Whacking — it’s what I do in summer as plants grow bushy or tall or lean where they shouldn’t. I had to whack back the Verbena bonariensis in the Circle Garden so that I could walk, not sidle, along the path. The ‘Winter Gem’ boxwoods also got a trim recently.

‘Fireworks’ gomphrena is starting to bloom in the center, mingling with the verbena. I wonder if it will need whacking eventually.

‘Wilson’s Yellow’ daylilies glow like cups of sunshine in the side path, no whacking required. But the sweet almond verbena above it gets whacked on occasion.

Golden thryallis looks great with very little whacking, maybe just a light trim once a year. The bamboo muhly behind it gets whacked lightly as needed. Sometimes it’s enough just to snap off long, stray stems with my fingers.

‘Macho Mocha’ mangave and ice plant need no whacking, of course, but the dwarf Barbados cherry gets a hedging haircut once a year. But not when it’s in full bloom!

Screech owls do their own whacking — of moths, roaches, mice, and other night creatures they prey on.

My whacking theme must end here because datura doesn’t require any whacking after the big cut-back in mid-February. I just stand back and let it do its thing.

And its thing is pretty spectacular.

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Digging Deeper

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