Going Stag

Today I spent several hours working out in the front yard. It looks much better but there is still another full day’s work to finish it up.  I cleared out the weeds in the front planter and had Brent dig some holes for me to plant some of our plants purchased almost two years ago for landscaping! Much better!

When I was finished for the day, I decided to take a few pictures. My favorite is of the staghorn fern.  My dad originally obtained some staghorn fern plants from a friend of my mother's. He took the old containers apart and replanted the ferns into 4 or 5 large hanging baskets. Mother gave us one of the baskets in October 2003 and we hung it from a tree limb.  It was heavy and not easy, but they did it!

Then we decided to take that tree out since it was so messy and had to move the fern to the front yard magnolia tree.  While hanging there, the wire basket rusted through and the LARGE plant fell to the ground. It sat there for quite some time as it is too heavy for two men to move.

 

Mike and I decided  last spring (2009) to make a macrame holder out of nylon rope for the staghorn to rehang it. After a botched attempt (wrong shape), Brent used his math skills to help us retie the knots in  a way to fit the plant. Mike had our fence guy build a metal post and cement it deep in the ground to hang the staghorn on. It was not an easy thing to drag the staghorn across the yard (sliding it on boards)  and then hoist it up onto the pole using Brent’s engineered rope pulley with Mike wrapped around the ropes pulling as he walked down the street!  But up it went last spring.

The plant looked pretty sad after being shoved into a macrame net holder with leaves being squished here and there as well as the wear and tear of the original fall and then travel across the yard. I watered and cared for it, gently pulling leaves through the woven macrame.  And voila! This spring it just took off and is full and beautiful!