Archive for May 15th, 2009
Bird of Paradise
Bird of Paradise – Strelitzia reginae
Shot taken outside our hotel on a recent business trip to San Diego.
The bird-of-paradise flower (Strelitzia reginae), or crane flower as it is sometimes known, is native to the southern and eastern parts of the Cape Province and northern Natal in South Africa, where it grows wild on river banks and in scrub clearings in coastal areas. It was first introduced into Britain in 1773 by Sir Joseph Banks, then the unofficial director of the Royal Gardens at Kew (as they were known at that time). He named the exotic-looking plant Strelitzia in honour of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who lived at Kew for many years.
Taken from the Kew Gardens website
Project Hex: Building an Hexagonal Bird Table (Part 2)
Having decided that the ’tiled’ route was definitely the best way forward, I forged on with tiling all six sides of the first tier. The cutting and sanding of each tile was getting laborious, so I cut and filed a dozen or so at a time, then glue them to the roof base. Mainly doing a row at a time.
Cutting the trianglar tiles for the ridge areas was the most difficult part. I had to cut against the wood grain in a specific direction, otherwise the tiny wood tiles would break up. I have to say, the gluing of the tiles was very therapeutic, and definitely the best part. The benefit of the slow drying glue is that it allowed for adjustment. The aligning of the tiles was most important, over the length of a section it was easy to be 5mm out vertically, so a constant check on levels and spacing was needed.
Starting where I left off
The entire first tier complete
View from directly above
I couldn’t get the tiles perfect along the ridges, but close enough
With the first tier complete and dried, it was time for the second tier base to go on
The six triangles of outdoor grade plywood go on, held in place with tape, to create the second tier.
‘Birds eye view’… some shots of up inside the roof section
The inside of the top of the roof… the staining is just oil that hasn’t dried.
Part 3 will follow soon…
Rufdog. 