Soon after moving to a new place, issues tend to arise that require problem-solving. After cleaning up the washing machine that came with the house it’s gone well apart from a minor hose leak. With relief I got the first lot of laundry out to the washing line. All good. But there was little sun reaching the washing line because of the walnut tree. Hours of shade in autumn isn’t conducive to getting washing dry! While we relaxed in an Invercargill cafe on Thursday I broached the subject to Nigel.. if you want dry washing then the walnut tree needs attention – do you want to keep it or cut it down? I got the answer I anticipated – he wants to keep it but is willing to prune it. So he purchased a pruning saw and home we went. Yesterday I was impressed with the prompt attention to the tree and the heap of branches that got sawn off. This is a photo-story of yesterday’s doings.
Tapanui, Clutha District, New Zealand. Photos taken by Liz
In New Zealand sun and warmth come from the north which is exactly where the walnut tree is in relation to the washing line. I didn’t take a “before” photo of the dense top and Nigel was well into his work when I thought to go out and take photos.
I strode into the work site, got in the way, and demanded smiles for the camera. Nigel was most accommodating – he was actually enjoying the work! These are smaller top branches that he removed first.
Early this afternoon (Saturday), I went to hang out some washing and take a few more photos. In this photo you can see the large thick branch that was sawn off at the end of yesterday’s work. In the background are the Blue Mountains that form the backdrop to Tapanui.
And here is the pruned tree with Nigel’s fabulously neat saw-cuts. No chainsaw!
Today we have an overcast sky and can’t enjoy seeing how much the shade has been reduced by the pruning. We were both pleased to see that it generally looks much lighter and more pleasant where the washing line is.
For the record Nigel is again wielding the pruning saw as he attends to conifer trees on the west side of our property that are badly shading house and lawn from the afternoon sun.
Nigel is a Landscape Architect and Director of Growplan Blog | Website
Text and photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2019)
Exploring Colour 
Wow, Nigel is a chain-artist!
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Hahaha! 🙂 🙂
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That must have been very hard work! Looks great and will help the rest of your garden. Love the mountain backdrop – must be a great area to live in! 🙂
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We’re very happy to be residents here at long last (after a decade or more of wanting to come to Tapanui).
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People everywhere are enjoying the autumn weather in the garden…impressive work with the saw!
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Thanks! I’m looking forward to some sunshine to see the full extent of what’s been achieved – the weather is supposed to clear up tomorrow afternoon.
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What an amazing job Nigel did. We too have trees that need attention (it seems like it never ends). But the trees do reward you for any attention, so it’s all good.
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Thanks Kay, I’m trying to shape the tree into a lollipop form, like a child’s drawing and as thin as possible (4 feet is my aim) to allow light thru. Nigel
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