In a recent Yew profile, I mentioned that our Yew was damaged, but I didn’t mention why.
Blown Up
A few years ago, a neighbor set off some fireworks in celebration of the 4th of July. One of the fireworks landed in the Yew, cutting off top branches and creating a vertical hole down the middle of the right-most plant. Apparently fireworks and Yews don’t mix.
Rise Up
It turns out that Yews are resilient. Since the damaged side was shorter than the rest, the entire hedge was trimmed down to about a foot and a half off the ground. After about four years, it was back to the height it was prior to the incident. Still, there is a bit of a hole that remains.
Follow-up
Last month we saw another neighbor with a cast or foot-brace. “What happened?” He tripped on the sidewalk in front of his house, stumbled forward and fell into our Yew. “Had it not been for that bush, I would have hurt more than my foot.” It’s a good thing Yew came back.