loischen

There is less and less of my lawn as over the years I have nip and tucked away at it in the service of more shrubs, perennials, trees--and this book is encouraging me to do more and more of the same. I am not thinking in terms of napalm or Kevorkian, perhaps a bit strong for my way of doing it--just a little nip here and a tuck there, but this book looks like it will be useful.

I was very impressed with this pruning summary.
I have a few additional mistakes that peole make which I would like to add to the list of do's and don'ts.
Don't prune when you are tired, or distracted.
Dont' prune when you are drinking or drunk.
Don't prune at dusk or early morning when there is not enough light.
Don't prune when there are children around.
Use first class, sharp tools that do the job quickly and efficiently.(bypass for live wood, anvil for dead.)
Don't let a neighbor or friend prune for you unless they know as much or more than you know about how to do it.

Many years ago we had the wonderful experience of visiting Frank Cabot's amazing garden, "Les Quatre Vents" and we met him there, possibly in the same Wellies he is wearing in one of the pictures. It is truly an amazing garden--no doubt much more so now, after years of additions and surprises. It is well worth the trip along the north shore of the St. Lawrence past Quebec. Stonecrop is also a magnificent garden. Hope all of you gardeners didn't have too much damage from Irene.

myth: prune flowering shrubs like roses and forsythia any time you have the time, right up to winter.
Ohioline.osu.edu is the source I use most often--if you prune after August, the new growth which comes as a result of pruning will be killed by frost in October, at least in the northern part of the country. Dead, diseased, damaged and "deranged" branches and stems can be pruned any time of year.