How Untidy Bushes Did $4,500 Damage to My Car!

This week's column is about how untrimmed, overgrown bushes caused $4,500 damage to my car. OK, OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. The other driver obviously had something to do with the accident. However, needless to say, the untrimmed, overgrown bushes certainly contributed to the cause. Let me explain.

You see, I was driving home from work the other day when - just as I was passing a parked car - the driver flung open his door to get out. You can guess what happened. Luckily, I was only going around 10 miles per hour or the guy's door would have been completely torn off. As it was, he got off lucky. For one thing, he was unhurt; for another, he just has to replace his door. I, on the other hand, have $4,500 worth of damage all along the side of my car.

Now you may be asking how untrimmed, overgrown bushes come into play. Let me explain. You see, this guy had parked his car on the street. Along the parking strip are planted a line of golden Pfitzer junipers. These junipers were untrimmed and overgrowing the curb by a good 18 inches to 2 feet. If the junipers were trimmed, the guy would have been able to park closer to the curb. Just a little closer to the curb -- I'm estimating 6 inches closer - and we would have had a near-miss instead of the close-hit.

I'm sure all of us have seen instances where overgrown shrubs or trees are partially blocking a stop sign or signal. There are numerous cases locally, for instance, where untrimmed plants make it very difficult to view very far down the block to see if it's safe to come out from a stop sign. However, now you know that something as innocent as junipers overhanging the curb can contribute to an accident.

Properly pruning and trimming overgrown shrubbery is one of the most common overlooked gardening chores. It seems that many beginning gardeners are somewhat timid to trim overgrown specimens for fear that they don't know what they are doing. Take it from me, the vast majority of shrubbery will actually benefit from a nice haircut.

Trimmed plants and trees not only look more attractive, but they'll grow better, too. And even if you were to trim a little too much, plants are resilient. They're just like hair in that

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic