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At the entrance to Nymans Gardens at Handcross there was a large English Oak tree that had been in decline for some time. Several months ago we were contracted to reduce the already limited crown of the tree to make the tree safer.

When we began work it became apparent that the decline of the tree was more severe than realised as the whole stem of the tree was moving with any movement by the arborists, bark was peeling off the tree and the epicormic re-growth on the tree had mostly died.

We decided at this point that the tree needed to be sectionally felled due to the proximity to the road, car park and Nymans shop and that the crown of the tree would need to be removed with the use of a Mobile Elevated Work Platform (MEWP) as the tree was too unstable to climb.

The crown of the tree was removed from the MEWP, at that point it was safer to fell the butt of the Oak which we then left in situ and fashioned into a bench.

The residents of this property have a long and spacious garden, but during the spring, autumn and especially winter months the light was limited by the height of their neighbours privet hedge.

It was decided to cut the height down severely and create a more contained and manageable hedge. The neighbour was consulted before any works took place, and we cut down approx 6-8 foot of the height. The top of the hedge was particularly wide(15 feet in places) so the cutting was done from both sides. Often this kind of radical hedge trimming can look untidy but as you can see from the pictures, it came out neatly following the slope of the garden.

Hedge after trimming

This chestnut tree had been in a poor state of health for several years.

The previous summers growth of leaves had been extremely limited, the owner of the tree had already decided to fell it and called Branch Out Tree Care for a quotation. We agreed that the tree should be felled as soon as possible.

Felling of Chestnut tree

Due to the proximity of the road, power cables and a house on the other side of the hedge the tree had to be removed sectionally. We arranged a morning for the electricity to be turned off to permit climbing operations to take place.

Felling of Chestnut tree

All the brush wood was removed and recycled and the rest of the wood was left on site for firewood. The stump of the tree was left at approx. head height and a seat made a feature for the garden.

Our work for South East Water at Ardingly Reservoir illustrates a range of woodland services.

• Brushcutting along pathway edges; brush cutting of new paths to allow access to the water’s edge for fishing.
• Sectionally removing dead or dangerous trees
• Selective felling of trees to create glades that encourage tree and habitat diversity around the reservoir.

This work entails

• Full health and safety, risk assessments.
• Carrying out work whilst maintaining public access to the site.
• Creating deadwood habitat piles with tree cuttings

Garden trees can occasionally create problems if they are too near to a building

This client had just moved into a new house and was concerned about the proximity of a sycamore tree.

Felling a tree near a building

I advised him that whilst the roots would be undermining his patio they would not be doing any serious damage to his house.

However, the tree would need reducing every three or four years to prevent the branches reaching the house and to slow the growth of the roots.

The amenity value of the tree was negligable in the clients eyes therefore he requested we fell the tree and poison the stump to prevent any fresh growth.
The canopy is first carefully removed

Removing the tree canopy

Tree canopy removal

Tree canopy removal

Tree canopy removal.

Trunk is now removed in sections

The trunks can then be removed section by section

The trunk is removed in sections

Tree trunk is removed section by section

sectional tree felling

The wood was cut into fire logs and the stump was left to be used as a convenient garden seat!

Tree logs left to use for firewood

This Oak tree in West Sussex was approx 80 foot high and the owner’s property was in perpetual shade due to the vast size of this tree.

I was asked to quote for a pollarding of the tree to 30feet high. On seeing the tree I tried to persuade my client that this was too severe and that the tree would never regain the stature or beauty of the mature tree that it was. I recommended that even a 30% crown reduction of the tree would be detrimental to the tree’s health. My client insisted that the tree was too large for the garden and that the tree was to be pollarded.

I checked on the status of the tree with the local council, the tree did not have a tree preservation order on it and it was not within a conservation area, therefore there were not legal restrictions to undertaking any works to the tree.

Pollarding of Oak tree

Due to the proximity of three fences a hedge and a road all of the timber had to be lowered by rope.

Pollarding of an Oak tree

The pollarding was done as sensitively as possible, leaving as much epicormic growth on the remaining limbs and shaping the tree as wide as possible to reflect the stature and broad canopy of the mighty oak. All the timber was left on site cut up into 2 foot lengths for my client to use as firewood.