A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Planting Beans & Chopping Down Scrub Maples

Well, I said I'd allow my muse to have her way and that is why I planted
dried beans along the fence today. You will note there are less scrub trees
on that fence - about 3 less. That's cause I got out my trusty little hand
saw again.

Here is the fence as it looked in June.



And here is the fence as it looks tonite. You can't see the periwinkle
patch, but trust me - it's there and there are no scrub maples on the fence.

I also did some inside the crook of the tree. And, as you can see, I found a
home for the green basket I was using for the sedum acre that I had on the
kalanchoe plant stand outside the window.

Now you must picture this fence with foliage climbing up it this spring. All
beans! It won't have any actual beans on it, but there will be lots of bean
growing foliage. I used to do this as a child - that and morning glories.

The last time I did it was when Jeff and I lived on Annette Street back in
the early 90s. We had a whole yard of our own to work with then - it was a
lot of scrub when we moved in there and there were even big holes in the
ground.

We had 3 big hibiscus plants - the jamaican kind - they boomed (and I don't
mean bloomed). We had to cut it back so we could get in the door. Jeff
raised impatiens and he found they didn't like the heat of the 4 o'clock
sun. So each day come 4, he moved them all under the tree. Then we got smart
and installed a bamboo blind that we could lower and leave them on the
porch.

There was mint growing up one fence - we used to bring it in and put it in
bowls to scent up the kitchen.

Here's the table garden cleared and a view of the office window from the
outside.

And here's Skitter at the end of the day, sitting at Murtie's Square
watching me clean up.

You've done a great job I bet it will look beautiful in the spring!

Karen

Oh, I can't wait, Karen - but I'll enjoy winter. I can always work on my garden journals (or other stuff - I do have a life, eh?)

Your 'scrub' maples will be back in full force if you don't remove or kill off the roots to them. If you just cut them to the ground, you just pruned them to come back with more branches. Since you've planted other things around them, instead of trying to dig up the roots and disturb the other plantings, the easiest way to get rid of them for good would be to cut them again and immediately apply Roundup to the open wound. The fresh cut will ensure that the plant will suck up the fluid and the Roundup will be drawn right down to the root. Don't spray the Roundup, too risky of getting it on a plant you don't want to die, but rather drip it on the wound. I use this method in my landscape business to permanently get rid of scrub brush such as those pesky mulberry trees. It works EVERY time. Good luck! Becki

Whew! Roundup . . . I've never seen the stuff.

I wonder if there's any by-laws on it here in Toronto, Canada.

(There's so many by-laws about so many things, I'm surprised we can still blow our noses)