Herb's Tanyosho pine

[George Nesfield]

Hi Bert,

I noticed on mr Hanami post about his pine you posted a photo of yours and after looking at it and weighing it up,
you DON'T have to do this BUT I thought it could maybe look even better if you prunned it like this maybe not immediatly but certainly in a few months time. but you will have to be brave to do it.
George.

BEFORE AND AFTER I cannot get the photo's to post in the right sequence the prunned pine keeps coming on first.

[Herb]

George -

Thanks for the idea. I'm thinking about it, but I'm afraid I'm not very brave when it comes to pruning trees - if I cut a branch off and then think I shouldn't have done it, it's too late.

I'm wondering whether the lantern influenced you? I'd better explain that I don't intend the lantern to stay there - I'd put it there only because I was advertising it for sale & thought the Pine helped show it off a bit!

As an alternative, do you think it would look O.K. if - as a first step - it were thinned out so as to expose more of the branch structure?

Bert

[George Nesfield]

Hi Bert,
I honestly think if it was mine I would take that left side branch off and start to prune it into a cloud formation at the top of the trunk which by taking the lower branches off it would give it hight and also make it look like a tree and not a shrub, okay it isn't going to look perfect straight away but I think it would look really good in the future.
George.

[Herb]

Hi George,

I got brave enough to thin the Pine put a bit, and I'm telling myself that it leaves the option open to Cloud Prune it the way you favour - but there's another obstacle to that - my wife is a bit doubtful about the Cloud Pruning route!

Anyway, here's a picture of the thinning result. I may just leave the lantern there - it looked a bit lost without it.

http://www.pbase.com/image/85977000

There's another - and I think, bigger - problem though with this corner of our garden. The neighbours are extending their house, and the extension includes a window where there used to be a blank wall -

http://www.pbase.com/mtu_fulani/image/85978398

I'm not comfortable with the new window. It makes our garden feel a lot less private, so we've been pondering what to do about it. One way might be to plant a tree in the corner, but it would be rather close to the house. Our latest idea is to change the gate for one that's taller and has a roof. Something like this -

http://www.pbase.com/mtu_fulani/image/85978399

Whether I'd do it myself, or hire somebody to do it is still undecided.

Bert

[wishiwere]

I love the look of that gate. I think that's a perfect solution. Of course they neighbor probably wouldn't like it, b/c yours gardens were most likely the reason for placement of that window. I'd sure like the view of your gardens out a window rather than a side wall

[George Nesfield]

Hi Bert,
That gate seems the perfect solution to your prying eyes problem and I agree you have got to consider your wifes views on prunning and I am sure it would be better for you to fallout with me than with your wife .
also prunning is a personal thing what pleases one doe's not necesarily please another, but you pine certainly looks better for the prunning that you have done.
George.

[Herb]

It never snows in Victoria. Well, hardly ever. There was dusting of snow this morning, (now beginning to melt).

Interestingly, the snow - combined with pruning that I did a few months ago - as well as our Tanyosho Pine's having lost a fair number of needles - made the branch structure show up quite noticeably. Now I feel it still looks just a bit crowded.

It's made me think that perhaps I should thin it out a bit more next year....

Bert