2026-02-08
Pruning by the tide tables
Winter work here follows the tide tables more than the calendar. On spring tides the wind comes in hard off the water, so I prune on the neaps, when the days are calmer and the light is long and low.
The rule I keep relearning: take out less than you want to. Open the centre, remove anything crossing or rubbing, cut back to an outward bud and stop. The trees answer an overenthusiastic winter with a forest of water shoots in June.
The prunings go into a long dead hedge along the north side. It shelters the compost and the wrens love it.