Clipping, Pruning and Cuttings in your Garden by Darren Lerigo

Our September Zoom talk by Darren Lerigo was titled Clippings, Pruning and Cuttings in your Garden.

Darren has given us a previous talk and his enthusiastic approach makes for a very interesting evening.

His main interest is topiary and he had some lovely slides giving examples of his work.  All that is needed are a good pair of shears, a sharpener and some oil to clean the shears.

Although box has been the most popular shrub there is now the problem of the boxwood caterpillar which has caused the loss of many plants.   Alternatives are Lonicera Nitida, Ilex Crenata and Teucrium Fruticans.

Fruit trees with stone fruit should be pruned in summer and apples in the winter.

Trees can be shaped and lower branches removed to give the ‘cow browsed’ look.

Wisteria should be pruned twice a year and during the winter prune long stems can be woven into the horizontal branches.

Remember to use a ground sheet to make it easier to collect the clippings.

Darren suggested starting a topiary project with ball and cone shapes so there are many possibilities to explore.