Like many northern Sydney residents, I am battling the silent invasion of my garden by Tillandsia usneoides. I am getting too old and unsteady to climb my extension ladder to pull the festoons out of my trees (all Blue Gum High Forest representatives), so I’ve come up with a simple tool that allows me to remove festoons at up to 6 m above the ground. It is a cheap, easily assembled tool that anyone to make.
As the photograph shows, it consists simply of:
- a 3-part telescopic pole for swimming pool tools, with a reach of 3.6 m, at $22 from Bunnings; and
- a 1.1 m long gutter guard ‘brush’, at $18, also from Bunnings.
The brush is simply shoved into the open tube and held in place with a wire so it doesn’t pull out. The brush is raised to a festoon and the handle is turned slowly to wrap the plant around the bristles. The plant is then unwound at the ground. No need to climb wobbly ladders.
Email from Matthew Stevens who lives in Thornleigh.