Shrubs that flower on the coming year's growth, like the gaunt giant Buddleja, can be pruned now and in the coming weeks. The wood is flimsy and easy enough to cut, so most of the work can be done with loppers and secateurs, with the banana saw coming in handy for a few seconds on stouter shoots.
Slice and saw away, setting the unwieldy but lightweight shoots aside one by one, until the whole thing has been reduced to a roughly even structure of 1in-thick branches, like a rather coarse pincushion. Snip off any spindly shoots, and make a bonfire.
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West London's spent the last two decades as the laughing stock of the style set — here's how it got its groove backThe style set is returning to the very West London neighbourhoods it once made a habit of spurning, finds Will Hosie.
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The new property hotspots where you can have it all: Beautiful houses, great schools and idyllic lifestyleAcross the country people are selling up and heading to the towns where there's no compromise on dream homes, outstanding schooling and the good life, according to analysis from two of Britain's top estate agents. Anna White explains.
