Fall Haircut

Sometimes I don't think I have  a lot of gardening sense.  It's fall, time to trim back and dispose of all the detritus of the year before the little critters make too much of a home in them for the winter.  So, I addressed my clematis, a Paul Farges (better known as Summer Snow).

Clematis 'paul farges'

It has been a resident of my estate for 10 years now, I faithfully cut it back each fall and it leaps forth in the spring, grows and blossoms vigorously, then we come to this time when I have to give it the annual haircut.

Sweeping up after the haircut

Off to the recycle center

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy how it looks, I enjoy sitting on the swing under its shade, I think the little white flowers are very attractive.  But there's just SO much of it.  I was cutting and pulling and piling and ripping and untangling for two hours.  So I'm done for another fall.  Some of the runners were over 40 feet long.  There had to be hundreds of them.

I'm not just complaining out loud, there is a point to all this.  For all you gardeners embarking on the joys of planting, think through how big your plants are going to be when they mature before you make that fateful decision to dig that hole and put them in.  I'm sure I will change my mind in the spring, but for now I'm not sure that this one is worth the work...  Here's what it looks like now:

What Paul looks like after the haircut