This is the Rationale for Crape Murder.....

We started pruning the Crape Myrtles at the Big House early this morning.  Since these photos reflect a full six-hour day, it might give non-Southerners a better understanding of why most landscaping companies go the "crape murder" route shown in an earlier post.  When we were about two-thirds through today's process, the man who lives across the street pulled up in his car and said, "Dude, there is NO WAY I would be doing that!  It terrifies me just to watch the process!"

The truth is that pruning the crape myrtles makes no real difference in the number or quality of bloom;  you'll often see ancient crape myrtles when driving past old farmsteads around the South, blooming their hearts out in mid-summer, while nothing remains of the house except the firecplace and foundation.  In this particular case, the trees at the driveway entrance have simply outgrown their space, and are no longer in scale to the surrounding landscape.  The choice is to keep them in bounds through pruning, or replace them, which would be such a shame since they've just reached that point of having the truly magnificent exfoliating bark.

An appropriate caption for this one might be, "Really?  You have fifteen of these to do?  Really?" as the other Tim began tree number two today.

To put the size of these trees (Latin name, "Big honkin' Crape Myrtles") in perspective, Chuck (in red) is about 6 feet two inches tall.   The pile of branches is part of what was taken off the first tree.

A particular difficulty with pruning Crape Myrtles is that their branches aren't especially strong, and are more brittle in the winter temperatures.  Nick, the slightest of our group, gets the special job of climbing to the top of the extension ladder to do the finishing cleanup with pruners.  Nick has vowed to become fatter before next year's assignments, so he can be at the base of the ladder. 

Two almost done in this photo, only thirteen to go........(they really are the same height, just a bad camera angle....) 

Summer Whites

July came into Atlanta with a roar of heat, and it was still in the high 70's when I left for work this morning before the sun was up.  Here are a few photos from the garden at the Big House, taken around 7:30 this morning before the furnace heated up for the day.

This is a good example of why, in my humble opinion, there are few plants that can rival the Natchez Crape Myrtle for tough-as-nails beauty in a Southern garden.  They're just starting to bloom, and will continue this way for many weeks.

Two types of hydrangea, below.  In the distance, the paniculata "Pinky Winky" is just starting to flush out.  In the forground (under the crape myrtle) is macrophylla "Mme. Emile Mouillere," an incredible white mophead with a tiny blue eye that gradually bleeds the faintest blue color throughout the blooms.  The macrophylla has been blooming for several weeks now.

Hydrangea arborescens "Annabelle," will keep that form until the blooms ultimately dry looking almost exactly as they do now. 

The front of the house faces Northwest, so it's a challenge to get some things to grow well there.  These guys all look pretty light and fluffy, but they're all extremely tough, and hold up beautifully to the Atlanta heat.  For the plant geeks, this begonia is called "Baby Wing," and will take full Atlanta sun and heat without the leaves bronzing.

The gazebo near the pool offers some respite from the crazy heat, and it's where many of the ferns and houseplants spend the summer months. 

Prune-a-Palooza

It seems like we've done nothing but prune at the Big House and in the Stepchild Garden for the past few weeks.  Even with weather being colder and wetter than normal, we're finally seeing some signs of spring, and it's time to cut back in anticipation of that growth spurt.  The Medusa-like growth on the Eleagnus has been pulled back into a somewhat contained form (if that's possible), the roses have been cut back and glued, and it feels like I've taken 35 truckloads of Sasanqua camellia trimmings to the green waste site.

February is also the annual time of "Crape Murder" in the South, when we gardeners look on in horror as so many landscape crews come out with the chain saws and "straighten up" the Crape Myrtles. Perhaps the only thing more funky looking in my mind are the hollies cut into lollipops in the supermarket parking lots!

At the Big House, the two ends of the circular front drive are marked with ENORMOUS Crape Myrtles, and in front of the house itself there is a cluster of exquisite "Natchez" Crapes, with that beautiful bark and white flowers in summer.  Since it's a pretty formal setting in front of the house, we do clean them up somewhat each year, and try to add a little balance to the overall scheme of things.

Once upon a time we used pruning shears and loppers.  Then it progressed to hand saws.  Now even the tallest ladders don't work!  Oh, well, it gives the neighbors something to talk about......."Can you believe what they're doing in that garden now?......"