Grapery

I worked with Ginny and Hudson again today, finishing up yesterday's project. I learned that applying milk to clivias and orchids will make them shiny for displays. We worked with Andrew after lunch on the grapes some more. The light penetration is so much greater now that they're pruned! You don't want the offshoots from the nodes on the side-branches. They must be tied to wires, and only extend 2 wires away from the main vine (about 4 feet). Back when Mr. Du Pont was directing the gardens, the fruit clusters were pruned so that there was not a neighboring grape within 3/4 inches away, to ensure large fruit size.
Andrew let me clean up the tomatoes (indeterminant varieties), because I've worked so much on tomatoes in the past. This was fun, I love these plants! Then we worked on tying the figs, keeping them in the espallier form. There's lots of attention to detail, and preserving a perfect specimen is the goal here.
The last hour was spent cleaning up the bay laurel shrubs.
Rainy again today! Lots of rain lately.