In August the plants in my garden are in the end of their growing season. The most abundant of them at this point is the lovely Caprifolium that is blooming with hundreds of flowers. It is as if it knows that the days are getting shorter and tries eagerly to capture whatever remains of the warm August sun.Usually, during this last month of the summer, I trim all my evergreens. The bushes lining both my terraces have by now ceased to grow and need to be prepared for winter. They can still be trimmed all the way until October, but before the arrival of the first frost.
I also have two Boxwood plants. This is also an evergreen, very common plant/bush in Scandinavia, as it is very sturdy and grows without trouble in our temperate climate. It can withstand the long winters and is often used in parks, where it can be formed into shapes for decoration.
One of the Boxwoods I own was given to me by my parents. It was initially growing in their own garden, while they still lived in Sweden. A few years back they uprooted it and brought it here and planted it on my terrace as a gift . It was very small at that point and has grown a lot over the years. I have cut it back each season, but have always been a bit unsure about how to trim it. My other Boxwood has a naturally round shape and has been trimmed into a form of a ball every August. But I never knew how to trim my parents plant.
This year I drastically cut it back a lot. I decided to form it in to a shape of a cube. At first I was a bit worried that I cut it way to much, but now I think the trimming was definitely an improvement.