Now of course I've hardly done a blessed thing in the garden since the spring, but taking a look out the dining room window, I could see that the star magnolia needed some pruning. And taking a look out the parlor window, I thought "What on earth is going on out there?" So after a phone conversation with Mother, I grabbed the clippers off the back porch and sallied forth.
The impression I got was definitely of wild things taking over. Of course, nothing I planted this spring condescended to come up. This is not unusual. What did come up, in tall profusion, was china asters, a quatrefoil green plant I've always thought was a weed (it's probably a weed), and a plant with incomplete furry purple-green flowers or flowerets or whatever. I'd like to think that the latter is some of the Hidcote lavender seeds I planted a long time ago. Alas, a look at ye Gyggle shows they are not that. I'd've pulled it up but the bees love it. And we must accommodate the bees if we want honey and continued pollination of the world!
Much of all this errant herbiage seems to have grown up around and through the original stone paving. So it reminded me of the second Mrs. DeWinter's dream of Manderley, about the forest reclaiming the drive "with long tenacious fingers." But that purplish plant is growing all around the house, and so are the china asters. I also saw some white puffball thingies popping up near the gate. No idea what they are.
What is this?
The star magnolia is becoming infested with morning glory vines. Left to their own devices, they'd twine together and pull the whole thing down! What's interesting is that the vines seem to have started way up in the tree, not down on the ground in the hedge. It certainly made challenging pruning.
This is just ONE branch of pruning from the star magnolia.