Some of the trees in the garden are beginning to get quite tall. If they grow within the expected limits of their rootstocks, they shouldn’t have much further to go but it does mean it is time to start giving the upper canopy some shape. In particular, we want to get an archway effect going between a couple of them so need to persuade the trees to start growing in the direction.

To make this work, we’ve used some string to pull some of the younger branches at the top towards each other. We don’t want to place too much strain on the branches but, as the wood ripens and sets later in the year, we want it to be tending towards the direction we intend, with the forces set up by the string providing a guide.

Don’t check back for results too soon though. It will be another six months before we can see that the plan is beginning to work and probably another couple of years before we can throughly evaluate it.