Pruning goes back a long way in the history of civilization. Each ancient civilization developed its own unique pruning style, from the vast misty mountains of ancient China and the bas reliefs of Egypt's Valley of the Kings to the simple vineyards and orchards of the Holy Land and the tranquil gardens of Japan.
To re-create their peaceful, distant mountain scenes, the ancient Chinese transported the naturally dwarfed mountain plants to their gardens. Later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Japanese adopted this idea. Today we call this exquisite art form "bonsai." In fact, pruning for voids in bonsai represents the very essence of East Asian shape and feeling.
In western civilization, however, the geometric design has dominated. The bas reliefs on the tombs of the pharaohs depict plants that the Egyptians pruned, much as we in the United States and Europe currently prune geometric shapes into our espaliers.
The Bible provides the most basic instructions for pruning for food. Leviticus, the Hebrew law book, says, "Six years you shall sow your field and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit." In one of the most eloquent passages in history, Isaiah admonishes, "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." And the Book of John in the New Testament offers these pruning instructions: "1 am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit."
The Roman historian Pliny recommended planting first for one's god, then for one's heirs and lastly for oneself, using pruning to guarantee the results. Actually, the Greeks and the Romans followed the Egyptians' lead, shaping potted plants into formal topiaries to use inside their homes and outside on patios. Eventually, this practice spread throughout the Roman Empire, culminating in the 15th and 16th centuries with the formal French parterre gardens at Versailles and the controlled, informal English gardens.
In America, the early gardens reflected this influence, using formal box hedges and native plants trimmed English-style. In particular, George Washington's Mount Vernon garden and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello garden showed the debt to these historic origins.
Today, pruning is just as necessary as it was in the past. We need to prune to keep order in our gardens and to increase the fruits of our labors. In fact, we could well define a garden as "a place that has been pruned for the benefit of both plants and persons."
Happily, pruning is not a mysterious art best left to professionals. It is common horticultural practice that is easy to master. You don't need to hire someone to control the jungle crawling toward your house.
Actually, if you can rearrange the furniture in your room, you can prune, it's just about that easy. There are only a few basic plant shapes to keep in mind. And you can snip a branch as confidently as you move a lamp.
To re-create their peaceful, distant mountain scenes, the ancient Chinese transported the naturally dwarfed mountain plants to their gardens. Later, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Japanese adopted this idea. Today we call this exquisite art form "bonsai." In fact, pruning for voids in bonsai represents the very essence of East Asian shape and feeling.
In western civilization, however, the geometric design has dominated. The bas reliefs on the tombs of the pharaohs depict plants that the Egyptians pruned, much as we in the United States and Europe currently prune geometric shapes into our espaliers.
The Bible provides the most basic instructions for pruning for food. Leviticus, the Hebrew law book, says, "Six years you shall sow your field and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its fruit." In one of the most eloquent passages in history, Isaiah admonishes, "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." And the Book of John in the New Testament offers these pruning instructions: "1 am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit."
The Roman historian Pliny recommended planting first for one's god, then for one's heirs and lastly for oneself, using pruning to guarantee the results. Actually, the Greeks and the Romans followed the Egyptians' lead, shaping potted plants into formal topiaries to use inside their homes and outside on patios. Eventually, this practice spread throughout the Roman Empire, culminating in the 15th and 16th centuries with the formal French parterre gardens at Versailles and the controlled, informal English gardens.
In America, the early gardens reflected this influence, using formal box hedges and native plants trimmed English-style. In particular, George Washington's Mount Vernon garden and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello garden showed the debt to these historic origins.
Today, pruning is just as necessary as it was in the past. We need to prune to keep order in our gardens and to increase the fruits of our labors. In fact, we could well define a garden as "a place that has been pruned for the benefit of both plants and persons."
Happily, pruning is not a mysterious art best left to professionals. It is common horticultural practice that is easy to master. You don't need to hire someone to control the jungle crawling toward your house.
Actually, if you can rearrange the furniture in your room, you can prune, it's just about that easy. There are only a few basic plant shapes to keep in mind. And you can snip a branch as confidently as you move a lamp.
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