Get your hedge-trimmers ready

Late spring is the ideal time to empty the garden shed of loppers and hedge-trimmers and lightly prune any evergreen hedges surrounding your garden, according to the BBC's gardening experts.

Evergreen hedges could use a trim two or three times a year to keep it looking healthy and bushy, while a gentle removal of dead flowers and branches from flowering hedges can prolong its flowering period.

Hedges like lavender, fuchsia, roses and other plants that flower on the current year's wood are best pruned in early to mid-spring, while those that flower on old wood, including forsythia, deutzia and berberis, should be cut back only after the blooms have faded.

For an even finish, the BBC's gardening site recommends pitching two stakes either side of the section of hedge and laying some string or a flat along the level of the desired trim before bringing the hedge-trimmers out.

Not only does this leave a nice even finish but because you get the levels right first time, the job is quicker. The BBC's Monty Don believes it will take roughly ten minutes per metre of hedge.

© Adfero Ltd

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