Yew Not "Ew"

If I were to list all my gardening pet peeves, 1) this would be a very long post 2) I would run out of adjectives and, 3) I'm certain someone reading would disagree with each and every one of them.  What bothers some, does not bother others.  For instance, when I look at houses with absolutely no landscaping whatsoever, not even so much as an obligatory foundation planting, I get a cold shiver and a creepy uninvited feeling, like vampires are afoot, and the house is just a daytime coffin.  However, others might look at the same house and think, "awesome, low maintenance".

While looking for examples of what I call "crimes against the yew bush", I brought my cell phone along with me on a lunch time walk to take photos of those "yews" that I find to be "ews".  On my first day I saw some great examples, but it was sunny out and a lot of people were home so I was afraid to take photos worried I'd be accosted by someone demanding to know why I was paparazzing their domicile (for all I know these people weren't at work for some other reason besides lunch).  But the next day, I got a little braver and tried to look like I was checking my messages on my cell, while I was actually taking photos.

This first yew pictured here is a victim of bad trimming.  I really dislike the "flat top" method of pruning a shrub like the yew.  Are they planning on having a picnic on it?  There are probably three yew bushes lined up in a row in this image, but you cannot tell where one begins and another ends. I'm sure someone just hauled out an electric or gas powered hedge trimmer and took one pass over the top and said "done".  While I am all for low maintenance, this is just plain lazy and does nothing to enhance the house, the yard, or the people who live there.  I get so disappointed in those who trim in this way, I wonder if we shouldn't require a written test and a permit for use of hedge trimmers, much in the same way we do for the operator of a motor vehicle?   I suppose it could be worse, however...

Here is an image of "worse".  This image shows a couple of poor bushes being attacked by unweeded maples.  Though you may not be able to see it clearly from this photo, there are several small trees growing throughout the yew bushes.  There isn't room for all of them, and the small trees seem quite large already, since maples are fast growing and can seed like wildfire.  Best to mulch under shrubs and keep weeds (like tree seedlings) easy to pull out in the early stages than try to get them when the roots have taken a firm hold.  Now, the roots of both may be too intertwined.

This next photo shows two yew bushes that have not been trimmed, perhaps ever, and while they appear now to be getting a bit leggy, I actually prefer this look to the first image I posted where over trimming is the crime.  This problem, well, I see it as a problem, although the home owners may just like the street privacy, is the easiest to fix.  Thinning a few branches here and there, giving the yew a rounded, more controlled, shape, and allowing the trimmed branches to thicken a little, would make these two shrubs refreshed and quite pretty.

I feel like the above image is a "Where's Waldo?".  If you can easily spot the two yew bushes, then it is because you are really looking.  The rhododendron takes center stage, and really there is no need to distract from it with two badly trimmed yew bushes off to the side, so I would just remove them.  If they are small, they could be relocated, if not, well, less work for the home owner.

Now a very personal example of good yew bushes gone bad.  When we bought our house in 2001, this is what it looked like (this is the city's online tax image, I was in no hurry to take photos of our lackluster exterior). As mentioned in one of my most early posts, the yew bushes probably lasted for one week, maybe two, before I looked at the better half and begged relief from the eyesore.  There were seven badly trimmed yew bushes that added nothing to the charm of the house.  Frankly, I found the house pretty charmless anyway, inside and out, built by the neighborhood contractor in 1972 so that he could live and work in the same area.  He cut every corner, and I actually doubt he planted anything in the yard at all.  These shrubs in the photo were still quite small in 2001 and may have been planted after the house was vinyl sided (sometime, I believe, in the 1980s).

This is our house in 2008.  We have changed the shutters and windows since this photo was taken and the false cypress boulevard is now higher than the gutters, but essentially you get the idea.  With some well thought out landscaping, a house and yard can become a welcoming, colorful playground, where you can enjoy the view inside and out.  (Case and point, that lovely snowdrift flowering crab also looks beautiful when viewed from the living room window, even on a rainy day.)  You may also notice that mulch replaced the grass.  We lost a well fight battle with grubs and decided to plant ground cover and fill in with mulch.  It is far less maintenance than grass and I like the look of "park" in the front more than high maintenance green carpet.  

In closing, if you like yew bushes because they are evergreen and easy to grow, just thin them when needed and resist the urge to make them look like shipping boxes or picnic tables.

Good Example or Horrible Warning

Every day at work I’ve made it a point to walk during my half-hour lunch.  My office has no windows and a lot of my job requires sitting at a desk so I need to move my bones and clear my head at least once a day.  Fortunately my office building is located in a fairly residential area so I get to look at other yards and gardens to see what others have planted and how they regard their use of outdoor space.

 

What disappoints me most in looking at these yards, however, is seeing shrubs and trees poorly placed and struggling to thrive under adverse conditions.  I think the shrub that is most often abused in this way is the rhododendron.  On my walk today I used my cell phone to take a few photos of some rhododendrons improperly placed.  Looking at the right photo, this rhododendron, though hard to tell from this photo, is planted three or four inches from the foundation.  This what I would call major mistake number one.  When planting small shrubs you must always adhere to planting guidelines.  Too often people forget that the little shrub now will soon be big. In my basic gardening book it recommends planting a rhododendron 4-10 feet apart depending upon the variety.  I think a 4 foot minimum is a very good guideline.  

To the left is another example of rhododendrons planted far too close to the foundation.  It's double the tragedy as there are two struggling rhododendrons instead of one.  It is not possible to tell how old these two shrubs are, but it is evident that they are not really thriving in their current location.  It could be that the roots are not established due to their tight quarters, or perhaps the amount and quality of sunshine are not adequate.  They do not appear as healthy as the one pictured above which, despite poor placement, seems to be full and the right shade of green (frequent pruning is most likely the cause, can be used to keep a shrub looking more bushy less leggy).

In this last rhododendron photo I think the problem is fairly clear, the type of rhododendron (they come in dwarf varieties as well as woodland sizes) planted on each side was far too large for the space and have overtaken the house and porch.  If privacy is your desired plan, then I guess it's o.k. But this type of overgrowth makes outside house maintenance difficult and gives your home and porch a very uninviting feel.  Consistent pruning would have helped this early on, but now I believe only removal and replanting of some smaller shrubs to be a viable option.  Also, it's always dangerous to plant symmetrically.  Two shrubs of the same type may not grow at the same rate.  If one thrives and the other does not, or if one blooms and the other doesn't, you may end up with an uneven, lopsided effect.  

In this last photo there are no rhododendrons, but primarily a pieris japonica and a yew bush smooshed against the house foundation.  I don't suppose I need to tell you what bothers me about this photo.  A pieris japonica and a yew, like the rhododendron, need space.  Each one has a beautiful, fairly large shape and planting them at this proximity is just plain wrong.  To make matters worse, a deciduous shrub was planted in front of them (I cannot determine the exact name from the distance at which I took the photo) so that it hides them even in winter when evergreens should be most appreciated.  

In my next blog I hope to discuss crimes against the yew bush.