If good fences make good neighbours, then weeding along fences makes good gardens. (Not sure about the grammar, but I am sure about the weeding.)
Before Weeding
After Weeding
These tree seedlings were hiding between a trellis and a fence where presumably they hoped they would miss getting weeded. ‘Gifted’ trees can be wonderful, but I strongly recommend keeping them away from fence lines as they will just wreck the fence eventually.
Sometimes tree seedlings get missed even when they aren’t ‘hiding’. When I moved to my current place, the downstairs neighbour and I discovered that the garden had been left to it’s own devices and there were at least 13 saplings – all along the fence/property line. Worse yet, they seemed to be mostly Manitoba Maples, which are apparently quite handsome trees in Manitoba, but here in Ontario they are weed trees and I wish they’d go back. At any rate, we couldn’t let that many trees grow right by the fence – the fence was in rough enough shape without trees trying to grow up against it. ( See What Happens When You Let Shrubs Grow Through The Fence) We got rid of all but two which we thought were regular maples, but turned out to be Norway Maples which (excuse my prejudice) are even worse than Manitoba Maples as their shade and root systems are both very dense, so it’s difficult to get anything else to grow anywhere near them. I managed to get one down while it was still small enough, but had to give up on the other, and settle for limbing it up.
It now provides a roost for the pidgeons that my neighbour feeds. Sigh!
On a happier note, the limbing up went quite well and the cuts healed very quickly, as you can see in the photo to the right. As an added bonus the leaves turn a beautiful golden yellow that just glows in Autumn and which photos don’t quite capture, but I’ve tried all the same. (Autumn photos taken in November)
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