Morning coffee with internet has become a tradition of mine in recent years. The internet holds a much greater variety of information than newspaper, as well as less depressing things to read at beginning of day. No one should have to wake up with murder and mayhem in their face. A more pleasant mindset is found in waking to check weather, respond to a note from a friend, or reading about an exciting new plant. This morning I went to look for further information on a particularly nifty new plant on one of my vendor’s sites. Not finding that I clicked on another link that caught my attention in their Garden Writers section.

"Meatballs, Soapboxes and Tuna Cans", to be precise.

To a person who has never been employed within landscape industry, that phrase would bring to mind food. To insiders it would have a far different meaning. Of course where I worked it was baseballs and cubes. So this morning’s coffee was sipped between chuckles.

The author (head of sales) I would venture to say is younger than 50. Those over 50 feel that these balls, cubes, footballs or tuna cans are a staple that is required in landscape. For life of me I have never understood why we must have them. What is so necessary about using a shrub far to large for its placement and whacking off it’s limbs to shape it into an unnatural form? Off with its head! It should wear a size 42 long jacket, but we will force it to fit comfortably into a 10 short. It is interesting to note that also helpless poodles have also fallen victim to this manner of unnatural shaping and they are not plants. A month ago I witnessed a house cat shorn in this manner.

Mr. Woods, who wrote afore mentioned article, has developed opinion that it is an inherent human instinct. That we humans have so little that we actually have complete control over that our psyche has tuned in to helpless shrubs in our yard. While I giggled often while reading his words, it struck me that he has a good point. Why else would we so cruelly inhibit wild beauty of a shrub? In my early years I had no reason to argue with my father, professional landscaper as to why we must do this. Quite contrary, originally I assisted him in his whacking while trying to mimic his methods. It wasn’t until I started to design plantings and began to see plants for their own individual beauty that I began to question this barbaric practice. It has come to be a long standing argument between us over years. He refuses to budge from his Pro Juniper stance, insisting we simply MUST have prickly old things. Yews and Burning Bushes have their place and are quite lovely if not placed where they can be gently shaped not beaten in submission twice a season.

The use of shredded wood mulch exists for reasons unknown to many of us. It is true and a good point that mulch does in fact control erosion in a new planting prior to roots taking hold of soil. The wood mulch does retain more moisture and insulate roots from extreme temperatures. Therefore addition of a mulch is in deed beneficial for a newly installed shrub and tree landscape. The truth is folks have been successfully growing landscapes and gardens for centuries prior to this modern innovation commonly known as shredded mulch. So mulch is put down initially to aid plants in adjusting to their new home with less setbacks and repercussions. But renewal of mulch is where problems seem to begin.

Firstly there should never be more than 3 inches of shredded wood mulch applied after installation of new plants. Some seem to think that more is better, this is not true of mulch. Exceeding 4 inches holds too much moisture and can cause plants to decline from rot and even die because soil cannot breathe or soak up warmth from sun to rid itself of excess moisture that may be present at times. Incidentally, presence of mushrooms in a lawn or planting bed is totally due to decomposing wood matter. Whether mulch mixed with soil or an old tree stump’s roots that reside beneath current lawn. Rotting wood and moisture have always caused mushrooms to grow. It is best if one is to cultivate mushrooms to plan ahead and cultivate those that are edible and cut down on grocery bill rather than those that just make a mess in landscape