In this Dudley garden, a tall bare tree grows right behind a brick shed, with a summerhouse and a silver birch close by. The photo catches one of our climbers high in the branches, chainsaw in hand, after using a long ladder to reach the lowest limbs. It is work in progress, taken in winter light.
Getting into a tree with no clear ground
The ladder in the photo leans against the trunk so the climber can reach the first fork and carry on up from there. Below there is a lawn, shrubs, a shed with a window and a summerhouse, so there is very little bare ground to drop anything onto. That is why branches are cut in small pieces and controlled rather than allowed to fall. A tree like this is normally reduced from the top down, so the climber always has solid wood to stand on.
What to plan for
Winter makes the structure of a deciduous tree easy to read, because there are no leaves to hide dead wood or awkward branches. It is a sensible time to have work like this done, and the garden is usually easier to move around too. Before we start, we need to know whether the tree is protected or in a conservation area, which the council can tell you. Also tell us about outbuildings, fences and anything fragile close to the trunk, so the plan covers them.
