I took my own advice and for the last couple of days worked on the &8220;bones&8221; of my landscape. The weather was perfect for long pants, short sleeves, boots and the pair of gloves required for the job. Gardening on a sunny, slightly breezy January day was just what I needed to get the bones and muscles in my body working towards reclaiming some of the detail of the landscape.

First let me say that our landscape consists of lots of towering pines. As a result the ground is covered with pine straw. Keeping the driveway, paths and flowerbeds visible requires time and energy. I used to envy gardeners with an abundance of pine straw, thinking how lucky they were to have mulch available at any moment. Now I realize why I was laughed at when I expressed those feelings to them.

In one spot, a row of four thorny elaeagnus (Elaeagnus pungens) had grown over the concrete where we park a vehicle. I&8217;m sure that they were planted from small containers soon after our house was built in the early 1970s. Unfortunately, the centers were placed about one foot from the concrete, creating a problem in more recent years.

For those of you that are not familiar with this particular elaeagnus, let me just say that it definitely falls into the &8220;large shrub&8221; category. The &8220;thorny&8221; part of the common name is also aptly descriptive. Thorny elaeagnus has long, sprawling branches that can grow to several feet long. This species can reach a height and spread of 15 feet in ideal conditions. Although these characteristics are not welcome attributes for a parking space, they are desirable for an evergreen fence where there is room to allow the plants to grow to their full potential.

Thorny elaeagnus has attractive olive green leaves with silver-gray highlights and thrives in the summertime heat of the Miss-Lou. The fast growing branches make it a good choice for areas where dense screening is desired. The flowers are hardly noticeable but the fragrance is a wonderful surprise in autumn. After flowering, small oval-shaped red fruits that seem dusted with silver add interest in winter. The branches are also fabulous additions to cut flower arrangements.

Obviously, I had my work cut out for me. I pruned the elaeagnus back to their two or three biggest branches; at the same time revealing the bark and form of an exquisite single trunk crape myrtle growing between them. Before, we could only see the upper part of the tree and the pink flowers in summer. Now we can appreciate the entire specimen.

In addition, I found at least a linear foot of concrete buried under layers of pine straw, making our once tight parking space wider. Not only did I uncover some of the lines of the landscape, but I collected lots of good stuff for my compost pile. I also discovered that the crape myrtle does need to be the center of attention; however, the elaeagnus pairs on either side will work well as a natural fence along the outer edge of the landscape.

This morning I&8217;m moving a little slower due to aching bones and sore muscles. It&8217;s foggy now. &8220;It&8217;ll burn off and today will be beautiful,&8221; I remind myself. That&8217;s what my dad always says, and he&8217;s usually right. I guess I&8217;ll pull on my boots in a few minutes. After all, rain is predicted for tomorrow, and I want to make the most of another fine January gardening day in the Miss-Lou. And those elaeagnus certainly aren&8217;t going to move themselves!

Traci Maier

can be reached at

ratmaier@bellsouth.net

.