No More Shrubs

One of the things on my perpetual to do list was to cut down the shrubs in the front of the house.  Kris and I don’t agree on when we planted the barberry bushes, but we both agree that it was time to get rid of them.  They started out as a nice splash of color, but over the years they grew funny, and then they picked up that disease thing that killed half of the bush on a couple of them.  And there was another one this year that was starting to have branches wither up and die too.  So as much as it pains me to dig out something that is alive and just get rid of it, it was time.

They actually came out much easier than expected.  I wasn’t sure what sort of condition the roots would be in, but after going to it with a lopping shears to take off the branches and cut the trunk at the base, they came out pretty easily.  Just a big pack of roots with clumped soil.  I was even able to save most of the soil and put it back into the hole so I didn’t need to put so much fill back in to level them off. 

Now we have only the yews and arbor vitaes left, and they are not in the best shape either.  We had rabbits, or something like rabbits, eating some of them over the winter a few years ago and some have some pretty big bare spots on them.  Maybe I can nurse them back, but if not, look for them to come out next year.