It turns out the scraggly bushes on the west side of The Box House are forsythia. Beautiful, but dreadfully overgrown forsythia. They are over ten feet tall, with a lot of dead wood and looking a bit leggy. A friend of ours who is a master gardener has recommended hacking them to the ground to force new growth and improve their condition. I think I'll go as far as taking out all the dead wood, the rogue tree growing through the middle of one of them, and trim it back by half. I know they are hardy and can stand such vigorous pruning, but I'd still like to leave some height in place. View from the other side:
"If you don't know what's meant by God, watch a forsythia branch or a lettuce leaf sprout." —Martin Henry Fischer
4 comments:
Forsythia is a favorite of mine. As long as the owner does not prune them into round balls. The are suppose to be free and wild.
Great quote at the bottom.
A friend / green thumb helped me trim some bushes. They had a lot of dead and she even trimmed the living way down. Doesn't look so great now, but should look good with some time.
I'd like to plant some forsythia in my yard this year... time is running out to do it so it might be next year.
We have an overgrown lilac bush that we need to do something similar to...
Jenni--I agree; forsythia shouldn't be "shaped". There are houses in the neighborhood that have them trimmed into box hedges or egg shapes. Very weird!
Jennifer--I LOVE lilacs. I'm trying to figure out where to put some in our yard. So many beautiful bushes and trees, so little space...
Ethan--I wish someone would come trim ours for us! You're lucky.
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