Row of tall conifers with cut branches piled on a lawn and a woman standing beside a garden path — Tall conifer row with cuttings across the lawn and a homeowner looking on

Garden seen from the patio with tool bags and ropes, a green bin and tall conifers beyond the fence — Conifer screen at the garden end, with tool bags, ropes and a green bin

Tall conifers behind a fence with bare lower stems visible, above a lawn, gravel border and stone path — Conifer row seen along the fence, with the lower stems showing

This page covers a hedge reduction in Oldbury. The garden is long and narrow, and the far end is taken up by a row of tall conifers that had grown well above the fence. The three photos show the work under way and the screen from different spots in the garden, so some are taken while cutting was still going on.

Bringing a tall conifer screen down

When conifers like these have been left to grow, they end up far taller and wider than a garden hedge ought to be. Reducing them means working from the top and sides, taking off growth that is still green. The first photo shows the cut material heaped across the lawn, with bare stems visible where the dense foliage has been taken back.

Conifers do not shoot again from old brown wood, so the cutting has to stop where green growth remains. That limits how far a very overgrown row can be reduced in a single visit, and the rest of the height may need to be dealt with gradually. Taking it slowly in stages is kinder to the trees and leaves a neater result than one hard cut.

Working in a long, narrow garden

The photos show how much has to be managed in a garden like this: a washing line pole, raised beds, a lawn and a stone path all sit between the house and the trees. Cuttings are stacked clear of the path, and the equipment bags and ropes are kept together by the patio.

Afterwards the green waste is cleared into the bin or taken away, and the fence line, which is partly hidden beneath the trees, is left visible again. It is sensible to agree the target height beforehand, and to avoid cutting during the bird nesting season. Leaving the lawn and path swept at the end makes a real difference to how the garden feels afterwards.