Shearing hedges into cubes, globes, and squares is a form of architectural pruning that balances appearance with shrub health. This balancing act is most evident in the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, SC. Mr. Fryar, and now his protegee, Mike Gibson, Topiary Artist in Residence, skillfully maintain whimsical, fanciful living works of art from ordinary junipers, pines, and cypresses.
Regardless of your level of pruning prowess, which can be as basic as squaring off the tops and sides of your hedges, shearing impacts the growth and development of your plants. Every time you use your hedge trimmer or clippers, you prune away photosynthesizing or “food-producing” leaves and shoots. The shrub responds by producing bunches of leafy stems from behind each cut. When the new growth reaches a length that makes the hedge look scruffy, the cycle of removing and regrowing continues. Admittedly, dense, coiffed hedges possess an air of formality, even aristocracy. Underlying this visually appealing look, however, is the fact that frequent shearing affects the growth and longevity of the shrubs.
Peek inside the hedge. Observe the dense shell of leaves that surrounds the outer portions of the shrub and the bare stems below. This leafy shell sustains the entire shrub, including the roots. Many sheared evergreens exhibit no short-term ill-effects from shearing, but others, notably boxwoods, may gradually decline over time. Besides blocking sunlight, this leafy covering also reduces air movement in the interior, which can foster the growth and spread of fungal diseases. Fungal diseases common to boxwoods include Macrophoma leaf spot and Volutella leaf and twig blight; both can lead to injury and decline. For more information, see
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When was the last time you replaced the air filters in your home? With poor air quality becoming a growing concern across the United States and Canada, you are probably more aware of your home’s air filters than ever before. Air filters help keep our home’s air clean and free of dust, dander, and pollutants. This not only helps us breathe easier, but it also keeps the HVAC systems in good shape and prevents them from experiencing potential damage due to the buildup of airborne particulates.
‘What else did the Romans do for us’ asks Monty Python. ‘All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? ‘ Well if you include Latin as a language they gave us modern gardening nomenclature.
The year 2020 is set to be memorable for far too many reasons. At the moment I will only stick to comments about plant and garden viruses but note we ‘caught a cold’ on the wet winter.
Yorkshire has suffered an exceptionally wet autumn culminating in disastrous floods at Fishlake and around the river Don. One plant that will thrive in these wet northerly conditions is our old friend Moss. As this has been covered before I am just using this post to link you to other observations and tips about moss.
The best place for rabbits, if it is not in a pie, is in the wild meadows and byways of the countryside. There they can do as their mum tells them and ‘eat up their greens’. As a vegetarian this is what rabbits do and that is why gardeners start to worry about them eating cultivated greens.
Up North we have the benefit of many keen dahlia growers and exhibitors. Better than that we have the national dahlia society (NDS) trials at Golden Acre park in Leeds and here is the video from this year.
I know I can use all sorts of materials as a mulch but I like the organic versions. Here I have piled it high well before it is ready as a mulch much less a compost