Monday, March 06, 2017 – Cutting Down Willows, Diagonal Sidewalk, Gaillardia, Coleus Cuttings

We worked outdoors in the blustery wind all day. The temperature was nice, in the 50’s, but most of the day had a 20mph wind that made the temperature seem colder than it was. 

We cut down and/or trimmed a lot of the willows on the grounds of Old Nauvoo, including at FM. Many of the willows have started to show green shoots and they need their annual pruning. We started with the pussy willows at FM. Then we moved to the Lyon Drug where there are over a dozen willows of various varieties and sizes that needed to be cut back.

 

The last of the willows we trimmed were at the Family Living Center. The willows there hadn’t been pruned in years so they were huge. They were due for some needed maintenance. Unlike the pussy willows and some of the others that were completely cut back, the willows at the Family Living Center were only pruned back to enhance their shape and get rid of the dead wood.

We finished our morning at the Diagonal Sidewalk that cuts across the southeast corner of Young and Main streets. Many of the bushes and trees that line the sidewalk on both sides had become overgrown. They had lots of limbs hanging out over the sidewalk and obstructing the way of walkers, joggers, and bicyclist. 

After lunch we finished our work day in the greenhouse back at the job of transplanting seedlings. This time we transplanted Gaillardia into 4” pots.  Gaillardias are a new variety of flower that Richard is trying out this year. They should work out well and be a beautiful addition to the flowerbeds all around Old Nauvoo this summer.

At home this afternoon I was back in our porch’s makeshift greenhouse.  I spent a little over an hour and a half making rooted cuttings of the 12 Coleus plants we’ve had since October sixth.  I was able to get 76 cuttings and hopefully they will all root successfully.