Ladder day

There was a good day for pruning hedges last week, so clearly an opportunity to exercise the new ladder, seemingly last noticed, perhaps last used, getting on for a year ago. With the tasks for the day being a spring trim for the yellow buddleia (the one lifted by cutting from mid-Wales, perhaps twenty five years ago) and an overdue trim for the firethorn (the one between the new bamboo and the buddleia).

Full performance and apart from the ladder I needed the wheel barrow, two sorts of pruner, the pruning saw (hard point), one small garden fork, the telescopic pruner (German) and the telescopic hook (left behind by a garden contractor working the other side of the back fence).

The vicious looking hook is visible just above top of the ladder in the snap above. Useful for hooking out branches which one has cut out but which do not fall out unaided. The red trim of the pruning head of the telescopic pruner is visible a little below.

The ladder proved its worth once again, providing a very steady platform for the older pruner, with the various positions on our not very level lawn requiring several leg-length adjustments.

A few downsides. In my eagerness to clear stuff away, I cleared away one of BH's two camelia bushes, largely hidden in the undergrowth. Then, careless with my handling of the telescopic pruner, I managed to bruise a rib. Like backs, something one does when one has forgotten about the last time and gets careless. And last but not least, the firethorn was cut back just before it comes into flower, which was a pity. Not as flashy as the hawthorn, but pretty good all the same.

On the upside, I managed not to puncture the tyre on the wheelbarrow on one of the vicious thorns on the firethorn. Thorns which retain their bite for quite some time after they have been cut; quite sharp and strong enough to punch through the soles of my shoes if you step on them straight on, never mind the tyre. Thorns which also serve to bind together all the prunings: one can lift the whole lot out of the barrow with the fork, rather in the way of a bale of straw. No need for handling.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-new-toy.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/03/captain-hook.html. Previous notice of the hook.