Before and after Laurel Trimming

The Cherry Laurel, although we have always call it a Bay Laurel, was getting ridiculously high after being trimmed down a few years ago.
Ambrose, and his two sons, turned up today and set to with the task of taking the top of initially asked him to take off about six feet but when he got up there he started take off a few feet but not six. He called me to have a chat about it. He could take it down to where he could see the last people took it down to. To take it any further would require a large chainsaw as he would have to cut through very thick trunks.
I went up and told Marlane the tale and she looked out of the window and said she didn't want it any lower than where he was at the time. So decision made.
You can see how much he did take off though. Compare the height with the Copper Beech to the right.
He couldn't cut the bit sticking up, on the far left, as it is growing in the neighbours garden. But that was fine, they are good neighbours, Nigerian I believe, and they do like their privacy.
On one bit, just to the right of the tall neighbours tree, there was some growing further back which he could not reach.
I told him I have a lopper, it's wooden and about 150 years old. My fathers cousin, who worked in the Bulmer's cider apple orchards, gave it to him long before I came along (in 1948). 
He had a look at it, admiringly, and was very impressed with it's history. I'd had to move the handle mechanism by about a foot when the end of the wooden pole snapped. It still worked very well and Ambrose said it worked a lot better than his modern aluminium lopper. Not bad for it's age eh!
I still use it regularly to cut down the top of the Pyracantha at the front, or my flag catches on the thorns. It's in this old blip from August 2021.
Green Bin Day | djrose007 | Blipfoto
Ambrose will be back another day to trim back the Cherry Laurel in the front. This will necessitate taking large trunks off so it will be very bare for a while on our side.
Watch this space.