March

The autumn clean up has begun.

The weeds have gone wild over the summer but so have all the native plants.

The paths have become tunnels through the greenery. 

We have had fantails playing around us feasting on the bugs we have disturbed as we work.

2014 plant allocation

Once again we have been lucky enough to receive a grant of Eco sourced plants from Peter Morris Hamilton City Council and Environment Waikato. 

We got 3 grass species for the swampiest area. Umbrella sedge, carex secta and carex virgeta.

Plagianthus Regus the ribbon wood is dotted in three places.

Two varieties if coprosma, thamnoides and rotundifolia have been put in under the punga.

And a new comer to the gully, macropiper excelsum or the pepper tree is being trialled on the bank under the punga.

30 plants in total. A good day!

The Brilliant Boggy Boardwalk Continues...

So after nearly 6months of neglect we have finally found the time to add the boards to the top of the stringers. The weeds have gotten away a bit but our planting has grown well too and is competing successfully in the more established areas. With access to this side of the section improved we should be able to keep a tighter rein on the noxious nasties.

Measurements done and the boards cut to size at the top of the gully we carried them down and began laying and nailing each one in.

It may be a small boardwalk in a private gully but there is no shoddy workmanship here. Working to a string line and using the square to centre the nails over the string gives it a top class finish with no extra trimming required.

And here is the completed path. Looks fabulous! The rectangular box that you can see on the right of the boardwalk is going to be a second seating area. This one will catch the afternoon sun and is big enough for two bench seats instead of the one in our shady summer retreat.

The only down side...

It was my turn to shed blood in the name of DIY this time. I caught my leg on a temporary nail and got four stitches for my lack of attention.

Well done to the man of the hour, architect, builder, labourer, first aider and "ambulance driver".

 

Posted with Blogsy

The corner is made

With wood cut the fixing of the boards to create a corner was completed today. Once fully nailed foreman Jaspurr inspected the work...

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

More cabbage trees

Four more cabbage trees have been donated from a friendly garden where they have self seeded in less than ideal places. Planted today and was surprised to find the ground not too soggy, even after all the rain lately.

Planning Session

Consulting on boardwalk construction.

Testing the Concrete

Phase two is complete.
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment...

Brilliant Boggy Boardwalk - Phase One

Construction has begun to connect the original section of boardwalk to the open area at the foot of the bank. Eventually there will be stairs joining this to the lower boardwalk making another complete curcuit of paths. Enabling year round access to different areas of the gully has been a key factor to the progress we have made with our planting and weed control over the last two years.

This is what we started with ...
Saturday 29 December 2012 - approximately 11 am.

Buried under the weeds are several sleepers. These are used as temporary walkways for access into new areas. These ones have been on duty for a long while ...
We removed the sleepers ...

and lay out the string lines.

The ground is then cleared and leveled - fortunately the apprentice arrived to help with this job.

The soil goes from silty clay at the high end to peat bog over the space of a few metres. Digging the foundation holes is challenging but as they fill up with water within a few hours it makes concreting easier.

The foundation posts are measured and cut, the first rail is attached and the board walk begins to take shape.

The second set of posts and rail are prepared and placed.

Temporary cross bars are added to hold the widths and levels until the concrete is in.
Time was called then at 7.30pm with a solid days work done.
Concreting was planned for the next day but had to be called off due to poor weather conditions.
Tune in for the next exciting installment of Brilliant Boggy Boardwalks - Phase Two.

This seating area and path were the first developed after we started clearing the weeds out of the gully. There was originally a slightly worn track through here but the seating area was overrun with cuttygrass, blackberry, arum lillies and convulvulous.

Seating area

Newly developed area

Brick Path

Yesterday as we were heading down to the gully we saw a tui in our cherry tree at the top of the stairs.  So rare to see them.  I think it was after the camillia which has just started flowering.

Renga Renga

The Renga Renga came from a property where the owners are developing part of their section and no longer needed them.  These have been in a week and are doing well following a couple of hard frosts.

Boardwalk

This board walk is at the bottom of our section of gully and therefore over the wettest area.  It was made from a recycled fence so the only costs were for the foundation posts and rails and a bit of quick set cement.  The advantage to working with cement in a wet area is that you don't need to add water.  Just dig a hole and there it is!

Jaspurr

Jaspurr comes down and oversees all work in the gully, usually sitting on the bit you are working on. The railway sleepers have been a tremendous help as temporary access while we are clearing and planting an area.  This gives us time to see where any potential water seepage issues will be and we can plan and build the paths accordingly.  Then we just move them on to the next bit.

Stairs down to gully

A favourite resting spot on the way back up to the house.  We often strategically leave a beer or two here on the way down to ease the journey back up after planting, digging, weeding, building, etc...

All the materials and plants used to develop the gully have to be carried down these stairs, including the pebbles for the paths which are trekked down by the bucket load.  We have often enlisted the aid of the young people we know - exchanging work for dinner - win-win!

Two years

This little video shows one of the areas we began developing a few years ago.  It has been self sustaining now for about two years.  Thanks to Environment Waikato with their plants for gullys scheme that has helped us to achieve these results and more.

Jaspurr Furred

Gully Research Assistant resting up for the next expedition.

Email post

Test to see if I can email to the blog.