A couple of weeks ago Les at A Tidewater Gardener issued a challenge to take a late winter walk in our neighborhoods and record what we see. This is my submission to the
Winter Walk Off Challenge.
Just two houses away a Star Magnolia is in full bloom but if you look closely you see hardware wire cloth hanging on the side of the house. Woodpeckers have been devouring the cedar siding this winter so the homeowner in desperation used this to block their feeding--so far it works though a bit unsightly.
About a block away is a 30 year old passive solar home where the homeowner removed all the trees this fall and winter. I don't know why but it is a sad looking home now.
Up the next block is a shaded magnolia that still blooms nicely.
This is the first of several pruned Crepe Myrtles that I saw today. This qualifies as murder by chain saw but these are such hardy trees it may survive.
On the next street the shell of a home that caught fire a month ago is being repaired.
Next to this messy repair is the quite solitude of a statue and a few daffodils. Sort of keeps it all in perspective.
Two more pics of pruned crepe myrtles as I continued down the street.
This is the most spectacular blooming magnolia in my neighborhood.
This was a Bradford Pear at one time but a northeaster broke it apart and sports came from the root which has now been pruned into this ugliness. There are two of them but one tells the story.
The new owners of this home quickly removed all the trees and then decapitated a row of crepe myrtles.
Finally I see flowering shrubs and trees as I continue my neighborhood walk.
I had almost completed a three mile loop through the neighborhood when I found two more pruning massacres.
That completes the walk--some pleasant sights some not so pleasant. Seems that my neighbors love to prune and cut trees. Interesting to say the least. I think I'll take pictures of the crepe myrtles in August to see how they recovered.
Thank you for participating in my Winter Walk Off. It is always good to add another local garden blogger to the internet. It looks like your neighborhood has to have a pruning intervention, the brutality is alarming.
ReplyDeleteDisturbing to see such beautiful flowering trees and then such brutal "pruning", if it can be called that. I agree that the passive solar home looks rather sad and neglected - I hope they plan to plant a riot of colour to alleviate the drabness, currently it plays to all the worst prejudices against this type of innovative building. I've enjoyed the walk around your neighbourhood, so different to my own.
ReplyDeleteNice walk Gene, thanks for the stroll through your neighborhood. Hard to believe there are so many murder by chainsawed crape myrtles. Pity.
ReplyDeleteLove the neighborhood, hate the murdered Crapes.
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS! You won one of the prizes in my Winter Walk Off. Contact me at
ReplyDeletemorehiways at cox dot net, and I can either mail them to you, or since you are so close, you can pick them up at the garden center where I work if you prefer. Just let me know.
Les
Wow, lots of Crepe Myrtles out here on the Left Coast, but I've never seen them pruned quite like this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Les for hosting this event and all of you that took the time to tour the neighborhood with me.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your Winter Walk Off prize winning post! Except for those crape myrtles, it is a beautiful neighborhood. Lets hope Les plans more fun blogging events.
ReplyDelete