Sally gets wacked

Sally is one of my all-time favorites, but I had to wack her anyway. What could I do? She was blocking my view.

No, I'm not talking about a criminal act...though I guess you could call it a gardening crime.

You see, it's "Sally" as in Sally Holmes, one of the most lovely climbing roses ever. She has clusters of sweet apricot buds that open up into large, loose, single blush-white blooms, each topped off by a golden buss of anthers. A prolific bloomer, Sally starts with a big flush in the spring and reblooms in smaller bursts all summer and into late fall.

Sally is vigorous shrub. Once she gets settled in, she grows...and grows...and grows. And therein lies the rub.

It's my fault, really. I planted Sally in what seemed like a good spot against a bare wall outside the living room windows in my back garden. Everything was fine for the first several years, but recently we've had problems. She's overgrown. Her arching canes keep obscuring the small oakleaf hydrangea at her feet and blocking the entry to the crawl space.

Plus, Sally's supposed to be thornless, but her latest canes sport bright red thorns. Ouch!

Sally was out of control. Something had to be done. So I got out the pruning shears.

Actually, I got them out last winter and wacked Sally back pretty good. But by mid-summer, you could hardly tell. So this weekend, I wacked her again.

Now I'm considering a more permanent solution...yes, it may be time for Sally to join the relocation program. It would take a prodigious amount of digging, and I'd have to wack her back to the nubs, but it could work.

Now if I can just figure out a place in the front yard where the deer won't chomp on her....