Monthly Archives: March 2020

Vines in my hedge maze are a constant problem. You’ll find them in the spring trying to wrap around the base of the shrub. All summer it’s a constant battle to keep them out of the hedge line. It’s one that never ends. Most of the real problem vines sneak underground and emerge when they find something that sticks up toward the sky. Some of the vines have bark, some are leafy, but all grow fast.  Just this week I walked out into the hedge maze to find an unknown species growing up to the top of one of the shrubs toward the center of the maze. Merely two weeks ago I’d finished a scorched earth campaign. I went on both sides of the hedge line and dug out every vine I could locate. As you can see, I didn’t get them all. Eventually, I’ll have to set up a defensive perimeter at the property line and stop them as they cross the barrier. I won’t use poison or any chemical because I don’t want that crap in my hedge maze.  One of the most annoying of vines is the English Ivy. This little fiend grows at the soil line until it contacts a tree, wall or shrub. It will wrap itself around the trunk or footer. Then it will work its way to the top in a few weeks, if allowed to grow unchecked. I found a thick coil of one that wrapped around a trunk a year ago. The actual trunk continued to grow until it began to swallow up the vine. When I managed to uncoil the vine, it left indentations int the bark of the shrub where the vine refused to let go.  Also known as common ivy or European Ivy, English ivy is an evergreen vine. Which means you’ll see it after the privet shrubs lose their leaves in the fall. It’s cultivated as an ornamental plant and used as ground cover. Many species of animals eat the berries produced and scatter the seeds over the landscape. This is another reason it’s found all over the temperate zones. Although English ivy can cause contact dermatitis in some people, extracts of this ivy are used in some cough medicines. It grows bark on the stands soon enough, which is another problem in getting rid of the plant. The best tool to use against it is the common limb cutter.  Another vine pest is the Japanese honeysuckle. Like English Ivy, it sneaks into the hedge line from the ground when you’re not looking. It has a sweet-smelling flower which animals, and some humans, find to have a pleasant taste. It’s also an invasive species, as anyone who’s had to chop it back can tell you. Fast-growing, this vine can shoot up and over a hedge line before you even notice it’s there. It seems to have freeze-resistant properties, as I find the vines well into December, well after the first frost has begun.   The dreaded honeysuckle vine root ball. Honeysuckle vines aren’t that hard to pull down or tear, but you need to locate the ground point from where they emerge. If the vine isn’t yanked out in a hurry, it will return. Honeydew grows underground until it reaches something to climb upon, like many vines, but it creates root balls as a propagation point. The root balls need to be dug out of the ground to stop the vine from spreading. The root ball is a disgusting thing to look at, as it resembles an alien creature made from black worms.  The absolute fiend of vines that I find in my hedge maze is poison ivy. The vine is also known as eastern poison ivy or Toxicodendron radicans. It is not to be confused with poison oak, or poison sumac. This plant is found all over eastern Pennsylvania and grows in abundance. At least I don’t get an outbreak or rash from casual contact. However, many people are highly sensitive to this plant. The oil produced by it causes all manner of blisters and rashes in people, sometimes forcing hospitalization. I’ve had enough contact with it as a kid not to break out right away, so I’ve built up a certain resistance. I remember hating those blisters as a kid and the calamine lotion my mother drenched me with to get them to go away. There are other treatments, including one made from the jewelweed. Poison ivy is identified by its characteristic triple green leaves. As you may have heard, “Leaves of three, let it be.” The vine itself is full of hairy rootlets that grip on anything it can find. It’s a sneaky plant and grows a few inches under the soil until it finds a bush. Poison ivy doesn’t often wrap itself around a trunk or branch, but manages to climb through the shrub just the same. I’ve found them spread through a shrub. It’s easy enough to remove, just use gloves and, for God’s sake, don’t get the juice on your skin.  Dispose of poison ivy vines in garbage bags. Please don’t burn them as It's possible to inhale the particle from the smoke. They can be composted, but, due to their resiliency, they tend to find a new way to propagate.  The battle against invasive vines never ends. The best any potential maze grower can do is be on the watch for them. Remember, no vine grows alone. It’s important to find the propagation points and track them back to the source.  There are plenty of other vines that will take advantage of the hedge maze and try to grow into the hedge line. The best you can do it try to find out which are the worst ones in your area and be on the look-out for them. Your temperature zone and soil conditions will make the difference. I could go into the many other varieties of vines found in Easter Pennsylvania, but I’ve decided to focus this article on the ones which cause the most problems for me. As I noted, some of these vines are intentionally grown as decorative ground cover. 
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Vines In My Hedge Maze

March 31, 2020 My Hedgemaze 1610

Vines in my hedge maze are a constant problem. You’ll find them in the spring trying to wrap around the base of the shrub. All summer it’s a constant battle to keep them out of the hedge line. It’s one that never…

crowsmaze
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Statues In My Hedgemaze

March 30, 2020 My Hedgemaze 1415

Soon after I planted my hedge maze, I knew it had to be decorated in some fashion. As the hedge maze was inspired by the M R James short story, “Mr. Humphreys and his Inheritance”…

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Hedge Maze Movie!

March 25, 2020 My Hedgemaze 1689

Many people do not know it, but my hedge maze was once used to shoot an impressive music video. The video helped to launch the singing career of a prominent V-logger. Although I wouldn’t recommend growing…

privetbloom
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Privet

March 23, 2020 My Hedgemaze 978

  The principal hedging material I use for my hedge is privet. Privet is a shrub native to Asia that made its way through Europe and to America over the centuries. There are many varieties of…

hedgemaze2004
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Hedge Maze: Year Two

March 21, 2020 My Hedgemaze 992

The first year of the hedge maze saw it successfully planted and surviving the unpredictable Eastern Pennsylvania weather. From blistering heat in the summer to sub-arctic conditions in the winter, we get it all. Privet…

privetinarow
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One Day In The Hedgemaze

March 17, 2020 My Hedgemaze 1000

One thing you need to know about your hedge maze: it’s not something that can be ignored for weeks at a time. I made the bad mistake of disregarding the status of my hedge maze and it turned into a nightmare. You…

maze2003
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My Hedgemaze: In The Beginning

March 16, 2020 My Hedgemaze 868

You may wonder how I grew a hedge maze in my backyard without running afoul of the plant police. It was easy. I checked and discovered there were no ordinances against growing a hedge maze…

toolstrade
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Hedgemaze Tools of the Trade

March 13, 2020 My Hedgemaze 930

I find a few basic garden and carpentry tools are useful in hedge maze maintenance. These are the loppers, grass clippers, hedge cutters, hand saw, and shovel. Gloves and a good hat are necessary. Add to these long pants…

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Enter The Maze

March 11, 2020 My Hedgemaze 888

The maze concept fascinated me since I can first remember. Likewise, the labyrinth too, it’s the same idea. This was the place where Theseus, in the Greek myth, entered to rescue Princess Ariadne from the Minotaur. It was where Jennifer Connley ran from the Goblin King, played by David Bowie….