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 photinias. The one smack dab in the middle of our view has turned into a nicely shaped tree but the thing totally died last year. The one to the right (you can just see the edge of it in the photo below) is fine but much too tall and leaning on telephone lines. 

The photinia after - it is a shock seeing all that open space but the plants in front should begin to fill in  and more sun can now get in. The trunk remains (the bird house is on it) and I'm thinking of covering it with a vine.

The last problem is a line of arborvitae that runs alongside our deck. Great privacy but getting way too tall and they also get wider. Of course, they are bare inside so you can only cut a few inches into them without having a hideous brown mess. I hate them!

The arborvitae is much shorter, right above the roof of the deck. They also trimmed the sides as well. We were beginning to see some die-back near the bottom because of shadier conditions so hopefully they will improve. I was apprehensive about cutting them back this much so I will be taking extra care of them and hope for the best.

I had heard of Roscoe Brothers since working at Yard n' Garden Land and knew they were highly recommended. My walking partner Patty also highly recommended them and said that I didn't have to worry about them damaging the garden. 

I could not be happier that the deed is done and Roscoe Brothers did a first-rate job. 

Looking at these photos of the guys at work reminds me of one of our favorite Will & Grace episodes (the Barry Manilow one) when Grace keeps saying "Better him than me - Better him than me"...

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy