A New Look to What Had Been a Mess

Well over a year ago, I got irritated by the sheer bulk of our "Breath-of-Heaven" shrub.

What had been sold to me as a small, compact shrub ("Oh, it will get about two, maybe three feet across") had grown five feet high and eight feet across and was killing everything around it. So I decided to remove it. I got about half-way through, got tired and left the job for another day.

Then life went to hell and gone, and what was left of the shrub died. The front yard looked like the remains of a toxic waste dump -- until a couple weekends ago when Bernie came to my rescue and removed the rest of the carcass.

After removal, we put down cedar bark mulch, and moved two pots into place; the bigger one will eventually hold English lavender, the smaller one seasonal color.

In spite of global warming, it has been so chilly and windy out that I haven't felt much like puttering in the garden, or even sitting out to gloat over how nice the front looks now.

Just a few more particulars on the Breath-of-Heaven (coleonema pulchra), variety "Sunset Gold": The foliage is light yellow-green, very soft to the touch, and smells wonderful when you run your hands over it.

However, it makes lousy greens in bouquets, as it just dries up -- a temperamental shrub. In keeping with that personality, the shrub is very touchy about the soil around it, at least when small. Pulling nearby weeds out killed two of the first ones I planted.

I've noticed that our city is planting them along walkways here and there. My guess is that someone told them that it was a small, compact shrub, too.