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Wait — what happened to my yard?

Posted on July 10th, 2009 – 10:29 AM
By Connie Nelson

I have one of those gardens that gets a little overgrown if I don’t constantly tend to it. And I haven’t been constantly tending to it. So IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE! 

I’d be afraid to walk around in my own back yard — if I could get there. Right now, the Annabelle hydrangea has completely taken over the stone pathway, the Aumtum Joy sedums and Johnson’s blue cranesbill have obscured the sidewalk and the grapevines that climb the fence are reaching across to the house, covering the route to the garage in a creepy, low-hanging canopy. I swear some of the impatiens reach out and grab my legs as I walk by.

My garden needs a haircut. And I’ve got the time to do it this weekend. The problem? I feel kinda sorta guilty about cutting plants back.

I feel silly admitting this. I mean, I know I’m not killing living things. As a matter of fact, lots of the plants I cut back will just put on more growth by the end of the season.  But I still feel bad. Am I the only one? Or do you say a little apology before you do a drastic pruning, too?

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 10:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

18 Responses to "Wait — what happened to my yard?"

insidemyhead says:

July 10th, 2009 at 11:02 am

I’m the same way! I often end up just letting them grow wild; it’s a fun way to see the full potential of your plants.

Geoff says:

July 10th, 2009 at 11:07 am

Cut away. It doesn’t bother the plants any more than getting a (good) haircut does at the local barber. In fact they’ll feel lighter and faster. Higher root to leaf ratio. It’s good for them.

It’s like deadheading. If you don’t do it, the plant is wasting energy doing things you don’t want it to do. Or think of it like spanking a child.

mememom says:

July 10th, 2009 at 11:17 am

I’m with Geoff (except about the child spanking)–it feels good to cut back at this time of year. In fact, it makes me feel successful–my garden is growing! Mock orange, lilac, weigela, those darn ferns and my out-of-control Asian willow all look so happy now (well, not the ferns but, really, who cares?).

Connie Nelson says:

July 10th, 2009 at 11:26 am

I do like when I cut back the cranesbill. Of course, I feel guilty as soon as I whack it back to the ground, but it comes back so quickly and the growth is so much more compact . . .until it gets a blowsy again!

Sue says:

July 10th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Ooo, positive reinforcement for my planned cranesbill whacking this weekend. I realized yesterday that I can’t even see my blooming red lilies for all the cranesbill. The lilies are so pretty–they deserve to be seen.

Beth says:

July 10th, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Catmint HAS to be cutback at least twice a summer and I’ve given haircuts to the salvia, silvermound and cranesbill. I hever feel bad giving them a haircut - it looks so much neater too.

Anneesha says:

July 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

Does anyone else have Wild Impatiens (a pink-flowered relative of the jewelweed/juicy stemmed “touch me not” plant)?? They have taken over my wild & wooly backyard. They’ll be blooming in a few weeks so I’m hesitating cutting them back. But they’re everywhere! And squirrel-planted sunflowers. And Virginia creeper covering the fence and gates. It’s a jungle!
—-
New mulch source - A-Tree Service at 38th St. & Longfellow in South Mpls. Pretty finely shredded, and free! They say come help yourself whenever the gate’s open.

Janet says:

July 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Mememom mentioned weigela - how hard do you cut it back? My mother-in-law has 2 huge ones that have never been pruned and I’d like to do it but not sure how much. They were beautiful when in bloom this year! Thanks.

bsimon says:

July 10th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Good heads-up from Aneesha. I grabbed some on Tuesday; its pretty good, but not great. The stuff I picked up by Lk Nokomis on Wed was similar quality. There were more sticks in the city pile, but more rocks & miscellaneous stuff in the A-Tree pile. The city piles are more shredded this year, like it came out of a totally different machine from the chippy stuff last year & prior.

On plant trimming: I yanked some wild roses this week that were wandering too far afield; I felt a little guilty, but it had to be done.

Susan Roesler says:

July 10th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

Pruning back and dead-heading perennials and shrubs also helps increase air circulation. No one wants clouds of mosquitoes, fungus and mushrooms living along with beautiful ornamental plants!

sparklegirl says:

July 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

I felt a little guilty about cutting back my Virginia creeper last week until I saw how much better it looked afterward!

Connie Nelson says:

July 10th, 2009 at 3:50 pm

Now I’m all revved up to cut back. I’d probably wait a bit on the weigela, though. Mine are still blooming and it’s best to prune them after they’ve bloomed.

Robin says:

July 10th, 2009 at 6:48 pm

I have 17+ year old plum trees that need to be pruned, any suggestions? +

I am going to cut back shrubs to let my flowers shine through. Thanks for the encouragement.

DebW says:

July 11th, 2009 at 6:12 pm

Robin, all fruit trees need to be cut to increase air and light circulation. The shape you are striving to get is like a stemed fruit bowl, open in the middle, lots of air and light can get in. I pruned my moms apple trees this last spring as they have not been dealt with since before my dad died ten years ago. Weed out water sprouts, anything that rubs or crosses, but do not get to carried away, only up to one third of the tree.

Jan says:

July 12th, 2009 at 11:34 am

How do you properly prune lilac bushes? I need the top down by about two feet to allow for a new porch.

DebW says:

July 12th, 2009 at 4:21 pm

Jan, lilac bushes need to have the old wood cut out at the base leaving new(shorter) shoots to flower next spring, as they flower on the previous years branches. This should be done right after the get done flowering but can be done during the summer also. Once again, do not get carried away, no more than a third of the branches should go. If you are putting a porch over the bush this will be an ongoing process to keep it in check.

Bluebird74 says:

July 13th, 2009 at 11:48 am

I have a Weigela that is 10 years old. This year it flowered and was pretty, but now I can see a lot of wood and seemingly few leaves. Does this mean I need to completely replace the bush, that it’s tired and worn out? Or do I just need to prune it back hard? When can I prune it?

WannaBee says:

July 14th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

I say wait until winter, then the rabbits will gleefully prune everything for you, right to the ground, whilst feeding their never ending hungry stomachs. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. :)

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