The most recent Grow Write Guild’s writing prompt asks what in my garden I’d most like to get rid of.
The answer for me, here at Serendipity Gardens, is easy: two giant forsythia shrubs in the front yard, shown in this photo as the two green blobs on the left and right. These shrubs are quite old. They were fully grown when we moved to Serendipity Gardens 11 years ago.
We left them unpruned for three or four years. I wanted them to look natural, whereas the previous owner preferred to shape them into a ball. But they grew so large that they took over the yard, so pruning became a must. It took my husband a day to do, crawling around under the shrub — and when he was done, we had two pickup truck loads of branches to take to the recycling facility!
Many Gardeners Do Not Like Forsythia
Since I’ve been gardening, I’ve read garden writer after garden writer who noted that they did not care for forsythia shrubs. I never understood why until just recently. I always looked forward to the bright yellow color of the forsythia’s blooms in April, such a pleasure after a long white winter. That I will miss, if I succeed in moving them.
I would like them if they were growing out towards the edge of our yard. That way, I could enjoy that wonderful burst of color in the spring but not have the “green blob effect” the rest of the year. The green blob effect occurs because other than the yellow blooms in the spring, forsythias offer little of interest the rest of the year. They are just big green blobs in summer and fall. They are big masses of unruly stems in the winter. As stars of the show, they simply do not work.
I’d like to replace them with a nice mid-size shrub and something else (suggestions appreciated). I am considering a small crab apple tree. I am looking for plants with spring or summer blooms, berries, interesting structure, attractive foliage, great fall color, or all of the above! Then the view out my front window will be much more interesting.
Visit You Grow Girl to write your own answer to what plants you’d like to remove from your garden.
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