COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Unnatural Nature
Nine years ago, in a post called "Edward Scissorhands, Where Are You?" I carped about the brutally uniform manner in which the bushes and shrubs in our city parks were pruned. Among the pictures accompanying that post was this one, showing some bushes along the west side of the Public Square on the last day of March.
Recently, I was struck by the appearance of these same bushes in 2020--three pruned into precise cylinders, mirroring the shape of the trash barrel and orange traffic barrels beside them, and one looking like a botanical replica of The Egg in Albany.
In late May, we can tell that these odd, rigid shapes are spirea bushes. This is how spirea is supposed to look.
Wouldn't it be grand if the spirea bushes in our parks and in the cemetery were allowed to grow back into their natural shapes--if that's even possible anymore?
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
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DPW could save time by letting them grow
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! What's the move to get this actually changed?
ReplyDeleteThe solution would be to actually find Rob Perry in person, ask him to justify his crew's actions and HOPE that he responds with an answer that is respectful and makes any sense. Not that he would actually follow through... Getting the DPW to act like it's the 21st century is not at all easy. b huston
ReplyDeleteYes my aesthetic taste puts stand alone bush topiaries, that are not intended to delineate space areas ala a boxwood hedge along a path, in the fail category. I noticed the scissor hands look when picking up for takeout some Thai food across the street, and thought to myself just who in the city bureaucracy came up with that particular brainstorm.
ReplyDeleteGranted, I admit that I am very fussy about architectural design, both with respect to strutures and lanscaping, and sometimes I think some law was passed around 1950 or so, that made the use of competent design architects in the Upper Hudson Valley a crime. I know when I have crossed the state line from NY into MA - suddenly the newer homes start to display the handiwork of competent design professionals, who know how to handle proportions and create archtectural interest that I admire rather than disdain.