Before and after

Or, after and before. As promised. I wanted to document the Forsythia Project 2014 for posterity. I'm still working on getting rid of the trimmings. It's too wet now to work with them. Here's the "after" shot:

The large forsythia on the left is greatly reduced in girth. The one on the right is gone. April 25, 2014.

There were a lot of crossed branches and dead wood inside, and I worked to remove as much of that as I could. I know the plant will benefit from more light and better air circulation. Here's the "before" shot taken from close to the same angle:

Both forsythia back at end of March when they were in full flower.

You can see that the smaller forsythia was not healthy and that I've removed it almost completely. The stumps are still there for now. They may re-sprout before I get around to digging them out. Behind where it used to be is a deutzia shrub that I pruned back last year (it's more visible in the top photo). It's now covered in flower buds that will bloom in white very soon. Once the flowers go, I'll reduce the height of the shrub. I plan to do the same with the tall forsythia (on the left) next year, after it flowers.