Forsythia! What Is It Good For?

Oh, my, the temptation to sing
Ab-So-Lutely Nuth-ing!
Is very strong.**

 Is that too harsh for flowers that glow against the collinsia blue sky for several weeks early in spring? Okay,  I will admit that it also has fine fall color. But, folks, you have to agree, that for the the rest of the year it is either a big green blob or a tangled mess of branches?

I admit, I am biased! Hedge and I have had at best an uneasy alliance. While, I appreciate that it's made a wonderful privacy screen for the front garden (especially for sitting on our screened front porch), it has hogged dominated the sunniest section of my garden. Nor does it appear to have much wildlife value~no visiting bees and no nesting birds.

Hedge is a yard  and sun hog

 Consequently, I have been chopping away* at H for years, planting shrubs that are not only beautiful in the spring and fall, but provide food and shelter for the critters that live in this garden. That's how this gardener rolls...I garden for wildlife!

'Grey Owl' junipers, native grasses, Crepe myrtles and even a fig tree

They just take so long to grow and I have to remind myself that Hedge didn't spring up over night!

xoxogail 

*and I will continue to chop away! 
** and a link to the song WAR! 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Dear Nan: In Answer To Your Question

About Hedge (he really does have an enormous personality)...and an apology for not writing a followup post. YET!

I have two really excellent excuses: Priscilla Peahen and the unusual winter weather. Both have eaten up my energy and attention!

If you followed Priscilla F (people have put forth various thoughts on what the F stands for) Peahen's story; you know that she has finally been relocated to a safe place in the country. But, not without a great deal of angst while searching for just the right home. You know, I really miss that big bird, but don't miss her knocking on the front door at 6:30 AM every day.

It's strangely odd Not to be followed by a large bird when I go into the garden

As for the weather! After 30+ years in the Middle South I am a complete winter wimp. The temperatures stayed in the teens for almost two weeks. We were all in shock, especially when it snowed. It was absolutely beautiful out, but colder then we've experienced in a very long time. I couldn't make myself spend time outside if my life depended upon it! I bundled up and went for walks, but, it was a bummer to spend time looking at all that brown and gray in the garden. Even the lawnette had turn brown. Just the week before it had been a green oasis among the leaves and brown foliage. How you northern gardeners deal with winter, day after day, I may never understand...but, I have tremendous respect for each and every one of you.

So, I hardly ventured out, didn't do any garden work and occasionally danced around the issue of Hedge... What could replace him? Did we want hardscape or an evergreen hedge, a mixed perennial border or something entirely unique and different? Did we even want to spend resources on replacing an already working solution to privacy and noise abatement?

Soon he will be in his glory,
shortly after he will morph into the big green
blob that ate the front yard.
spring 2008

I spoke with my friend Sarah this morning. She's a garden designer who has helped me in the past. She understands the issues and has agreed to come up with some ideas. I am inclined to go off on a tear of whimsical ideas that are very exciting to think about~~

From Garden Porn Blog December 2007

Corten steel, galvanized drain pipes as columns, something unique and different! Well, you get the picture! She approaches designing a garden/landscape from the prospective of "there are no precedents in the neighborhood for that type of fence, Gail!" I want to be the precedent setting neighbor. No one knows what I do in the garden anyway with Hedge looming larger then life! Why not have a larger then life precedent!

In answer to your question~Have I made any progress on finalizing Hedge's replacement?

A little!

Warmest regards,
Gail

ps ~ thank you for asking.

*Nan Ondra and the Garden Bloggers Design Workshops

Hedgemony*

The Thrown Room

Dear Impossible Missions Force,

We need your assistance in the Kingdom of Clay and Limestonia! You were a great help when the Kingdom was under attack from the underground Vinca movement. You surely recall the bitter battles and valiant effort of our loyal subjects when Major Vinca and his minions infiltrated every aspect of the community....Siphoning off the country's meager natural resources for their own uses. We remember well, when Vinca Minor, (second in command and even more aggressive then her cousin) aligned herself with the Bush and Privet families. Those very corrupt and once prominent families have been removed from influence. We celebrated those Last Days of Bush for months! But, they are bitter and determined to get re-rooted in the community... We fear that Hedge, our Minister of De-Fence has aligned himself with these disruptive factions. There is evidence of co mingling and conspiracy.

We must move carefully. Hedge has been a loyal subject and has many supporters; including a few of our more powerful families. Word must not reach the ears of our most powerful senator, Mr. I. He will not approve and could make trouble. Mr. I believes that the Kingdom needs a strong Minister of De-Fence and that Hedge has performed perfectly.

It's not without difficulty that We accept reports of Hedge's possible perfidy. He's worked hard protecting Clay and Limestonia from the world. He keeps the prying eyes of neighbors from our little kingdom. He's provided shelter for many an immigrant to our shores.

But, he's getting entirely too big and powerful. He's pushed past the boundaries and claimed land that is clearly not his...He's upset the natural order in this part of the world.

Oh, yes, like other despotic personalities, Hedge can be charming and beguiling! He does cut a fine figure in his seasonal dress uniform.
But, he's aggressive and has over run less assertive neighbors. Toppling a problem like Hedge can leave this little kingdom de-fenceless. Borders will be unprotected. A plan to get in and out of there quickly seems impossible at this moment. WE must of course err on the side of caution.

WE await your response and hope to see the Impossible Missions Force here soon.

Queen Gaillardia
Kingdom of Clay and Limestonia

*Hedgemony (n)~A hedge attempting to achieve garden domination

Hedge~a fence or boundary formed by a dense row of shrubs or low trees
Mony~Latin: action, result of an action or condition; a suffix that forms nouns)
Hegemony~ aggression or expansionism by large nations esp. among smaller nations in an effort to achieve world domination.