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Professional Pruning

I rarely resort to hiring help in the garden but I'm learning that sometimes it is wise to do so and worth every penny. Case in point - some hideous out-of-control trees that were beyond my ability to deal with. If I were smarter, I would have tackled these issues from the beginning but I didn't know better. The first is a pear tree that was planted along the back fence line. I've worked on this for the past several years, every year with the intent of reducing the height or possibly removing it altogether. As you can see in the photo, I had cut back everything but three limbs and finally realized that it would be dangerous for me to try and bring them down. The limbs grow straight up into the air and the remaining three are about 20 feet tall.  After -- there is a hole in the sky view but the tree should fill in nicely for a good screen and I can keep it trimmed down from this point forward. Farther down along the fence line, and the view from the deck, are two massive pho

Pink Dogwood


The pink dogwood (variety unknown) is the largest tree in the garden. I found a photo of how it looked when we first moved in. It was smaller than I remembered -

2016

So it has grown quite a lot in five years. There are so many beautiful varieties on the market now and we have quite a lot of them at the nursery where I work. The owners recently planted several along the parking lot last year. I was just noticing today how beautiful 'Cherokee Chief' is and wished that I had taken a photo.

Our tree brings us lots of pleasure and it is always a treat when it blooms.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. Look at all that grass in 2016... I'm sure not even you could imaging the garden you've created. I love Dogwoods, their blooms make me think of butterflies.

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  2. How long does the flora show last on Dogwoods? It's magnificent.

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  3. Here in Georgia dogwoods have taken a huge hit. There numbers are not what they were. I have heard this is due to anthracnose, but I’m not sure. Glad to know you don’t seem to be a set up for fungus, even in your moist climate.

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  4. It's a gorgeous thing! And sadly something that won't grow in my climate.

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  5. I desperately tried to plant a dogwood after I have yearned for one for so long. I was entranced by those gorgeous flowers .. I was deep into dogwood flower ENVY .. but alas the one I tried was diseased as were the whole shipment ... I was just too defeated to try again, but I so appreciate seeing other gardeners ! Thank you ;-)

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  6. Powdery mildew magnet here in my Virginia yard, especially when summer hits. But they hang on and just don't grow as fast year to year.

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