Battle with a Forsythia

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The forsythia was in the northwest corner of my backyard when we bought the house. It is non-native and does not do anything for my yard’s ecosystem – no pollinators visit its blooms; nothing eats its leaves. I have been trying to keep it controlled for the past few seasons, but it always seems to grow faster than I can prune it. I should have cut it and painted the stumps with poison last fall.

I did manage to cut it back more than ever before one morning last week and will go back to cut more soon. It was a lot of work, and I managed to clog my pruning chainsaw; that will take some effort to get it working again. I did most of work with my manual long handled pruners.  My gardening seat worked well….I slowly moved it around the plant cutting everything I could reach. My back only started hurting when I started carrying the trimmed branches up to the patio to dry (and then burn in a few weeks in the chiminea).

Last year I waited until after the plant had bloomed and it was a big mistake. This year there were a few flowers open….but I cut it all away from the plant! I am going to plant some native plant seeds in the soil left bare – it will be a bonus if any come up. I’ll keep cutting the forsythia back as severely as I can over this next season to give the other plants a chance to take over.

Our Missouri Yard – March 2026

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The dry days of March are great for working off my ‘to do’ list for the back yard. It does not include doing anything with leaves. I’m pleased that the wind has blown the leaves into two corners of the backyard where they can stay! I will leave them alone and allow whatever insect cocoons are there to empty. Most of the leaves are oak. My goal is start mowing parts of the backyard in May…but I will be mowing less this year than last because of the way the yard is developing.

The Fragrant Sumac I planted a few years ago now has shoots in the yard and is taking more space in the flowerbed as well. The ‘to do’ in that bed is to pull/cut Japanese honeysuckle frequently.

Getting the forsythia and Japanese barberry cut down are high on the ‘to do’ list. The pruning chainsaw will make it a bit easier.

I’ll buy 1 or 2 more paw paws to plant near the one I bought last year since I don’t think the seeds I have in pots are going to sprout.

The more significant list is for the front yard where I will be planting into the large mulch bed I created last fall. I have done one round cutting back the existing crape myrtles that had gotten too tall (I enjoy photographing their empty seed pods). There is some clean up there but the big ‘to do’ before the planting in April is to take dead cedars out of the corner flower bed and clear more rock from around the hens/chicks so that the plant can continue to expand. Trimming the boxwood is not high on the list but I might do the top to keep it from getting too high to reach comfortably.

There is plenty to keep me busy in March….on the dry days!

Ten Little Celebrations – January 2026

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Parts of January were not very wintery but later in the month, we got a significant winter storm that included snow! I celebrated winter activities, food, and scenes –sprinkled with some warmer days.

53rd wedding anniversary. So much of my day-to-day well-being is linked to my marriage that I sometimes just accept it as normal….but my wedding anniversary in January always prompts me to celebrate….be grateful that we’ve sustained our relationship by changing together!

American Beautyberry in winter. I celebrated the wrinkles and color of the berries – often in an otherwise brown bed at the Texas Welcome Center. I’m glad I have some small beautyberry plants in the yard that will be beautiful in a few years.

Big snow. It was a good time to be at home – celebrate the season (and my snow blower).

Dark chocolate for breakfast. I savored dark chocolate first thing in the morning – reverting to my favorite breakfast in the last years of my career. I celebrated that it was tasty and fair trade certified.

Meal in a skillet. Lightly sautéing veggies then adding a couple of eggs to make a ‘sauce’ and provide the protein – I’m getting used to the idea of eating it straight from the skillet. Celebrating food that is quick…nutritious…easy to clean up.

Potato skin. My husband likes the inside of russet potatoes and I like the skin. I always celebrate when there is a potato skin to top a soup or include in a stir fry.

Salmon salad with ginger, lemon, and honey dressing. Small cans of salmon have become a pantry staple for me. This month I celebrated a homemade dressing (fresh ginger, lemon, and honey) that made salmon salad my favorite.

Exercise snacks and treadmill walks. I’ve noticed that my mood and my back are better when I do short spurts of exercise throughout the day – celebrating that something that is good for me overall has some specific benefits that motivate me!

Pruning chainsaw. I celebrated a new tool – realize I should have bought one sooner.

Plastics podcast. The recording of a short message about plastics had been in the works for months – and I celebrated that I finally got it done!