Stage 4: Planting the Trees & Azaleas |
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In preparation of planting the azaleas and trees horse manure and lime were added to the soil.
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A color was chosen for the walls, and they were painted by Carrie. |
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Meanwhile the azaleas were prepared by removing them from their buckets. |
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Toru arrived and put the finishing touches on the wall. |
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The trees were brought over and prepared for planting. |
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Toru then laid out the first line of azaleas for planting. He gave instructions about how to plant them. One interesting thing he taught was that they should all be angled to face a central point (the sliding glass door to the left of Evan in this photo-->). This helps create cohesion and focus to the garden. |
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The planting begins. Jikan, Chozen, Sojin and Carrie all participate, with Toru looking on and making adjustments. |
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The remaining trees are also planted. Here Evan and Al prepare to plant the magnolia. |
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| Flagstones are carried by Toru and Sojin to the courtyard floor and carefully placed. They will be cemented into place, and the rest of the courtyard will be covered with white gravel. | |
After they are planted the azaleas are watered. Toru taught us that the initial watering that comes after planting is very important, and done in a very specific way. The water is carefully applied to the base of the azalea in a heavy stream. The azalea is then shaken to settle the water and allow air to escape. This is repeated several times until there are no air pockets remaining under the plant. This is crucial for the plants growth and success. |
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After being watered the azaleas are trimmed. They are cut flat, so that eventually they will grow together to form one continuous hedge (rather than many, rounded, individual plants). |
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After being trimmed they are meticulously cleaned. |
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| Here's the garden with the azaleas and trees in place. | |
Evan is ready to end a hard day of work! |
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Days later Ryushin does some watering. |
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Finally dwarf thyme is planted in the central area. This will eventually grow together and become a ground cover. |
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The next step will be to finish the flagstones in the courtyard, and then the surrounding wall. Thank you to everyone who helped, it has come so far! |
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February 2007 |
June 2007 |
| < Stage 3 | |