Cutting corners on hedges

NICE article on landscape planting [“Hedges Without Edges,” Feb. 23]. As a landscape architect I can only hope that it changes attitudes. In my experience the reasons that hedges have edges is because the wrong plant is in the wrong place (insufficient space) and because most folks hire the cheapest labor possible (least knowledgeable about pruning and plant types) to maintain their landscapes.

The mechanized approach of shearing and mass pruning is a function of economics. The owner doesn’t want to pay for the type of skill needed to maintain a landscape properly and so the labor force finds the quickest, cheapest methods for maintenance: Voila! Hedges with edges. (Yes, a well-designed landscape and properly trained maintenance crew would probably be cost competitive, but that is hoping against hope.)

Believe me, this occurs from the home site all the way up to institutional landscapes: colleges, hospitals, parks, schools and beyond.

GEORGE CHAPMAN

Santa Barbara

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AS a 30-year reader of The Times, I remember the old Home magazine, which is still far superior to every subsequent incarnation the paper has come up with, including the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the new West section and the various Outdoor and auto sections.

It used to be that there were interesting articles and good representations of the indoor/outdoor living we have here in Southern California.

Nowadays we get endless articles on outdoor “gardens,” such as “Hedges Without Edges,” and terrible design as in “Nesting Her Way” [Feb. 23]. Let me point out that the emperor has no clothes: It seems any Gen-Xer who throws junk on the walls and any trendy Brit who moved here a year ago to work in the entertainment industry and planted some weeds in the yard rates an article showcasing landscaping and design.

You may showcase hedges without edges but I edge ever closer to canceling my subscription to a once-great newspaper.

JEFF SOFTLEY

West Hollywood