EARLY SPRING DEBRIS DUTY

"What's that?"

"A leaf left over from last fall !"

"Well, let's get busy and clean it up."

"There, that's better."

"Now, on to all the Pine branches that fell off in the ice storm last week."

"Garden Eyes" sculptures by:

Cam McCamy 

In my gardens in the woodland there is sure to be a few hours or even days in February and March of semi- heavy clean up of fallen branches that have succumbed to wind, heavy snow and ice.  Winter Nature's elements are most destructive to Pine branches. The Loblolly Pines (Pinus taeda) are the trees most affected.  In this garden the trees range from 50 to 100 years old. Some of their branches are as high up in the trees as their age!  Below is a view of the southern edge of the woodland. You can get an idea of the height of the Loblolly Pines by comparing them with the bare branches of Hepticodium myconoides in the foreground and the Cornus mas in yellow bloom in the distance. Both of these are 15' and 20' tall respectively. 

The girth of old branches are sometimes 9" in diameter.  Below is a picture of the huge trunk of one of the Pines in a sitting area near the Fern Walk.

When the winter storm precipitation clings to the limbs we are on high alert for falling branches. We poke our head outside the house and can hear crashing throughout the icy stillness of the day. The branches heavy with snow and ice are making their way to the forest floor from magnificent heights. There is no walking in the garden until the ice has mostly melted. 

Then, out comes my Felco pruning saw and loppers for cleanup. There is usually no need for a chain saw as a 6" Felco,if kept sharp, will make quick work of even the 9" dia. branches. 

Today I worked on the debris that fell across the Fern Walk path. You can see how the branch leaning against the trunk on the left fell like a spear into the ground. That happens throughout the year in wind storms as well. It's always a shock to come across what looks like a juvenile tree that has magically appeared and find that it is a huge fallen branch that has stuck itself in the ground sometimes a foot deep. 

 Down on the left of the picture below, you can see the beginnings of a pile of cut branches.  I started  by cutting a longish branch to lay on the ground as the base, to make a crude sled with the cut end of the branch facing the direction of where I will be dragging the cuttings and piling smaller branches on top.   When the pile is of a size I think I can manage it is dragged into an area of rough woods that is not part of the managed garden.  

Below is the finished path looking toward the sitting area where you can lean back and enjoy the looking up at the tree canopy. 

I had a visitor ask how I manage all the falling branches that must come down from the trees. Once the side branches are cut off I will look for a place along a path to use the long left over trunk to define a path edge. This is a good way to recycle those 'gifts' from the trees and articulate a leafy path from the planted areas. 

This little task took about 45 minutes. 

So now I can concentrate on cutting off the cold damaged leaves of Helleborus x orientalis. 

There is nothing like having a clean look to a beautiful spray of Helleborus orientalis blossoms. This one planted and blooming happily below Daphne odora 'Aureomarginalis'

HERE COMES SPRING!!!!