Many years ago, when I worked for the parks, I had the opportunity to do some gardening in the Viburnum Wall Garden. A few new plants were added, new bulbs, too and some pruning was accomplished. Fast forward a few years and I’m now working with Wimberg Landscaping, and once again leading the Adopt-a-Plots gardens. As I was walking about, taking inventory of what needs to be addressed, the Viburnum Garden caught my eye, again. I wanted to tackle this garden space and give it a much needed renovation. I’m happy to say that APAC has partnered with me to renovate this garden. Then, as the season grew colder, Peter Wimberg, owner of Wimberg Landscaping, said the Viburnum Wall was a great place to let some of our newer workers hone their pruning skills. It all simply started to come together!
Ault Park has always been a focus of Wimberg’s charitable contributions, be it materials or labor for nearly 20 years. We have been renovating the steps along the Tree Trail in addition to our continued design and care for the Focal Garden in the Adopt-a-Plot Garden. The Viburnum Garden is a grand undertaking, that’s why I was so pleased to have the help of three of my maintenance team members. They made quick work of what would have taken me days on my own. Running along the length of the great lawn garden and adjacent to the secondary walk in the Adopt-a-Plots, the Viburnum Garden is a long, incredibly lush, or shall we say overgrown, shade garden.
The first step in revitalizing this garden was removing dead and damaged limbs and trees, as well as removing some of the suckers and water sprouts. Already the shrubs look much cleaner and healthier. Many shrubs, viburnums included, can be cut back for complete rejuvenation. However, we opted for a slightly restrained approach. We left some of the new shoots and attractive limbs for spring flowering. Once the perennials emerge to add visual interest, more pruning may take place. To completely cut back all of the shrubbery would have been a bit too dramatic and taken away its appeal: a place to take a garden stroll in the cool shade of the Star Magnolias and viburnums while enjoying a variety of shade loving perennials.
Simply opening up the viburnums so visitors can see the perennials in the beds will be wonderfully impactful in the garden. Come spring, we’ll edit some of the overly repetitive plants and intermingle new perennials that will, we hope, inspire visitors to add new plants into their own gardens.
In the meantime, as we await the true spring to arrive, not this false winter-spring, we will prune and manicure the shrubs improving the aesthetics of the garden before the first spring bulbs begin to emerge.
~ Jennifer