bcb, 'tamed' is a good word! Probably all shrubs in the landscape require some taming in the form of the kind of selective pruning that jeff is alluding to. Selective, detail pruning results in shrubs that don't look 'pruned'; they simply look 'better'. I absolutely love to prune, and consider it an art form. Shears and hedgers are not something I never use. Of course, it helps if you are dealing with plant material that is suited to the site, of course. There's no way to 'carefully' cut back a shrub that wants to be 25 feet tall, so that it will fit under the living room windows, lol. Selective pruning can also help keep shrubs 'shrubby' all the way to the ground, and will avoid that brushcut look. Knowing how to correctly prune enables you to keep taller shrubs to a certain height, without having to shear them. My neighbor is compulsive about pruning. Her plants (and some of them are terrific plants) are butchered out of all recognition. Robert and I literally cringe as we peer through the shades at her most recent pruning event.

Wild (lowbush) blueberries cannot be 'tamed', they only can be maintained by maintaining their habitat. You know whether or not you have wild blueberry bushes: their size ranges from 2" to 12", and the flavor of the berries is incomparable. No other 'blueberry' tastes like the low-bush wild blueberry. Wild Maine blueberries are now offered frozen in grocery stores, the only brand that we personally know that offers true wild Maine berries is Wyman. If you have only a few small blueberry plants and if they haven't increased on their own they may need more acid soil. You can use acidifiers that are labeled for rhododendrons or azaleas but before doing so consult U.Maine Extension to learn what dilution you need. Also ask whether mulching and more sun may be necessary. My blueberries grow in very thin soil over granite, are in full sun away from trees but they enjoy the 'mulch' provided by weeds and other low berry plants (cranberries). Except for fog, dew, or rain they're never watered, so it appears that they enjoy quite dry conditions. Though commercial growers irrigate the barrens and maintain other cultural practices (spot burning in the spring), we do nothing at all and always have a decent crop. If your berries aren't dropping to the ground and seeding, it's possible that birds and animals are eating them. In that case you can reserve a few berries for propagating. For propagation advice, consult U.Maine Extension. http://www.extension.umaine.edu/topics/blueberries.htm The answers you seek regarding blueberry culture are in the appended text below, copied from: http://www.wildblueberries.com/about_wild_blueberries/ Wild Blueberries of Maine & Canada One of only three berries native to North America, the Wild Blueberry (vaccinium angustifolium) thrives in the glacial soils and northern climate found in the fields and barrens of Downeast Maine and Canada. Rich in antioxidants, Wild Blueberries have grown naturally for thousands of years. The Lowbush Blueberries Unlike highbush cultivated blueberries, Wild Blueberries are not planted. These lowbush blueberries are primarily spread by rhizomes or underground runners, which give rise to new roots and stems. All shoots arising from the same rhizome system have similar characteristics and are referred to as a blueberry clone. Wild Blueberry fields and barrens actually produce many different lowbush blueberry clones, which account for the variations in color and size that characterize the Wild Blueberry crop. Growing and Harvesting: Blueberry Growers Combine Tradition and Technology Naturally suited to acidic, low-fertility soils and challenging winters, Wild Blueberries are a low-input crop requiring minimal management. The berries are grown on a two-year cycle. Each year, half of a growers land is managed to encourage vegetative growth and the other half is prepared for harvest. In May, growers import a billion commercial bees to aid the native bee population in pollinating the barrens and fields. There are many bee species associated with Wild Blueberries, including bumble bees and honey bees. Native bees are exceptional pollinators and Wild Blueberry growers take care to preserve wild bees through conservation practices. The Blueberry Grower  Managing the Harvest After the harvest, which begins in late July and continues through August, the plants are pruned to the ground by mowing or burning. Wild Blueberries are harvested commercially only in Maine and Canada. The oldest commercial processing company dates back to 1874 and many of todayÂs independent, family-owned growers have been in the Wild Blueberry business for generations. Many Wild Blueberry crops are still harvested the traditional way, using hand-held berry rakes that were first invented in 1910. Whether hand raked or machine harvested, Wild Blueberries are sorted, cleaned and processed within hours of being picked, using state-of-the-art technology to reserve their flavor, quality and antioxidant capacity. From Fresh to Frozen Blueberries  Preserving Taste & Nutrition Growers use winnowing machines in the fields to remove leaves and twigs before the berries are washed and frozen. Wild Blueberries are individually quick frozen (IQF) using a method that allows for the fast preservation of taste and nutrition for millions of berries. IQF berries can remain frozen for over two years without loosing their flavor or nutritional value. Laser color sorters are also utilized to remove anything but the finest quality Wild Blueberries prior to packing. Modern Crop Management  Maintaining Healthy Land & Healthy Crops Wild Blueberry growers are strongly committed to best agricultural practices. They use sustainable management techniques to ensure healthy crops and to protect Wild Blueberry lands for future generations. Because Wild Blueberries are indigenous to Maine and Canada, they are naturally resistant to many native pests. Still, growers are challenged to minimize crop damage caused by environmental stressors such as disease, drought, insect damage and winter injury. Using Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) throughout the crop cycle, growers monitor disease and insect levels to minimize fruit destruction without harming the environment. Good luck. I hope your berries spread and flourish.

re stumps - in the woodland area, I wouldn't be in a big hurry to get rid of them, other than to cut them down as low as possible. It can get very dry in woodland conditions. Rotting wood will hold a lot of moisture so planting new things next to a rotting stump or log can really help with survival when planting in an area where you might not be able to get to with a hose. We had a dead pine and a sick pussy willow taken down last fall. When we planted a new 'Wolf Eyes' dogwood to replace the one that died last winter, we planted it next to the pine stump to give the dogwood a source of moisture and nutrients. We put some logs from the dead pine on a dry bank at the back fence so the logs can hold moisture for the things we try to grow in that area. We moved our 'Empress Wu' hosta to beside the willow stump for the same reason. There are other logs, a dead apple tree trunk, and a few dead branches scattered through the woodland beds as moisture and nutrient sources for the plants. So I'd only grind out or otherwise remove stumps from areas where you want to grow lawn but definitely leave them in the woodland area - and maybe even in 'garden' areas too depending on what you want to grow there and whether it would be useful to have a natural moisture sponge and nutrient source for them. There used to be a big old white spruce where our big front bed is. When we had the tree taken down the stump was left, cut off at ground level. It's rotted away completely now and the soil in that area is better than in the rest of the bed!

Oooooooooo. A big project, to be sure. First of all, educate yourself as to what are weeds and what are preferred plants. Decide which and how many of the preferred plants you want to keep. Then roll up your sleeves and get to work. Handpulling (after a good rain) is the best method, especially if you want to keep a lot of what's there. That's the best way to get the complete root removed. You should get this done BEFORE everything goes to seed. If you don't, you'll have 10 times the undesirables growing there next year. And don't leave the undesirables laying there! Remove them. Any strong high school or college students nearby who might be eager to earn a buck? With guidance and supervision, they can do the work perhaps more easily than you can. After the bed is clean, lay mulch. And more mulch. And then some more. And next year, keep after the undesirables. Pull them as soon as you see them.