The Complete Guide to Landscape Design, Renovation, and Maintenance
by Cass Turnbull

BEGIN TO BRING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS

A typical overgrown corner of the yard. The groundcovers are cut out of the shrubs. The mound-type shrubs are pruned and lowered. They will be relatively easy to keep at a given height. The small tree is thinned and pruned to give it more definition. A few of it's lower limbs are removed to keep space between it and the shrubs below.

Knowing the mature size and pruning limits of your plants will guide you in making decision. The young conifer is removed because its size is not controllable (wrong plant, wrong place). The small tree will not get much larger, but the tree-like shrub crowding it from below will be difficult to keep down, so it is transplanted to another location. To complete the picture, we enlarge the bed and add lower story plants. Minimal pruning will keep this bed looking good for many years to come.

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