Before and after. This Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis) was getting a bit big and starting to swamp the apple tree next to it so I gave it a haircut. Bays shape well with careful pruning and frankly there's only so many Bay leaves you can use in cooking so I'd rather have the apples.
 This seemed like a good time to do it. March is generally past the worst of the frosts (in London at least) and a shrub like this is still fairly dormant but about to put on a spurt of growth. I didn't want to leave it much later because there is invariably a Blackbird nesting in the heart of it from spring onwards. You would think this is a bit low to escape the attention of one of the neighbourhood's many moggies but it doesn't seem to be a problem.
 The apple tree itself is a trickier proposition. A previous resident trained it but then it was left for years to grow as it liked. Now it is neither the classic 'goblet' shape favoured by apple growers nor an ornamental shape though it flowers and fruits nicely (last year produced a particularly tasty crop). I settle for opening up the branch structure where possible and giving it a somewhat bulbous shape which seems to work ok.