Fer at My little garden in Japan as invited garden bloggers to a carnival of garden resolutions for the coming year, I haven’t done any resolutions but there is lots to be achieved in the garden and I have lots of plans, I do have a word to encourage and guide me for the year Edit, there is lots to be edited in my garden so what to chose to write a post, first I was going to write about one of the beds which has been overtaken by the stronger plants and needs sorting out, then this morning I decided no I’ll write about pruning which is a form of editing,
because I have a large garden and I like a natural slightly wild style of garden I didn’t think I would need to prune, but I do apparently to keep plants healthy and looking good, I went around the garden today taking photos then went through archived photos and chose some of the areas which need work, first the Downey Birch Betula Pubescens I had read recently on Hillwards and Plantalisicious blogs about pruning birches and it has to be done by the end of this month so is the first on my list,
somewhere under these branches is a Hawthorn Crataegus Monogyna trying get out,
the branches not only crowd the Hawthorn but I can’t cut the grass in summer and this is the result,
also Plantalisicious said that cutting low branches reveals the trunk so you can see the bark better, like this one, I didn’t prune this but the wind did, this is another reason I didn’t think I needed to prune as the winter winds do so much,
Leylandii, I read and hear garden experts say that Leylandii grow fast and big, well it doesn’t on the isle of Lewis, I planted several 8 years ago I should have a wonderful row of trees now, not! Last year after reading about cutting and pruning I decided to cut them all over, here are 3 stages, before I cut it,
after
and now
here’s another one the winter winds had caused real damage on this one which needed to be cut off as well as cutting all over,
after
and now, I am thinking they should probably be cut again before this years growing season,
next we have the reason I am learning as much as I can from Carolyn’s shade garden posts, this is under the Lodge pole pines Pinus Contorta, due to the wind some of the lower branches are dead, those alive only have green on the ends of branches and some small trees have died too, I want to cut the dead wood back and plant underneath but it will be a challenge as it will be dry there with dappled sunlight, I planted several plants along the edge where I am standing to take this photo and the Bugle Ajugs Reptans Atropurpurea is going back under the trees of it’s own accord, I would like some lighter leaved plants though,
the Dogwoods Cornus Alba need to be coppiced this year, the grass under them I hate grass so much since living here, I cleared the turf from this bed dug it over and have dug the grass out as it came back, one year I put glyphosate on it, still it grows, I have found that Lady’s mantle Alchemilla Mollis seems to beat the grass if the foliage is left on over winter, so as there are a lot of plants where I do not want them they will be relocated under the Dogwoods,
the Alders Alnus Glutinosa, this one has sent out a branch on the left that is rubbing on the high bank behind it so I am deciding if I should cut it back,
this Alder is a wonderful example of mother natures pruning, a couple of years ago the wind killed the top 2 thirds of the lead shoot and I thought it was on it’s way out but look the lower part of the shoot has fattened to a nice trunk and it’s top is branching nicely though I think I can see crossing branches in this photo so will need to check,
my poor golden willows Salix are golden no more, I absolutely have to coppice them this year,
one morning nearly 2 years ago I opened my curtain and saw this…………
my lovely Olearia Virgata, I propped it up cut lots off, (some of the off cuts I just stuck in the ground around the large garden and several have taken which is a nice out come) then hoped it wouldn’t die, it didn’t and is growing as well as ever, I want to cut it back so I can take away the ugly poles that have been supporting it these last 2 years,
this is a lovely pinky/orange Broom Cytisus, I didn’t know I was supposed to cut it after flowering to stop it from becoming leggy, so it’s leggy, I do cut it now each year but there is nothing I can do about it being leggy as Broom doesn’t grow from old wood,
Flowering currant Ribes Sanguineum from Orkney, I am thinking I should clip the tops of the branches to make them bushier,
so that’s my resolution for the garden 2011, if you would like to see what other garden bloggers are hoping to achieve this year follow the link to Fer’s blog,
Visit New Year Gardening Resolutions Blog Carnival
at my little garden in japan
