Rose pruning for spring

1prunedrosesNow this is the sign of spring. Cutting back the roses. I have a lot of Gertrude Jekyll roses in planters in the courtyard which are budding nicely.

So that meant sorting each plant out before they burst into leaf.

First up, nice and easy – dead branches. You just have to don the gauntlets, secure your hat firmly on your head and wade in.

Luckily I had sharpended my secateurs. I seemed to have removed half of each shrub.  But it looks neater and more logical now.

And then once the dead and crossing bits were out, I reduced each stem by a third.  It takes a bit of courage the first few timew when you realise you are cutting off growing buds. But now I’m ruthless and don’t even blanch.

Or mabye yesterday’s santolina massacre has hardened me to any task. 2pannicumbefore

afterpannicumEmboldened, I then went and cut back the last of the grasses on the farm.  The pannicum grasses (four) in this little bed look a sorry mess both before and after.

I think I spent more time trying to dig out the sneaky stinging nettles that have crept into the bed than worrying about the actual grasses.

But they are quickly cut back.

Unlike the monster miscanthus on the lawn bank.  Boy this was a long morning job.

1miscanthusbeforeThe miscanthus grasses are much thicker and stiff than the floppy eragrostis just behind them.

And I had the extra fuss of trying not to cut into this season’s growth. I have no idea why, but one miscanthus in the row is always first to leap into leaf.

So you can’t dreamily snip and collect the tall five foot high dead stalks and not pay attention. 1miscanthusgrowing

I also had the fun of kneeling in water while I worked.  The underground springs on this part of the farm are seeping water right now. We had an inch of rain a few days back and they seem to take that long to appear this low down on the mountain.

1miscanthusduringI went through a pair of gloves just bundling the dead grass up and taking it over to the pool bank to mulch the bed.

But when you know it is the very last grass cutting project that has taken almost a week, off an on, then you tend to be a bit more resigned to the job. 1miscanthusafter

If I were really organised, I would weed thoroughly around each of these huge grasses.  But the ground is so sodden and I just don’t have many spare pairs of gloves.

I’ll just have to put it on the list for next month.