13 is a Lucky Number

Border Tree Bed - After

This project involved some serious pruning of a mix of thirteen trees (not shrubs - more later) consisting of tea olives and hollies.

Recently, some telecommunication provider came through and cleared some growth impeding or encroaching their lines along the rear property line.

This is a beautiful property and I am not only speaking of the  landscape.

I have worked on an adjacent property several times, but had never been to the back to notice the addition the owner made many years ago - a substantial screened in porch and a rather large raised patio with brick pillars, an inlaid brick designed surface and black iron railings. I'd imagined they spend a good bit of time out here during nice weather. I was told, "We do." These little tidbits of information are always important to me.

Border Tree Bed - After

The clearing of whatever, by the telecommunication provider, was cause for them to get back, in and beyond what had become this monstrous screen of foliage and they realized it needed some attention, a lot actually.

Mrs. M knows her stuff and has some beautifully placed plant beds. I can't wait to be here in the coming weeks, when things begin to take off, and show off.

Again, some of what I do isn't noticed by the untrained or uncaring eye, but some well-thought plans, along with attention-to-detail, almost always get the property owners' attention. And, of course, the plants always benefit, health-wise.

Border Tree Bed - Before

Most species of hollies and tea olives I come across in this area are trees, not shrubs. Except for where some maintenance person gave priority to some tree branches from the neighboring property, these have been allowed to be what they are, trees. Go, Mr. and Mrs. M! Some were hacked back and I dealt with this, and only time will tell. Keeping a tree's height at bay does not work in the long run - this also doesn't work for some shrubs.

If you have to maintain the height of a shrub or plant with a chain saw, it is not a shrub. It's a tree. Homeowners unknowingly plant trees as foundation plants. Developers often do it knowing or unkowingly. And, if a landscape architect/designer does so, it's knowingly and wrong.

Border Tree Bed - Before

I pruned back several encroaching and shading branches from the neighboring property, removed not many, but several large vines which were having their way with the subject trees' branches and growth habit. I also removed a fair amount of volunteer growth, but the bulk of this project was pruning for health purposes, future growth and raising the canopies slightly for better air flow and mulch management. Some height management was done, mainly for those which had been hacked back, but very little. "Let them trees, be trees."

Oh, because the owner's didn't want this looking like some massive hedge row, I lightly trimmed, by pruning, the forward periphery and sides for separation and to highlight the trees as individuals.

Yes, they will grow back toward one another, but there are some simple pruning techniques to accent the flow of the individual trees over the years.

Debris Pile

I haven't taken a photo of a debris pile in a few years and the last time I did it was to illustrate the scale of a cut-back and clean-up project - the debris pile was four feet tall by four feet deep by forty yards long. This photo of a debris pile is to illustrate what can take place over time and what can happen when we can't see what has taken place.

We've discussed several other projects, including pressure washing many of the concrete and brick surfaces, but the one most relevant, which will make this tree bed stand out and more attractive, is establishing some natural borders at the lawn level and laying some new mulch.