Two years ago, we bought a beautiful bungalow on the south side of Fredericton, close to our work, even closer to the fabulous O'Dell Park in the centre of the city. The house is on a great lot, with lots and lots of trees and bushes. After we had the fence installed around the backyard for the dog, it seemed the perfect place.

What we didn't realise was how much work it would be. It seems the previous owners allowed the flora to run a bit wild and now, two years later, we're finally coming to grips with how much work it's going to be to whip it back into shape. This is an especial challenge for us, two people with practically no skills in this area. The fact that, in the past 24 months, no fewer than three major chunks of trees have come crashing down during various storms makes the job even more critical.

I did a little bit of pruning and tree control last summer, cutting down the obviously dead bits, hacking back the new growth and saplings that had taken root where they should not be and all that. But I really had no clue what I was doing and I hadn't grasped how much more has to be done. The growth is often so dense that trees are fighting each other for sunlight and soil nutrients. Some trees have been allowed to sprout three or four "leaders", meaning instead of growing healthily skyward, the trees are spreading outward and sharing their energy too thinly among the many trunklets.

Our first step has been to ask a friend of ours who is an expert in all things growing, having been written up in national magazines for her garden knowledge, to have a look around. Her comments were clear and forthright: your soil is no good for gardening and your trees and bushes need to be thinned and cut back. She pointed out some specific steps we should take but also recommended we bring in a qualified arborist to examine our trees and help us work out what to do with each.

A little bit of luck led to our second step: the arborists of the City of Fredericton offered a free outdoor workshop on tree care and maintenance. We learned a lot there, including that the city's professionals can be invited to our home to look at the trees that are on or near the road allowance in front. That's great, since two of our main concerns involve the massive cedars that are growing near the curb and a line of other unidentified trees that are floundering nearby.

They also gave us tips on pruning and, just moments ago, I bought myself a small pruning saw just like the one they used. The next sunny day I get, I'll be out there working to bring at least some sort of order to chaos, in anticipation of a visit from the arborists.

Tags: Garden, Trees