A good hedge looks effortless, but the shape is doing a lot of work. Get it right and the hedge stays thick from the ground up; get it wrong and you end up with a green top on bare, woody legs.

Wider at the base

Trim so the sides lean in slightly toward the top — a gentle A-shape. Sunlight then reaches the lower branches, and they keep producing leaves all the way down.

When to trim

Late spring

Most formal hedges — boxwood, privet, laurel — get their main shape once the first flush of new growth has firmed up.

Late summer

A lighter tidy-up keeps lines crisp into winter. Avoid heavy cuts late in the season: tender regrowth is easily damaged by frost. And before any spring or early-summer trim, check carefully for nesting birds.

Tools that matter

Sharp blades, always. Clean cuts heal fast; ragged ones leave brown tips and invite disease. For long straight runs we use a guide line; for topiary, hand shears and patience.