Large cross-section of a cut fir trunk on a lawn with a chainsaw beside it, and a house behind — Wide cut section of the fir trunk on the lawn, with a chainsaw beside it

Cut logs and a low stump on a lawn with shrubs and a weeping birch behind — Cut rounds and a low stump on the lawn, with planting left untouched

Tree climber in helmet and orange trousers on ropes high on a bare fir stem — Climber on ropes partway up the bare stem, cutting down the fir

Tree climber near the top of a tall fir with a green crown, against a cloudy sky — Climber near the top of the fir, with the green crown still above

Tall dark fir tree rising above garden shrubs, a birch and a magnolia under a cloudy sky — The tall fir standing among garden trees before the work

This Yardley garden had a very tall fir standing among shrubs, a weeping birch and a magnolia, close to the house. With so much planting around it, felling it in one piece was not an option, so it was taken down in sections, working from the top down.

Taking the fir down

One photo shows the fir before the work, a dense dark cone rising far above the surrounding trees. Next, a climber in a helmet and orange trousers is high on the stem on ropes, with a chainsaw, cutting the top away. Lower branches have already been removed from the trunk, which stands bare below him.

What was left behind

The remaining photos show how the lawn looked as the work went on, with heavy cut rounds laid out beside a chainsaw and the wide cross-section of the trunk. In the final garden view, the fir is gone, a stump stands low in the lawn, and the shrubs and the birch beside it are untouched.

Firs do not regrow from bare wood, so once cut they are gone for good. Stumps can be ground out by arrangement, and the timber is logged or removed, with the sawdust and small branches raked up and taken away so the lawn can recover over the following weeks, and the shrubs stay in place.