Confessions of a perfectionist

I like to be in control, at least as far as my garden goes. And I am a perfectionist. This is not to be confused with being perfect.

We have two dwarf apple trees. One is a red delicious and another is a golden delicious. These are not the best apple trees for our hot climate. Their flavor is mediocre, and they tend to be sickly and need more attention than I want to give. I have threatened to cut them down. However, last year they produced bushels of healthy, large fruit from which we made lots of yummy pies. So for now, they live.

Today I pruned them, cutting their tips back to about nine feet and cleaning up the interior to let in more sunlight. Lou offered to do this for me, but I initially delegated him to clean-up crew. I use some good Felco loppers, and with them I can almost reach as high as I need to cut. Almost.

Lou watched as I stretched and maneuvered between the branches.

"I could do that," he said. "I'm taller than you are." 

This made sense. I would supervise, and he would make the cuts.

"OK. Reach up there. No, not that one! Up a little. You need to cut above an outward facing bud. There. No, don't cut the bud! Above it! A clean cut! Don't rip it! " 

By the time he had made one cut, I was clinching my teeth. "You better let me do it," I said. 

"Yeah, I can see this is like plastic surgery. I'll get the ladder."

After that, we worked smoothly, with Lou picking up and hauling off the fallen branches and moving the ladder around the tree for me as I made the cuts. The trees look great now. Tomorrow I will spray them with dormant oil to protect against insects and diseases.

I wonder if there are any co-chief gardens out there, with two people equally and happily planning, planting, and maintaining their plot. I think it would be hard if Lou said too me, "No, I think this plant would be better," or if he said, "I think we should design it this way."

Fortunately, he is happy to be the garden helper, and I do ask his input and advice. Our team works well that way.

Just don't let me go near a car engine; I wouldn't want to do that anyway!

Other things I did in my garden today:

1. Fertilized emerging bulb shoots with a natural bulb-booster.

2. Embedded some flat stones and concrete blocks on a slope to make a secondary access to the woodland garden easier. Someday I may pay someone to build real steps. For now these work fine.

3. Transplanted an osmanthus fragrans about eighteen inches over to the right. Its position just looked a little off. I said I was a perfectionist.

4. Found flowers on my hellebores!

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Pruning is fun and other basics you need to know

Give me some good loppers and a pruning saw, and I am a happy woman. Pruning is my favorite garden chore. I don't have to do it very often, and the results are both immediate and long term. Limbing up, shaping, and removing dead branches can all have a positive impact on a garden. Proper pruning can make a plant more attractive and healthier, promoting growth and improving the quality of stems, flowers, and fruit. Kolkwitzia amabilis, known as beauty bush, and a 'waterfall' Japanese maple, both benefit from judicious pruning.

I prune the lower branches of trees to allow easy walking along the garden paths.However, improper pruning can deform a plant and, in some cases can lead to a plant's decline. A lot of people are afraid to prune their shrubs and trees, and it's no wonder suburbia is half hidden by overgrown, misshapen plants. 

Entire books have been written on pruning guidelines and techniques, but it is easy to remember these five basics:

1. Plant the right plant in the right place. That means a shrub that is destined to grow ten foot tall should not be planted three feet from your living room window, unless it grows slowly and you don't mind pruning it regularly. Yet, why do that, when there are many other, more appropriate plants that won't cover your windows and send their roots snaking under your foundation?

2. You can prune dead wood anytime. Otherwise, it's best to prune spring flowering plants immediately after they have bloomed. Prune summer flowering plants in late winter or very early spring. If you prune at the wrong time, you might not harm the plant, but you will reduce the next season's blooms. Also remember if you prune in late autumn, you could stimulate new growth just in time for frost. 

3. To maintain a plant's natural appearance, cut in layers. Most of the time it's best to let the plant keep its identity. That means don't saw straight across the top of the plant. That is ugly. Cut some from lower, middle, and top branches, and make your cuts just above buds that point outward.

4. Hedges should be trimmed so that the top is a bit narrower than the bottom, so that sunlight reaches the lower part of the plant. Otherwise, the bottom branches will loose their leaves. 

5. Use good quality, sharp tools. Dip in a 1:10 bleach solution between plants to keep from spreading disease.

6. This one is controversial, so I didn't include it in the five basics, but I think it's important to remember. Pruning is fun. It's creative. Your plants will love you for it.

While I like to think I have complete artistic control over my garden, regarding pruning I have had to compromise. My husband and I have a difference of opinion about the yaupon holly shrubs out front. I like a natural shape, but he likes the little ball look. We have discussed this for years, but he is a man who loves his power hedge trimmer. So for now my garden has a lot of these proper balls. Besides, Lou cheerfully hauls off the great piles of clippings and branches I make when I am pruning, so he deserves something for that.This is a view through the rose arch, taken in November.