I've renamed the blog. Sort of.
It can still be found at
homewiththejamesgang
if anyone searches it out.
I've also stopped the email notifications.
The blog and I needed so, so much more than a name change.
But. A starting place
is the best place to start.
Years ago when Rudy first planned out my garden,
I painstakingly dug every hole, watered, weeded
and savored every late, bug infested, frog chirping minute
working not only for it, but for me. I found it very therapeutic and peaceful.
Every season it would expand on its own the way lilies and weeds will do.
The Thundercloud Plumb eventually needed pruning.
Not ever wanting to speak to Rudy again,
(read my Hydrangea stories)
I asked my (now estranged) sister for a lesson in pruning.
She had a professional do her landscaping
but she has an artistic knack and had enough experience
with plants that I trusted her.
She showed me how, with her sparkling pruning shears
with the expanding handle,
to look underneath the branch of a tree or plant
under the leaves to find the newest growth-
usually a tiny branch or leaf
and carefully snip that off.
That was pruning.
How, I wondered can that little nip
her and there make any difference?
When we were finished working
on her Wisteria I stepped back to admire
the difference indeed.
I took my new pruning skills
and soon abandoned them.
Anyone who has read this blog
know of some of my more distinct pruning disasters.
The thing is with most things in nature-
they fix themselves.
My red bush in front of the porch that in my
over zealous, late night adventure,
I took to 1 foof off the ground;
came back the next year better than ever.
Here's what I've since learned about pruning...
Sometimes, little nips and tucks just aren't enough.
After years of taking off tiny amounts and hoping
they would look better the next year,
my Rose of Sharon trees just couldn't take another year
of babying and hoping.
They needed removed.
Knowing that, I decided to really let my crazy out on one of them.
The limbs that were still alive had morphed
into a weak, low hanging, overgrown
eyesore but moreover they were completely
blocking the Lavender and Lillys that were
thoughtfully laid out underneath (by Rudy of course).
Sometimes, something has to go
so that others can grow.
I used my rusty shears that required
100 lb of pressure to remove the limbs.
I didn't start underneath with the new growth.
I looked at what was dead and I removed it.
I didn't think long of what the tree might look like
to the casual observer or drive by.
The trees were never in the best environment
for them to thrive and 12 years had taken their toll.
This was about survival and my Lillys need the sun.
It is different.Very different indeed.
Especially for the Lillys and Lavender.
A brand new, sun shiney day
to grow and become.
