mrbingbang

Here in NY that pruning style is very popular with the Italian contingent. To be generous, it is certainly playful! There is no good excuse for poor plant selection, save ignorance. Most of this stuff should never have been planted in Santa Barbara in the first place. I support the use of native plant materials. I prefer to see geometric forms left to man-made structures, and for plants to express their natural organic forms. It is that very interplay that results in so many truly wonderful landscapes! These photos document some very un-skilled pruning. And that last yew? Even it is not beyond a skillful, redeeming pruning. You might be surprised what you could coax out of it with a little effort. Yes, the results would be very sculptural in quality. These plants, living beings that they are, deserve and need all the love we can give them. Ever notice how trees that are admired tend to thrive, and trees that are loathed tend to suddenly die?