Fudging it 'til it works!

Fudging it ‘til it works! – February 2019

Jennifer Wright 

Pruning Fuchsia magellanica 'Floriade' in the sunked garden @TGardenHouse

As always, research is key especially when it comes to pruning. I often spend some time in and out of work, after I have received my job list for that week, working out various pruning styles and techniques that would suit what has come up. It doesn’t always help though; misshapen shrubs and trees always have their own ideas. On top of that, research doesn’t help when the plant you want to prune is newly introduced or rare. This means that there is very little previous information to go on. The best way I have found is to fudge it and give it a go after having looked at a related plant with similar growth habits. Asking advice from my colleagues saves a lot of time and heartache, so if I am unsure that is a fantastic choice. Most of the people I have had the pleasure to work with have been totally happy to share any knowledge or insight they may have. It is sometimes the case though that they know as little about it as I do. Then, the best thing to do it fudge it ‘til it works.

Fudging it ‘til it works is probably my philosophy in life. Basically, it boils down to this: research as much as possible (anxiety does wonders for this), give it a go, if it fudges up then try again and you know better for next time. Then if you have to do it again, use that as an opportunity to improve. Practice is key. 

Fudging it ‘til it works also means fudging it up pretty badly from time to time. In my defence, I am still a student but really, common sense is a thing. Around halfway through my 2-year apprenticeship at RBG Edinburgh I asked very, very nicely to be given a shot on the ride-on mowers before my LANTRA course later on that month. This wasn’t the first time I had been on a ride-on but it certainly was the last, at least for a year or so. My team and I set ourselves time and space in the nursery at RBGE so that I could practice in peace and without the danger of passing members of the public. The team went through the controls and I understood everything. In theory, I was now pretty good at knowing what I should be doing. Practically speaking, I had no clue what I was doing. The ride-on we had chosen was a kind of mower with zero-turn steering. This just means that instead of having a steering wheel, the mower has handles which you move back and forth depending on whether you want to go forward or back. Pushing just one handle forward means you will turn on the spot in the direction that you chose. Seems pretty simple right? It is. Once I got used to this machine after spending a lot of time practicing, zero-turn machines are so much nicer to use and zippier that conventional steering wheels.  

Back to the story – after going through the controls we set up a course for me to mow. It was pretty simple, just a box and mowing the space in between. All set and ready to go, I was just about to put my ear defenders on when I heard over the engine noise “Remember to avoid the water tap and go around it!”. Right, acknowledged. Off I went, nervous but having good fun. I am one of those people that when I am doing something new music starts playing in my head. Off on an adventure to steal a jewel from a dragon, having a great time exploring strange new worlds, and gallivanting through time and space. La, la, laaaaaaaaa… Bang! Of course, it was bound to happen. I hit the gosh darn water tap with the mower blades.  10 ft of water spray, gushing through the air like Niagara Falls. I was mortified. How could I not be? I had done exactly what I had been told not to do. I guess as my 2^nd defence of this story, at this point I couldn’t drive a car yet. However, all ends well, we laughed it off and fixed the tap. On the plus side, I now know more about plumbing and I always check the ground first before I mow. 

Always check the ground, is probably some of the best advice I have been given when it comes to mowing. There is so much random junk. Humans are one of dirtiest species on the planet. I have come across nappies, cans and clothes. All of which would damage smaller mowers. I am just grateful though that I have never, yet, come across used needles which some of my friends have been unfortunate enough to chance upon. 

I don't even what happened...

The ground can damage all sorts of tools so I do exercise caution. This stonker in the picture above happened the other week at The Garden House. I had never seen a hand fork do this before. I will maintain that I am just incredibly strong until I die but I know deep, deep down that the bramble I was getting at was stronger than me and the fork combined. Hand forks have this ability to just disappear and vanish into the pit of lost things. You can put it down for 5 seconds and it gets up then walks away. In one place I worked there was a running tally of hand forks lost that year and when the compost heap was turned, the tally showed how many that have been found again. Some disappear forever, others turn up 6 months down the line exactly where you left it. Those sneaky wee *insert bad word here* are a source of endless amusement for me and my colleagues. 

So, if I had any advice for this week. It would be this: research is key, listen to your elders, don’t hit the thing and put a tracking device on your hand forks.