Princess Plant lives to flower another day

The original Princess Plant (Tibouchina urvilleana) was slated for termination today due to a disastrous split trunk caused by wind damage, but luckily Leah was at the garden today and declared her savable, but only if the plant underwent a radical operation. Naturally Leah was ready to perform that operation on the spot, and had the tools to do it.

To the left you can see the before, during and after pics - don't look if you're squeamish about the sight of a plant having 80% of itself chopped off!

Happily this plant has proved to be a tough old bird in the past, and currently has several strong shoots growing from the base. I expect they will grow up quickly and fill in to make a much healthier and stronger plant in a year or less.

Other things that got done today (with help from Matt)  included a great deal of pruning (by Leah - photo essay to come), staking of a tipped over Hakea suaveolens, cutting back and planting the resulting cuttings of the Tree Dahlia, weeding of the succulent slope and cactus wall, and daffodil deadheading.