When we bought the house, I planned to remove the four arborvitae planted in a row parallel to the garage entrance. They looked trite.
By the time I got around to that, I had planted the gravel circle in front of the house entrance. I decided to leave two of them. Over the years I became fond of the vertical accents they provided. Strange, I thought, that the deer don't bother them...(deer love to eat arborvitae).
On our return from a vacation in late February that had changed. The deer had eaten almost every green sprig to a height of about five feet. Drastic measures were called for. I pruned off all the mess the deer had left, creating these rather interesting topiary specimens. Perhaps some underplanting? Or I may transplant them to the back garden.
Kind of bizarre, but I think I like them. Keep them close to the house where you can see the deer's handiwork.
ReplyDeleteI think they're fab! Natural topiary . . . can't go wrong!!
ReplyDeleteRyan
Hmm, that's really interesting. I don't know whether I think they look gaudy, or if I think that's so neat I might try myself on an experimental thuja. It is nice though when nature helps you discover these thins.
ReplyDeleteLes, Ryan & Benjamin,
ReplyDeleteCheck out the strangely pruned tree (cedar?) at William Martin's Wigandia web site. It's in the photo at the lower left at this url: www.wigandia.com/index2.html. It's like two cones joined at the vertex. Wigandia is a great great garden on the side of a volcano in Australia.
I love them--what a great way to turn lemons into lemonade.
ReplyDeleteHeirloomgardener,
ReplyDeleteSome may think they are weird, but they evoke a rather Japanese look for me.
Oh, those deer have a very artistic approach to their topiary! LOL Thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteCheryl
www.cherylkugler.com
They look great! To me they look like lollipops!
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't like the arborvitae but have a large row of them (to save my perenials from my very young neighbors who love to play football right next to them), but I am growing hydrangeas and native bushes to (hopefully) disguise them. A slow process, but one that you might want to try. Or leave them the way they are, bet they are a great conversation piece!
Our neck of the woods is filled with arborvitae and yews and similar that look like what yours looked like before you cleaned it up. If folks would go out with some loppers or a pruning saw and did what you did, the aesthetics of our neighborhood would improve dramatically.
ReplyDeleteCraig, I'm too familiar with that "narrow-waisted" look of deer-munched evergreens.
ReplyDeleteMaria,
ReplyDeleteI used to hate arborvitae. But I've come to think they're quite attractive. Native too! True, they're terribly overused. You have to look hard to see beauty in them.
Cheryl, thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteThey are eye-catching. Before reading the post, I thought you'd surely created a new, if somewhat odd, element in the garden. I find it rather amazing that the deer waited, and then grazed so heavily on these plants. But whether they remain, or you move them, I think they seem fated to compel dialogue in the garden.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they at least say, "This is a garden." Mine is so naturalistic, I think the uninitiated don't know it's a garden. Many Americans seem to need traditional garden "cues" - walls, statuary, symmetrical or formal elements, traditional borders, contrasting lawn, what some refer to as an "English garden" - to know to call a garden a garden. My brother in law has called my garden "that patch out back." So I have to announce, "This is my garden." And go on to explain what a wet prairie is. Actually, I first explain what a prairie is. I'd like to think they "compel dialogue" as you say, and don't just look eccentric.
ReplyDeleteI love your rusticated topiary. Quite unexpected and therefore, in my opinion, so wonderful in your garden!
ReplyDelete(On a different subject: Looks like the High Line is going to be open soon. I noticed last week that it's lit at night now. Just gorgeous!)
J, I arrived in the country last night (a couple of days off from work) and when I turned on the outside flood lights, the rain-soaked trunks of the arborvitae were absolutely beautiful. Thinking I may do more of this.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at the High Line while driving down West Street last weekend, wondering when it will finally open. I'm such a fan of Oudolf, I really want to see what's happening.