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Therapeutic blogging

I don't anger easily.

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Edward Chuck Scissorhands was at it again.Chuck Chainsaw-hands was more like it.

IMG_0423 I came home from work to find my forsythia the victim of a chainsaw massacre, most of it right to the ground. He said it needed a good cutting back, and his day off combined with mild weather was his incentive – just as it was blooming. I was really mad. Don't get mad that often, but this was the real deal. Can you imagine pruning a shrub with a chainsaw?

There was poetic justice; an outcome where  virtue triumphs over vice. A neighbour walking by sympathizes, "It will grow back."  Googling "how to prune forsythia" assures me that imprudent cutting back will result in growth with a vengeance in the following year.

File this one under therapeutic blogging 😉

Note to Barb, who requested my pattern in the post below: please leave an e-mail address and I'd be happy to sent it right away,

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13 responses to “Therapeutic blogging”

  1. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    My hubby did the same thing one year right before they were about to bloom but not with a chainsaw! I think men secretly hate forsthia. Maybe it’s from thier childhood. Were they hit with a forsthia ? This could be a very interesting study….. huuuummmm

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  2. Carole Avatar
    Carole

    I think Jane may be on to something about men secretly hating forsythia. Dale doesn’t like it either. Hmmm.

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  3. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    Aaaargh, if only he’d waited until the blooms had faded. But as you noted, it’ll be back next year.
    What really bugs me is people who ‘trim’ forsythia to make it ‘tidy’ and think that the ugly, nearly flowerless stubble looks good. I love forsythia that are allowed to grow wild and lush, with minimal intervention.

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  4. Dorothy Avatar
    Dorothy

    I feel your pain. Several years ago I had the most gorgeous asparagus fern that draped over the table, almost to the floor – beautiful! I came home one day to find that hubby had trimmed it down almost to a nub! He said it was getting too big. Grrrrrr! It’s a good thing they’re cute.

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  5. Dotty Avatar
    Dotty

    I’d be mad, too. I have one rule when it comes to our yard – if it’s the lawn, he’s allowed to touch it. If it’s not the lawn, he touches it at his own risk. If he dares touch anything else in the yard, I must be there to supervise (i.e. he may wield the tree pruner cuz he’s taller & stronger, but I get to pull the string to make the cut).

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  6. Lynn Avatar
    Lynn

    oh I totally understand!!! My husband went after my magnolia to thin it out. Blech. It took two years before it looked normal again!!!

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  7. Linda B. Avatar
    Linda B.

    I feel your pain.

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  8. Suzanne (Yarnhog) Avatar
    Suzanne (Yarnhog)

    I’m a tough cookie, but I almost burst into tears when I came home one day and discovered the guy who cuts my grass had taken it on himself to “prune” my prized, hand-trimmed shrubs with a weed-wacker! He turned them into horrific little cubes. I have since made it very clear I don’t want him to touch anything but the grass. (They grew back and I repaired the damage.)

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  9. Valeria Avatar
    Valeria

    My late gradfather pruned with a vengeance. Mom used to call him “The Yankee Clipper”.

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  10. Awesome Mom Avatar
    Awesome Mom

    My husband did that to a treeish shrub that we had when we lived in California. He did not use a chain saw but pruned it right in the middle of winter (he is so lucky we were in an area that did not get too many hard freezes), had no consideration for which way the next growth buds were facing and did not trim near the growth buds at all making the plant more vulnerable to bugs in the spring. The kicker was that he pruned off the type of growth that it bloomed off of so we did not get any blooms that year. I was pissed! I had to go back and fix it and it still ended up looking horrible. He was forever banned from pruning anything in our yard since he obviously lacked the knowledge and patience to do it right.

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  11. Carl Avatar
    Carl

    Nothing against forsythia, but sometimes the underappreciated pruning capabilities of the chainsaw are overlooked. I’ve found nothing better for pruning my damn privets. It serves well for taking my agression out on the idiot that decided they’d make a good border shrub. You’re welcome to come trim mine any time Chuck! …and I understand when the ol’ chainsaw just plain needs a workout.
    …..sorry Li. […..for those green thumbers, i’ve just made my obigitory contribution to the Save the Forsythia Foundation.]

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  12. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    My husband had to cringe – he loves forsythia! He did mess up and prune some of the azaleas too late this year, though. I think they survived, but only time will tell.

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  13. Rebekah Avatar
    Rebekah

    Oh my. I came home two weeks ago on a Saturday and found that Nick had completely removed these two huge shrubs that were in the front of our house. I was quite annoyed because it is where the cardinals raise their young every year. But I finally did have to admit that the house did look better.
    hope next year it is absolutely gorgeous!

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