Hedge Clipping

They talk about Curb Appeal on shows about selling your house. They say, Curb Appeal is the first thing a buyer sees. Well, not so true with me as the first thing I spotted was the front porch!

The Curb appeal to me consisted of an old fashion outdated look. Lots of evergreen bushes all in a traditional round shape. Some people like that look but I thought different with this house. Here is the way the hedge looked when we moved into the house. I snapped this picture on Home inspection day so lots of trucks were in my view...

I had a vision for the hedge and that is what we will dwell on today. We will look at the two planters above another time...

I am not sure what type bushes they are but I found a tag that read, Korean Wintergreen. I think they are very similar to Boxwood's. I decided to allow the bushes to grow together forming one long hedge rather then individual bushes. I liked that look when I was visiting English Gardens while in England. Yes, that is one long hedge to clip! The hedge is separated at the front walkway. We have 19 bushes on the left and 16 on the right side for a grand total of 35 bushes! The hedge is so lush and green with new growth.

I wish I did not have to clip it as it turns all yucky brown for a week or so until the new growth appears. But as you can see, we have a brick retaining wall behind the hedge. I must keep the hedge clipped below the wall or it will over take the wall and I don't think that would look good. What do you all think?


Keeping this thing clipped is a pain in the back and arms. My dad gave us Electric Clippers and I do use them. But I prefer to use the old fashioned choppers as they do a cleaner job with less stress on the leaves, thus less browning. I don't really mind the spring clipping as it is not humid yet and I usually do it at my leisure. But the first clipping of this year was painful on me as I had been doing other back breaking projects beforehand.

We really do enjoy the look of the hedge but it is so much trouble keeping it clipped. I usually clip it about 4 or 5 times per year depending on how much rain we have. Spring and Fall are not that bad but in the middle of the summer, it darn near kills me! With the last few clippings, I have done one side one day then the other the next day to ease the pain a bit.

I think the hedge sort of frames in the house and keeps the retaining wall from being exposed. I try to keep the hedge one brick below the wall. I sometime wonder just how high it would get if I stop clipping it...?.. I also wonder about cutting it back to just about a foot high but I don't think I could deal with the bare look for two years before it took off again. But I would not have to clip it for a long time! Ah... The Saint and I have talked about taking it out and starting over with something else but we fear we may destroy the paved driveway and that would be an issue. So in the end, we only talk. The Hedge stays where it is and I moan and groan and keep on top of the Hedge Clipping....

Any Suggestions?