Sweet smell of success

The office is surrounded by a sweet smelling Viburnum bodantense 'Dawn".... pink flowers cover the bare branches, and the scent, oh my!
Soft pink flowers that slowly fade to white and producing a highly scented sweet fragrance that captivates any passer-by.

Merry christmas

All of us at Hima Nursery would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and encouragement over the year. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for a Successful Year in 2010.

King of Spades

Even though we have some snow left on the ground from yesterdays snow storm (well, it seemed like a snow storm to me!), the troops ventured out to the farm again today to begin digging trees, as we are behind schedule.
Our illustrious mechanics (bless their hearts) have figured out a method of attaching our tree spade to our Cat 315, allowing us to access some of the wetter portions of the farm.

The only trouble is, some of the trees tend to be a little too large for even this work horse... So, while we can dig some of the smaller caliper material, the fact remains that the troops must hand dig the larger Carpinus betulus, Pyrus calleryana and Prunus varieties. But, that is good.... otherwise the trusty shovels will rust away from lack of use! Today... nine more trees down (not literally, thankfully) and about 3,500 more to go....

Winter is here

Florida sounds pretty good right now..as does Hawaii..or even Fiji!
With the cold arctic air howling down from the north, and temperatures plummetting..work is probably the least of our concerns. Number One priority is how to stay warm.... mind you, work always helps in that regard....work up a sweat my boy, is what my father used to say!

Right now, working up a sweat sitting next to a cozy fire with a cup of hot coffee and a donut in my hand is probably a better thought!

We are sending some of the work force home early these days as the temperature is plummeting to around 17 degrees (as a high!)... Spring cannot come soon enough~

Even our magnificent fountain in the front of the office is struggling to stay free of being completely iced over....

Jack Frost

First heavy frost of the season and it has certainly shaken everyone up with a view of what to expect as we roll on further into December. Walking to the back of the nursery this morning, I noticed the 1 gallon Mahonia aquifolium with their jewel colored leaves resplendent with an icing of white (frost) frosting, the miscanthus grass looking like sheaves of wheat ready for harvesting- tall, upright and their seed heads held predominantly above the blades, and the tiny Cornus canadensis with their little red berries sparkling amongst the pale green foliage.

It reminds of being out on the farm the other day; strolling past a log on the estuary, it looked photogenic (hence the picture) but also reminded me that the estuary is also home to the almighty of all engineers...the mighty beaver. Cute little animals, except when I walk to the back of the tree farm and find that they have felled at least ten Prunus serrulata in order to create their dam (home).

Soldiers

Out at the tree farm this morning, I must admit that I craved the warm car interior. However, who am I to deny the crisp, chilly, winter air and the plummeting temperature signaling the close proximity to the festive season.
I was busy tagging trees for the team to begin digging when I noticed a row of "straight as you please" soldiers standing in perfect unison across the estuary. Well, not really soldiers but a plantation of Betula alba... one of my favorite trees. Their white bark blended with the white clouds filling the sky and were highlighted by the recent topping of snow on the nearby mountains. In all, another day that makes one glad to be alive...

And more trees

And the saga continues..as does the rain.....
The team jumped right in to their stride again today, digging, sculpting, molding, wrapping and tying more trees..... Yesterday fulfilled the order for the Calocedrus decurrens and the Cedrus deodora, today focuses on the Betula jaquemontii and the Platanus acerifolia. Bear in mind that these are not small trees; most material on the farm has a caliper (width of the tree trunk) of between 6"- over 10" which in turn equates to a height of between fifteen to over twenty feet. Not small trees....!

There is a definite art in sculpting the root balls and a particular art of wrapping the root ball. This team has embraced that education and have already have the ability of digging approximately one tree per hour, close to the industry standard. (Yes, sweet Virginia..there is a standard for the amount of trees to be dug per hour).

But, there we have it.... approximately nine trees down (excuse the pun) and thousands more to go....

Before signing off however, we must revisit that work of art in the root ball.......