My plans for this weekend — pruning. I know, it doesn’t sound very exciting, but it’s something that desperately needs to be done. Last year, I completely forgot to prune my crape myrtles in February, so I just didn’t prune them at all. And that was okay, I’m not a big fan of overly pruned crape myrtles anyway. But as the Clemson Extension Service says, it’s okay to do light pruning in late winter or early spring, as it shapes up the plant and encourages more prolific blooms in the summer, and my crape myrtles are obviously in need of some cleaning up.
So this year I swore that in February I would prune the crape myrtles. I even have some great new loppers to do it with. But then it snowed, or was cold and rainy, or I needed to go shopping in Charlotte instead. Somehow February slipped by and the crape myrtles still weren’t pruned. But it’s not too late!
I am bound and determined to spend this weekend in the garden. The forecast looks favorable, and it’s not just the crape myrtles that need some thinning out, my nandina is out of control, and the loropetalum has definitely outgrown its space.
All of my thinking about pruning made me think about the transition from winter to spring in general.
Pruning in the garden is really a lot like spring cleaning. Both are really just a way of getting things prepared for the upcoming season. For the garden that means new growth. For the house that means bright sunlight streaming through open windows, and who wants that sun to highlight dirty baseboards and dust bunnies? There’s something about the winter weekends, with weather that keeps you inside, that make it less of a chore to wash down baseboards and clean blinds. It’s sort of like nesting, since we’re in our house so much of the time. But it’s also a way of getting things fresh and clean in time for a season that symbolizes new beginnings.
January 1 might mark the beginning of a new calendar year, but isn’t spring the time of year when things really seem new? Maybe this should be the time of year to make good on those resolutions we made a few months ago. After all, it’s much easier to exercise when the weather’s nice, and who can stick to a diet in the winter when your body craves warm bread and steaming mugs of hot chocolate filled to the brim with marshmallows?
I think it’s time we start making our New Year’s resolutions fit more to the cycle of the gardening world. In the winter months, prepare. Research good nutrition, find an exercise plan that works for you, start collecting recipes and maybe even sign up for a 5K. That’s the pruning part. Then when spring comes, lace up those running shoes, throw out the chips and replace them with fruits and vegetables, and get going just like all those plants. After all, in most cases, pruning makes things grow like gangbusters the following season!
