Do you ever walk into the garden thinking, “I just need to do one thing, and then 5, 6, 7, 8 hours later you’re wandering inside wondering where the day went, having made improvements in the garden that only another gardener would appreciate? Yep, one of those days.
It was, apparently, the day for pruning the Voodoo Walnut Tree. When we moved in, way back in September, the walnut trees looked like the apple trees in The Wizard of Oz. They were just awful, four twisted and gnarled masses of dead, diseased and disoriented branches… (the dreaded 3-D’s of horticulture).
I’d given the trees a first pass in December, but stopped short of a full prune of the Voodoo Walnut Tree, because–well, a combination of things really: I had the “never prune more than 30% of a tree…” voice in my head, and we’d just been through the dang-blasted shop fire and you never know what is talismanic and what is sheer evil… Right?
Now, with seeds, crowns and bulbs waiting to get busy, I gave the tree a second look. I’m thinking about creating a meadow-effect with annuals, such as bachelors buttons, cosmos, zinnias, poppies and tall grasses (probably fescue), under and around the walnuts. Yep, time to remove the too low branches, raise the canopy, remove the gaping wound and hope the tree and Nature would know I meant no harm.
Why all the mystery? Why the hesitation? Look at the picture–the tree resembled a woman in childbirth, but it was just all wrong. Now that the tree’s been pruned, it looks so much better. Much sap gushed forth, after the cuts were made, making me hopeful that the Force is still strong with this one, and hopefully the other three. Such a relief.
Grow Your Bliss 