Mindy from M and M Flowers sends a crew every year in late June to prune the boxwood garden in front of the shop. Pruning day is a really big deal; I make sure the spring growth is totally flushed out before I ask her to prune. This is a big job that takes a lot of planning and thought. If you prune your boxwood too early, you may be faced with the prospect of pruning it again.
I like the spring flush of boxwood growth to be done, and hardening off-prior to the music of the shears. I so have patience for this part of my landscape maintenance. Once a year-the pruning of the boxwood. The boxwood cue me-I do not cue them. The steel poles driven into the ground, and the carefully drawn level lines are a sure sign of a formal pruning event to come.
Mindy’s crew prunes my boxwood with hand shears. Corona is by no means a designer tool company. They make reasonally priced and well engineered tools. My point here? Pruning boxwood is not about a tool. It is about an experienced eye, and a willing and patient pair of hands. Gorgeous pruning has everything to do with that individual who is willing to clip clip clip-with a sharp tool, for hours on end.
Techny arborvitae grow so so slow-it should have been named Arborvitae The Snail. My short pair of techny arborvitae hedges enclosing the shop property-every bit of 13 years old. They are just now coming into their own.
The face of those Technys need a snip snip here or there-or everywhere. They need a top swipe, level with the horizon. A tool that makes pruning way up in the air possible-an aluminum tripod ladder.
Three men pruned from 8:30 this Sunday morning, until 3:30 this Sunday afternoon. This means 7 hours, for each of three people. My boxwood, pruned properly, takes 21 hours.
As the pruning of the boxwood begins to take shape-I am so pleased.
The boxwood in the front of the shop suffered terribly, given several winters with incredibly heavy snow loads. We are on year two of a treatment for a rare fungal infection from hell. The boxwood are being trimmed a shade looser this year. Every move in a landscape asks for some thought. Some spot on, current and relevant thought can make for a great garden.
By the end of the day today, I breathed a big breath. The landscape at the shop looks beautiful to me.
You really have the most beautiful formal beds. Boxwood does take a long time to shape and patience is the key as you noted. I usually have the crew do mine, but this year I let them grow out a bit and did my own snipping. And it was snipping with a light touch. I swear I heard them thanking me.
Love the curly aspect of the foliage of the Technys. Happy on the eyes!
Dear Jenn, you have a way with words. Regards, Deborah
My boxwoods are so tiny – I have a long wait ahead of me – but something to look forward to!
Dear Zoya, small plants take hold fast, and grow fast, if they are happy-but you are right. My boxwoods grow 6 inches a year, at best. Deborah