Hydrangea Pruning

Vintage hydrangea inattention bent
Stressed reproducing multiple blossoms
Weeping with seeds for offspring
Relief would come with winter sleep.

Flower-heads are crumbled dust
Leaves have long since shred
The bush now a dormant skeleton
Ready for restorative operations.

I start to cut with caution.
Snap the white sapless stems
Remove age damaged stalks at the base
Unravel entangled branches.

I stand back to assess the essence
Observing natural growth patterns
Discarding superfluous extensions
Pruning just above healthy buds

A shorn skeleton now a sculpture
Stands ready for seasonal adornment
Fed with liquid gold compost
Mulched to ensure moisture retention.

The hydrangea would resist demise
But will excel with attention
Regrowth will burst exuberant
So too, will the sculpturing gardener.

Suzanne Williams – St. Michaels, MD – suzyww@gmail.com