It took about 3 hours. I had on double gloves and double long-sleeved t-shirts, a sun hat and garden shoes. The sky was overcast and there was a light rain. I brought the garden waste bin, a pair of hedge clippers and small saw. It went faster than I thought it would, a lot of branches were dead already. I started at the north end between the house and the first bush. The plan was to clear a path between the hedge and the house, then come back and saw through the trunks of the bushes. Then, I would pull the roses away from the house and either into the bin or right to the street. It went pretty much as planned except for when it didn’t.
I had been wishing my arms were stronger when it was time for push ups or plank in pilates, and I found that they were, in point of fact, stronger than I estimated – at least for the task at hand. Cutting through the base of the buses was tedious and the little saw would get stuck. At one point, Husband came out to survey my progress on his way to the gym. I asked for a chain saw but he reminded me that a better choice would be the pruning shears in the garage. (There was a little incident years and years ago with some electric hedge clippers that seems to preclude my using any powered equipment other than a lawn mower or weed whacker.) I found the pruning shears and was able to make quick work of the larger canes. Clean up was tiresome – my back was complaining at the number of forward folds necessary to gather the cuttings. The leaf rake helped moved things around. I filled the bin 3 times and made many trips straight to the street.
In the unlikely even anyone is reading this that isn’t related to me and wondering why I’m doing this all by myself and why isn’t Husband out for the fun – here’s why: Husband has a heart condition, asthma and allergies. This is not the kind of work he either can or should attempt. I will do what I can for as long as I can and then enlist help, hired or indentured. I don’t mind yard work – kind of like it. Come from a long line of farmers and feel useful and somewhat proud of the fact that I can still do it.
During the years that the ivy and roses were in their prime, I really enjoyed them. Most of the time I approach the house from the east and the roses, particularly when in full bloom, were a lovely greeting. The ivy, as I’ve said before, was a cool welcome as one approached the door. I tend to personify things. It’s not a good trait. It adds unnecessarily to anxiety. I kept saying to myself as I hacked away, “Roses are not sentient beings. Roses are not sentient beings.” And, I remembered all the summers the house was full of small bouquets of the cluster of blooms produced by the hedge. I have a small, glass, heart-shaped container that I would fill with clear glass marbles and then make a mound of blooms on top. I loved the blooms – they were the old-fashioned single bloom and a sweet pink.
They really had no scent. And because of the tangle of canes, were always getting mold. Lately, some invaders from who knows where took up spots along the edge, and the one bush at the end was completely done in by mold. It was a replacement for a Dream Cloud (the variety of hedge rose) that died and couldn’t be replaced because I couldn’t find any – internet notwithstanding. Anyway, they provided a good deal of beauty over the years and I was very sad to see them go. And, now I’m very sore. Here’s the “after” photo.
Pretty sad, huh? I think the hardest part is yet to come – digging out the roots and generally redoing the bed. A roto-tiller is definitely in my future. I need to do some research into bed edging and hope that it doesn’t get blistering hot before it’s time to do the work on replacing the plantings.
Not too long after I moved into the house, I decided to put together a mini-forest of birch trees. I roto-tilled the bed, bought the trees (12), dug the holes and planted them all. I planted rosemary, lavender and various bulbs. Later, a couple of mini-rose bushes that were favors from Ashley’s birthday party tea one year. Now, THAT was a project.
This is how it looks today. I have enough rosemary for the whole county. My plan is to fill the space between the fence and rosemary with azaleas. The bulbs have pretty much run their course, but when they were new, let me tell you, spring was spectacular in this little garden! I tried planting peonies, but the squirrels ate them before the could even come up. That must have been the most expensive meal they ever had.
Now I’m waiting for the peony to bloom, and much to my surprise, I’ve found tiny blueberries on the 2 bushes I planted last year! I planted some hollyhock seeds along the fence in the backyard and they seem to be slowly coming along. Figs are growing and the blackberries are blooming. The crazy honeysuckle is expanding – you know, I plant stuff and can’t bear to cut it back – so it’s slowly taking over part of the patio. It smells so sweet when it’s blooming and I think the bees appreciate it – just can’t bear to cut it back. I’ll show you the blackberry blooms and then I’m back to the kitchen to cook some more. Have made fruit salad (a ton) this morning and a mexican casserole. Will make a spanish tortilla with peas and saffron next and then see what calls to me.
