Saturday, May 28, 2016

Edit This

The goals:
Reduce the end of season mature height to around five feet with exceptions.
Maximize season long bloom and plant diversity.
Remove the obnoxious and annoying. Pluck at the boring.
Weed around the cultivated plants to prevent smothering.
Cover all three acres.
Finish before June when stompage becomes permanently imprinted.





















The truth of the matter is, this is not a task for someone without my skill set. You need to be able to identify the wild things. Observational knowledge of how the meadow and individual species work over a season and many years is extremely helpful.





















Or maybe I am kidding myself. A similar effect could be achieved with more limited editing. The complexity of plant species might dwindle, but most people wouldn't notice.

I never fully reach my goals anyway. I have to settle for progress. It is always good progress at least on my end of the wild cultivated gardens. Bulbarella's half suffers a little more. I don't get to it before June.





















Not so long ago it was an impenetrable thicket of Blackberry, New England aster and Elderberry tied into a giant hairball of a knot with clematis. Today it is a garden, a wondrously blooming Tall Flower Meadow. I edited my way there.


5 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

It is fantastic.

Jan O said...

I agree, it is fantastic. Beautiful in all its seasons, and inspiring.

Christopher C. NC said...

It is pretty amazing and most of all because I didn't plant the vast majority of it. I just created the conditions to make it happen.

Lola said...

Good editing 0n your part. It is Beautiful.

beverly said...

What always amazes me about plants is that the good ones are in there, no matter what the cover of invasives/undesirables is. Just waiting to emerge when someone like you comes along. The Liberator! What a wonderful job.