As the temperatures cool off, the grass in areas is slowing down, meaning it doesn't need to be mowed as mush as it did just a couple weeks ago. Tasks like weed-eating creek banks, fly-mowing and push-mowing are all slowly coming to an end for the season. This opens the door to get a lot of other projects completed that all to the wayside during a busy growing season. We are now starting to get caught up on those kinds of job tasks.
One example of a project is the hedge that boarders the Dillard Road and the practice green. You can see above, the Rhododendron are growing too far out towards the road. The historic stone wall below them is even disappearing. If we let these Rhododendron continue to creep outward, the lower portions of the shrubs will begin to die back, making for an unattractive appearance. Aggressive action is required.
In the short term, the hedge may look thinner and leggy and may even draw some complaints by those who see it. But the short term pain is better than the alternative of loosing control of the hedge. We need to prune these Rhododendron back to the stone wall and get the Rhododendron curved back to the Clubhouse compared to curving towards the road. These aggressive growing shrubs will break new leaf buds and throw a flush of new growth in the spring and all will be forgotten. In less than a year, you'll be looking at a much more vibrant, healthier barrier that won't require aggressive pruning for another ten plus years.
The best part is, the wall is visible and clean of pinestraw and debris. Now that air and sunlight can get to the bottom of the Rhododendron, we'll be planting more creeping phlox in the spring that will once again drape over the wall, creating a beautiful corridor on Dillard Road. Incidentally, did you realize this wall (and the steps to the left of the administration building (below/next to #1 tee) are the only aspects of the original Club, from 1928, that exist today? Many years ago I looked into the process of getting Highlands CC listed on the Dept. of the Interior's Nation Historic Landmark register. Working with a local historian familiar with the process, it became clear that it would be a difficult process.
While there is more pruning to do at the top of the hedge, we completed approximately 30 to 40 feet of hedge today. This process will go on for a few days as nearly all the branches are being trimmed by hand to ensure sharp, clean cuts.