Topiaries and Editing

Have you ever watched Edward Scissorhands? Someday I want to create a fantastical topiary sculpture in my yard like in the film, but I need a lot of practice first.

This week I pruned two Dwarf Alberta Spruces into topiaries. Probably not the best plant choice for topiaries since they’re prickly, but I got them for 75% off after Christmas for around $7.00 each. Good for experimenting. I used regular hand pruners and gloves, but my hand hurt afterward. I probably should invest in larger, pointy shears. Any recommendations?

(Dwarf Alberta Spruce in a concrete pot. I separated it into two tiers last year…)

(…same topiary as above. This week I separated the top tier into a third section. You can see the pile of branches I cut off on my front steps.)

(Second topiary I made last year has four tiers now.)

Over time I will shape them further, but you aren’t supposed to prune more than 1/3 of the plant at once. The best advice I can give for pruning topiaries is to find the central leader (the main stem up the middle) and slowly prune branches away from it to create tiers. (Don’t cut the top of the central leader. You want that to keep growing taller so you can make more tiers). Keep stepping back every so often to observe it from different angles. And enjoy the process! Clearly from the pictures above, I’m not going for perfectionism here. I’m trying to be creative and have fun with form.

I always thought topiaries were for control freaks, but when you make one, it forces you slow down and find balance in the process. It reminded me how much structure and creativity rely on each other. Creativity isn’t random chaos, it’s picking and choosing from chaos to find order and meaning. While creativity is messy, it thrives under some unifying sense of structure and purpose.

And I say that, even while the current state of my writing office looks embarrassingly like this:

So I guess this week editing has been on my mind. Good ol’ spring cleaning.

Less is more.

Looking around my classroom, I’m taking things down and thinking about how to rearrange for next year. Some teachers overcrowd classrooms for “Instagram appeal,” but a picture-worthy classroom can be overstimulating for students.

You need space to breathe and think.

I’m trying to find the balance between what will inspire and welcome students, and what will distract them.

Same for readers. I dusted off an old, half completed middle grade manuscript and fell in love with the characters all over again. I’m not surprised that a manuscript about a spunky, creative eleven-year-old girl would be calling my soul at this point in my life. I’ve been going to a therapist to process complicated grief from my mother’s death in 2020, which means a lot of reflecting on my childhood. Plus, my husband and I will be empty nesters this fall since our youngest daughter will be heading to college, so I’m feeling nostalgic.

As I read the old manuscript, I used index cards to map out all the major plot points to figure out what I need to cut out of the story and what is missing. Since the book is character-driven, it had too many different episodes without clear sequencing on how they linked together overall. They needed a common thread (or central branch, so to speak).

Funny how even with all the tech out there (ex. Scrivener is really great for organizing), I still often rely on tangible index cards to get unstuck.

I heard back from my agent this week. She’s halfway through reading the last manuscript I sent her, a YA Christmas romance, and she said, “It's so sweet and funny and adorable and swoon worthy.” That’s a relief! I’m expecting editing notes from her soon since it needs about 5k more words before we can submit it to publishers. I’m hoping I can get that done within a month or two, depending on her notes.

Next on my list—cleaning my writing office. Err, I think I’ll save that one for next week. Hello, procrastination, my old friend :)

Gardening update: The garden is starting to wake up in Massachusetts. My front bed is looking blue with hyacinth and scilla.

I also planted some potatoes in my raised beds. (FYI—These pictures were before I buried them.) I’ve never planted sweet potatoes before. I assume it’s the same? Guess we’ll see.

Planting potatoes