GG, in the shrub border, with the dirty great big shovel

Thought I'd better set aside some time this morning to do all those boring financial things, pensions, banking and the like so settled down in the dining room for a while.
OH was .... elsewhere.

After about 2 hours OH comes in looking rather sheepish saying could I come and look at a couple of shrubs he has just been trimming and one that perhaps he has trimmed a wee bit too much, but he was trying to help out in the garden. I usually do all the landscaping type things and he is basically the labourer I was a bit concerned.

What I find is that a lovely big box that admittedly needed a little shaping and about 2-3 inches off all round, is now about a quarter of the original size and instead of a handsome mound type shape is now like a stunted D and frankly ridiculous. I try manfully to think it is only a bush and it will recover in about a decades time and we calmly move on.

The second pruning job has been done on a rather large old umbrella shaped euonymous which I actually trimmed and shaped a few weeks back. Now it is a rather smaller - erm, no problem - but one side has been shorn off completely and is now totally bare.

There was a shovel handy and I was sorely tempted to do him in on the spot. But I managed to keep calm and gently ask what he thought of the results (Him: well, I did trim a little, step back and consider and then trim some more like you are supposed to do, but then I kept doing it and now they do look a little bare here and there, but they are fast growers aren't they ...). He looked so downcast I didn't have the heart to kill him (yet). Still, they are only shrubs, I keep telling myself ... and those power hedge trimmers are going under lock and key!

GG

 

...Sorry for laughing GG...It's just the way you've put it...

Luckily the Euonymous does grow back reasonably quickly but the poor Buxus.....give it a seaweed feed and a seaweed foliar feed and it might rush it up a bit...

If my OH had done that there'd be forensics round here as I type

 

Hahaha had to laugh, I have a Euonymus, never did much where I planted it so moved it to a gap in the hedge,where it flourished and flowered for the first time in 8 years........and then my oh gave it a 'trim'. Ho hum. But it is starting to sprout bCk

 

You have to laugh don't you, or the next thing you know the Old Bill will be tearing their way through the village with a restraining order with my name on it

Whenever I go into the garden, my eyes go directly to the two retarded things that now spoil my shrub border hahaha. @Lolimac how long do you think it will take my now 3ft x 2ft deformed box thing to grow back to a 4ft x 4ft beauty???

Oh my, I just went out to give everything a good soaking and I noticed 4 MPC bags full of 'clippings' ready to go to the recycling that were not ther earlier in the day!!!!

Never mind, there are a lot worse things that could happen

GG

 

Lets just say 'a little while'....

I'd ground him if I were you...

 

Oh is only allowed to do anything in the garden if I am supervising. I find him far more malleable since I threatened him with my pruning saw, and a soprano role at Covent Garden

 

You could get your own back GG. Go and buy an 'L' plate and stick it on his back then find a shrub in the garden he can't murder and teach him how to prune it.

 

If your OH wants something to do @Gay Gardener tell him to get himself round here and sort my neighbours ridiculously tall Leylandii out,I'll pay the bridge toll

 

Oh no :( I think you're being very restrained about this, GG! I hope your OH appreciates how calm and non-homicidal you've managed to stay!

 

You're too kind, I was a bit surprised about how well I handled it myself, must be mellowing a bit . And well, erm, it was me who instead of feeding the lawn not too long ago put roundup on it instead

@Lolimac - I'm sure he'd do a smashing job, but by 'eck going all the way oop norf and over that toll bridge, ooh er missus.

I did have a closer look today and they really are a bit worse than I thought, still there are so many horrors happening in the world it seems, that a few baldy ugly shrubs are not that important.

We have agreed that discussion and supervision is essential in future as he does have a bit of form on the garden vandalism front.

Nevermind ...

GG

 

I'd still kill him if he were mine

 

Oooooo Loli! You're a hard taskmaster!

 

Sheal...I'd let Mr Loli cut my hair,cut my housekeeping but NEVER my Buxus

 

Probably the first lesson every tomato grower learns the hard way @fat controller. I remember not labelling the first ones I grew, I didn't dare give any away in case I got left with all the same ones.