Several branches of nandinas stray from their upright habit, probably due to snow or ice sometime in recent years. Today, the arching branches are evident, but soon, the two neighboring Japanese maples will be in leaf, the Ostrich ferns will reappear, and the nandinas are likely to be forgotten until next winter.

I’m reminded that robins have been seen only one day in recent weeks. No other bird even samples the nandinas’ bitter berries, the reason that no seedlings are found except the few from seeds that drop and roll several feet from the parents.

Soon, hoardes of robins should arrive to strip the large hollies of berries. For whatever reason, the berry crop of the usually dependable Koeheana holly along the driveway is diminished this year, but ‘Mary Nell’ in the rear garden is densely packed. No other birds feast on the hollies’ berries, at least none so conspicuously.

The Koeheana holly has grown too large for its proximity to the driveway. In recent years, delivery trucks pruned overhanging branches until I reluctantly decided to remove lower branches to expose the trunk. Occasionally, similar projects are disastrous, with the exposed trunks being unsightly so that the entire holly must be removed, but fortunately, this worked for the best. Still, I discourage trucks from the driveway. Arching branches of Japanese maples and ‘Jane’ magnolia meet in the middle, and this discouragement does drivers a favor since the driveway is short enough that walking takes less time than backing in and pulling out.

I consider removing lower branches from the ‘Dorothy Wycoff’ pieris at the corner of the garage. The gnarled trunks are attractive, and several lower branches partially obstruct the flagstone path to the rear garden, but I fear that the removal will expose bare areas of the ‘Snow’ cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Snow’). I must not rush this, and I don’t much mind brushing past the pieris.

Just beyond ‘Dorothy’, the garden was cleared and replanted last autumn. The circular patio had long been obscured by an overhanging spruce that was chopped out, and while misspacing on flagstones was corrected, the inset of lizard shaped stones is partially sunken. These were cast without the vibration that hardens such stones, so I’m concerned they might break to pieces pulling them up to correct the sunken base. Do I fiddle or leave well enough alone?