CUTTING BACK THE JUNGLE

Did I say in yesterday's post that there is nothing much to do right now?  How I wish that had been true.  On checking the internet, I realised that this is the time to cut back summer flowering jasmine, Jasminum officinale, and the honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation'.  I have three jasmines and I started by attacking one of them today, the oldest one, the one that tries to get inside my shed every time I open the shed door and then I end up fighting off the long twining stems when trying to shut the door again.  Some of the climbers have got out of hand and it's a jungle out there. 




I went a bit mad cutting back the jasmine but I don't want to have to do this every year, bit by bit.  As time progresses, I find gardening harder and harder to deal with.  Anyway, the worst that can happen is that it has few to no flowers next year.  Actually, no, the worst that can happen is that my ruthlessness might just kill it off.  I've cut it right back to woody stems.  It looks a tough thing and letting it have its way meant that it was smothering the New Dawn and the Wild Eve climbing roses and heading its way towards the honeysuckle.  

Jasminum 'Clotted Cream'

I have two more jasmines to prune back, another officinale and the jasmine called Clotted Cream or Devon Cream (above).  That will have to wait a week or so while I recover from the ordeal of dealing with the first one. 

Then there's the honeysuckle to control which, at the moment, has lots of flowers as well as beautiful red berries forming.  I hate to cut that back but it needs reining in. 



Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation'