We keep clipping, and using the evergreen boughs:
- where we need a bit of extra insulation, and
- as decorations now as the holidays approach.
It's great at this time of year -- we bag so little and
everywhere we go, people smile and take from us what would be "yard
waste" in another season.
(Don't miss the peek at NYC's
version of this!)
Here are some photos we hope inspire you.
We tucked Alaska false cypress boughs (Chamaecyparis
nootkatensis) and red berries from cranberrybush
Viburnum (V. trilobum) in among the
planter's resident 'Blue Star' junipers (J.
squamata). Then we tied one bunch of Korean feather reed grass
(Calamagrostis brachytricha), one of northern sea oats
(Chasmanthium latifolium) and a branch of the falsecypress
to the left gate rail.
We sprayed a touch of gold paint on the Korean feather reed
grass (bigger plume on left) just to help it remain distinct in
comparison to the northern sea oats (dangling glumes, right).
This silvermound Artemisia (A. schimdtiana)
was looking a bit mange-y. We should have trimmed it during the
summer to keep it dense. Now, we'll wait to trim it until spring,
since trimming it now might cause dieback where its base is too
suddenly exposed to harsh weather. For the meanwhile, we can spruce
it up.
Actually, juniper it up. We've inserted branches from an upright
juniper (Juniperus virginiana 'Canaertii') to fill the
bare spaces...
...and set a few clusters of cranberrybush Viburnum
berries into the greenery.
Almost every garden we know can spare at least this many
clippings -- a little white pine, a bit of yew, two sprays of
juniper and a bit of arborvitae... Add some of the ornaments
rattling around the bottom of your tree trimming collection and you
have a long lasting display for free. As a bonus, your shrubs will
be more under control.
Last word, from NYC:
And take a look at how Manhattanites celebrate the
holiday-tree connection where cuttable plants are few and far
between. (Blog by gardener and artist Tom Cathey,
http://tomseyeview.wordpress.com/)
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