It's pruning time in Bulawayo, we are a couple of weeks late this year but its always a solemn procedure in our garden..
We are ruthless, to a point almost akin to massacre!
My Horticulturalists look at me sideways when they realise I am talking to the shrubs (a bit like Price Charles) apologising for murdering them... it seems cruel to cut them down so ferociously when they are still looking so magnificent. Heartless, Callous, Brutal, Vicious are words that come to mind as in spite of their beauty and faithfulness for the entire summer, they are mowed down in the most barbaric fashion.
'Sorry' I whisper to them, 'so sorry' hoping Melusi and Laiton do not hear me.....
Some are spared if they are looking particularly pretty, obviously many of them escape the guillotine, but I console myself by knowing they will look glorious again in a few weeks.
Melusi himself is very concerned that we are pruning late as many 'babies' are already appearing and he is almost as apologetic as I am to the plants.
Now pruning is a very strict science. Not just a matter of cutting haphazardly. Dead wooding is obviously important, this is the removal the dead, dying, sick, overcrowded, weakly attached, and low-strength branches from the crown of the tree.This is the most effective type of pruning and should be done regularly to keep your plants healthy and safe. Thinning is an art as is canopy cleaning, (with apologies to Bulawayo's most expert gardeners, they know who they are!)
Mother always pruned the roses at that much denigrated holiday weekend 'Rhodes and Founders' but they are busy having a 'final flush' just to avoid decapitation as long as they can.
The garden is awash with topsoil, potting soil, manure and fertiliser in preparation for the first hint of summer. I wonder if El Nino is going to be kind to us this coming season He certainly has been in a bad mood for some time and we wish that he would make friends with his lady friend La Nina again sometime soon.
Needless to say, while I was prowling around the garden,( looking for throats to cut) I found two clumps of darling, tiny white snowdrops and a single miniature daffodil plant.
My cup runneth over!!