2 years will be great.
Tiffany and I went to the hotel site, ok, once more I’ve really jumped into a deep hole. There are 3 acres of space to landscape, and also the front entrance to design and build. Thankfully, a lot of the space is going to be carparks, although where all the cars are coming from I don’t know. Most of the tourists here use the taxis, or tour guides to get around. There is a car rental agency, but even so, 200 carparks?
The landscaping around the back of the hotel down to the beach will be easy, mostly a mix of Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, palms and cycas, also a large lawn expanse and paved footpaths and seating outside the open bar and pool area.
The front entrance feature is going to be the main effort. I’m pushing for a water feature, 10m wide 3m high waterfall, into a pool of water lilies with palms, hibiscus, delonix regia, caesalpinia, around the outside. It’s a U shaped front entrance, 33m wide, 15m deep to fill. Tiffany has a local wood sculptor I am going to hopefully get to make up two 10m wide by 3m high wooden traditional carvings to use behind the waterfall front and back, then use uplighting to accentuate them at night behind a sheet of water. The back of the garden has a glass wall for the main restaurant so it has to be a two sided design. It all sounds great, apart from the fact I have 2 weeks to have it designed and costed, and 3 months to have it all installed before opening in June.
Needless to say, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown in June once it’s all completed, if we get the approval first.
My seeds I planted last Saturday have already come through, beans, courgettes, cucumbers, so this weekend will be another digging and planting exercise to get coriander, tomatoes, basil, chilli, capsicums, (bell peppers in the USA), apple cucumbers, bok choy and pak choy started.
We had a few visitors to the Gardens today, two English girls on their big South Pacific tour, and an older lady. She turned out to be the Fijian American Consuls wife, and a close friend of Kiethie Saunders, who is the USA Consul here, and also the main driving force behind getting the Botanic Gardens restored. I’m pleased I took the time to meet and show her around, she is bringing her husband back later in the week and I’ll make a point of being available to show them the walkways and gardens.
I keep finding plants buried in the forest growth and going WOW!!!!!! There is a small grove of Cycas bougainvillea some 10’ – 12’ high, and one full of seed fruits. When I asked back at the office if we still had any growing, apparently last year the nursery was broken into, and all the cycas, and rarer orchids, and the few Delonix were stolen, and presumably taken to Singapore or Malaya for sale. And to make matters worse, the last lot of Cycas seed heads were hacked off the palms one weekend, and again presumably smuggled out.
I’m slowly getting the crew to understand how important it is to keep our plants here in the Gardens, as a repository for propagation and show. And to propagate and grow as many of the native species as possible.
The girls in the nursery, with our make shift propagating tray and river sand, are happy, the bougainvillea cuttings have survived 2 days now, without wilting. I’ll have to write up a proposal for VSA NZ to submit to the NZ Nursery Association and try for a donation of a waterpump, pressure system and spray/mist piping. Hand watering every 2 – 3 hours with a watering can isn’t the best, but it seems to be working.
We suffer from a chronic lack of everything, wheel barrows, we have 2, the others were stolen, chainsaws, the Police bought 1 small (12” blade) chainsaw back after the break in last year, but the other 4 bigger ones are presumably long gone to the forestry by now. Handtools, secateurs, loppers etc, are all highly prized high theft articles, despite the bars and locks we have everywhere. It can get frustrating.
The pothole I hit last week and flattened the tyre in, the wheel rim is damaged beyond repair, running repairs here are constant drain on our funds.
On a positive note, it is finally raining here. Thunder, lightning, and a steady downpour for the past 2 hours.
Gecko watch update. After a couple of days without a single gecko anywhere inside, one climbed up my back, which I didn’t really appreciate much, after finding a couple of large black and aggressive looking spiders on the inside of the mosquito mesh on the windows. But no harm done to either of us, apart from spilling my iced coffee on the floor.
And the large 6” one is back in the kitchen again after the bit of excitement with the stove the other night.
Pic is of the USA War Memorial on Skyline Drive.
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