Like a herd of cows let out into the fields for the first time after winter, I was let loose on a bit of clipping and shaping yesterday for the first time this year, and what fun I had. Overgrown evergreens are always fun - so much can be achieved very quickly, and then added to over the next year or so. This garden in West Dorset, shrouded in mist for most of the day, had untouched bays, elaeagnus and box:
We started off by agreeing that the choisya had to go from beneth the bay trees. There’s lots more of it scattered around the garden and that will go as well later on. Just by removing the choisya and then tidying up the trunks of the bay the whole garden was transformed - suddenly they drew one in, creating a focal point - but the owners wanted them reduced a bit as well, so we opted for a sort of round-topped, cylindrical thing (the people at Architectural Plants call this shape an immersion heater).
The rest speaks for itself - elaegnus before and after
and a box blob. I like the similar shape of the holm oak in the field beyond.