There are a few honeysuckles growing in the garden. I don’t really think they fit the tree category but are probably considered a large bush or shrub. They have arching branches that get filled with lovely blooms in May. I’m going to be following the honeysuckle tree/bush/shrub over this season to see how it progresses.
Lucy at Loose and Leafy has been following trees for awhile now and I’ve been following Lucy. So this year I decided to participate in her monthly link party. Last year one of the honeysuckle suffered a fair bit of damage from a wind storm and had to have a major trim. Then the ice store just before Christmas in 2013 broke another branch off. I’m really hoping this shrub grows well this year.
So in this post I’m introducing you to the honeysuckle shrub and showing a bit of the back story of it and the reason I’m following it this year.
Here it is last May 2013 when it has a big trim. One of the main trunks had split so we had to cut it out.
That led to a lopsided tree so more branches were removed to make it look a bit better. It was also a good time to take out some of those branches that were drying out and very sparse. We love this shrub because when the honeysuckle berries appear so do the cedar waxwings.
By early fall of 2013 the tree didn’t look so bad and there had been a fair number of new shoots over the season. I had also been working on the garden area that is here.
But then along came the winter of 2013-2014. The ice storm caused more damage and one of the branches has obviously snapped and we won’t really know how much more damage there is till we can bet back there in the spring.
In the latest photo at the beginning of March 2014 you can see where some of the main trunks were cut off last year. You might also be wondering why the snowblower was clearing away some of the drifts back there. To the left of the honeysuckle is a low spot that accumulates water in the spring and with all the snow we have had this year we were trying to divert a big flood in that area. Will it work? I’ll let you know whenever it thaws. If it is a gradual thaw we will be okay, but if it is a rapid thaw we will be flooded there.
I’ll be photographing and documenting the growth of this shrub over this year. I’ll also include updates on the garden beside the honeysuckle that has an old wheelbarrow, an inukshuk, is the new home of the tipsy buckets and had the start of a rock wall at the back. Last year I followed my fence garden and compared changes throughout the months.
On the 7th of the month it will be time to say I’m Following a Tree. I hope you will check back to see the progress this honeysuckle shrub is making.
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