The Glory of Gardening

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. ~ Alfred Austin

No Yellow Meatballs

So the winter damage has been fixed and spring cleanups are about finished. Which means that many homeowners, and landscape companies, are now turning their attention to pruning.

I understand the importance of pruning but one of my pet peeves is pruning shrubs into shapes that are contrary to their natural form. This is especially true of forsythia.

Too many people trim them into “meatballs” figuring, I guess, that a round shape is good.

Not so.

Forsythia is a naturally graceful arching shrub and training it into a ball, in my opinion, is like asking a ballerina to dance in clogs.

The best time to prune forsythia is in the spring, right after blooming and then I like to remove ¼ to 1/3 of the largest stems to the ground. If you have a very old forsythia you can cut it drastically to within 4” of the ground and it will come back. This type of pruning is referred to as renovation or rejuvenation pruning.

Why would anyone torture a plant like this?

Isn’t this so much better?

Pruning forsythia later in the summer will likely result in fewer flowers as you will undoubtedly remove buds that have already set. Check out Garden Seeker for a great guide for pruning shrubs .

If you have not yet pruned your forsythia consider skipping this year. Just let the ballerina dance.

And if you must have meatballs, make spaghetti.

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Gamble with a Spade and Seeds

“One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a package of garden seeds.” ― Dan Bennett

Forest Bathing

Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Researchers primarily in Japan and South Korea have established a robust body of scientific literature on the health benefits of spending time under the canopy of a living forest.

The idea is simple: if a person simply visits a natural area and walks in a relaxed way there are calming, rejuvenating, and restorative benefits to be achieved.

I Would Not Have Thought Of That!

It was truly an honor to present to the Wareham Garden Club this month. I had a blast chatting it up with the members while I created three container gardens. Members seemed to enjoy the hints and suggestions I brought along to help them learn to make truly outstanding, one might say ‘jaw-dropping’, container gardens. As always, I encouraged the members to think creatively and with an eye to the art of mixing plants and other elements.