Teamwork key when tidying up, mulching borders for winter

As we head into the winter months at Dunedin Botanic Garden our focus has been on tidying up the borders ready for mulching. The work involved can include pruning of trees and shrubs, cutting back of perennials and new plantings. In some of the larger borders it can be quite daunting with the amount of work involved so to work more efficiently we work together as a team.

Recently we have had large piles of mulch placed in various locations throughout the botanic garden by the truck load.

This has then required a big team effort to wheelbarrow numerous loads considerable distances to place mulch on to the borders, spread it and carefully rake it level around the plants, avoiding burying these plants under the mulch.

The old saying "many hands make light work" is very true. These team days are great for staff morale, and with management working alongside the team it makes for great staff bonding, along with an opportunity for staff to appreciate and familiarise ourselves with the plants within these collections.

At the start of the day, as we get going, there is a line-up of wheelbarrows and lots of people shovelling at times. We almost need traffic management with the number of wheelbarrows and shovels on the go, but we soon learn to get into a good rhythm and avoid minor wheelbarrow bumps as the pile disappears quickly.

Next time you walk past a freshly mulched border spare a thought for all the teamwork and effort that went in to applying this mulch and the number of wheelbarrows involved. — Linda Hellyer, collection curator — rose and herbaceous and herb gardens