A few days ago, I had the opportunity to do a job again that I had not been practicing for a few years, more specifically since I finished the internship of the gardening training cycle (if you do not know what I am talking about, you can read the article “my project” here).
At first, when the director told me that I had to do this, I was quite happy as I was nervous, especially because it was the first time that I had done it since I was in this company, and it was a way to prove that I could do it. But I will not deny you that my perception changed a little when I went to the corresponding place, since the thing was much more complicated than I thought. The thing was to cut fences made with Laurus, which is one of the most used plant species for when creating a barrier to avoid indiscreet looks.
The first problem I saw, and it was most evident was that no one had touched it for a few years. It is not a single structure, there are six small individual fences. To understand us, there are six small rectangular fences that go from one corner to the other of the block, and in between they are interrupted because there are the entrance and garage doors. The second problem is that some parts are in very poor condition, it has dead pieces that will be replaced in the future. Another obvious drawback was the amount of rubbish and weed inside each rectangle.
Once I analyzed all the problems, we started. As my assistants were removing weeds, I was cutting the thicker branches of the longest fence (I did this to avoid problems with the machine). Once this first step had been taken, it was time to take the tools, in this case a cutthroat. It is just an engine and a double saw-shaped sword. This zigzag movement is what cuts the leaves.
I was excited remembering past moments and anecdotes, I also remembered every detail that my instructor at that time told me and that they helped me so much to do this job. This machine doesn’t have much complication, if it’s battery, you just must turn on one button, but if it’s gasoline it is another thing to talk about, I was using a battery one.
If you never have to prune a fence, the plant whatever you are cutting will guide you. Now you’re going to ask yourself, and how are they supposed to do that? Well, if interventions have been made there and it have not been allowed to grow freely as this is the case, when you pass the saw, you will notice that a point arrives that you cannot pass, the same old branches will act as a stopover. If it is a young specimen, it will be you who will have to decide what height you want it to have, and it will be the one who respects the next times.
After spending eight hours with the machine making horizontal, vertical and diagonal movements, the work was done. It was a great satisfaction to see it finished, after the great effort that it meant to me and above all, I was satisfied with the words of gratitude that I received from pedestrians and residents of the block of flats, and the various congratulations that came to me from various parts.
In the image on the left, you can see what a cutthroat is like and what species is the Laurus. At this point the work was just beginning, I had only made a first pass at the top, as you can see.
In the image on the right, I already had practically all the work done, I only had to finish the part that brought me the most work of all. You can see the great difference between the two photographs. In this one you can also see what layout the fences have, so you can understand it better if the case is given to the explanation, I made at the beginning of this article you have not finished being clear.