A day of pruning...

  

Yesterday, I spent some time pruning and weeding around the perennials in the center of the garden.  We've had the rosemary and sage for probably six years (we brought them from our last house) and I've never seriously pruned them before.  I've cut off enough to use here and there, but made no attempt to shape them or keep them healthy through pruning. 

The sage was very rangy.  There were a lot of dead leaves and stems on it and weeds growing up from underneath where I couldn't reach them.  In the picture above, you can see the result of yesterday's work just to the right and a little behind the rosemary.  I have never dealt so severely with a plant before.  It was probably 18 to 24 inches high in places and I've cut it back to maybe 8 to 10 inches.  I cut each stem back to a place where there was new growth starting.  Looking at it this morning, I believe that growth has already increased.  I realized when I was finished that I should have taken before and after pictures...oh well.

The rosemary was huge!  Because of its large size, it was starting to lean out from the center, leaving an empty space in the middle.  I would prefer a more erect, bushy plant.  It was also overhanging and shading the meadow sages and thyme that are planted around it.  The variegated thyme I planted last year had died, likely at least in part to being overshadowed by the rosemary.  I cut two huge baskets worth off of the plant and it's still quite large.  I'm sure that I'll cut it back even more later in the season.  I probably would have taken even more yesterday, but it's starting to bloom and I didn't want to risk losing any flowers.  Rosemary flowers are among my favorite things in the garden.  Several of the stems have buds on them and should be flowering soon.  

With it being cut back, you can now clearly see the meadow sages and thyme.  In the picture the largest of the sages is in front of the rosemary and to the right and the smallest is to the left.  It has white flowers and is a replacement for a previous salvia that didn't survive that spot.  Behind that sage, between the rosemary and the flowering bok choy, you can see the thyme.  It was starting to lean out from under the rosemary, so hopefully it will be more full this year.