Wow huge difference Hank, why does the conifer have to go? It adds height and is a feature in the garden. Do you really need a hedge there at all?

My reaction exactly - it looks so much better , well done!
But I would still remove the monkey puzzle before it gets to be well over twice the size (sorry I know its got sentimental value) When its mature all the lower branches will disappear and it will dwarf the bugalow - 130 feet with a seven foot trunk diameter. Tell me to mind my own business, you'd be justified!

Hi Hank, that Araucaria araucana, { monkey puzzle } looks very nice, but as Steragram says they get quite large, I'm not so sure they get to 130ft but they certainly get to 80ft, and a spread of 22 to 30ft, of course as the tree gets older, it will lose some lower branches, but if you keep it where it is, you will probably have to cut more branches off near your front door, unfortunately I think it is be too late to move it now, the size it is, so you could just enjoy it while you can, and when it gets too big for your liking, cut it down, Derek.

I may be trying your patience here but 1 question leads to another.
I don't suppose for a second that cutting say 3 inches off the leader would stop it growing ?
Before I get my saw out, is the tree removable ?
Would anyone want the tree if it is removable ?
Thanks

id leave the monkey puzzle as its going to take ages to become a problem and you can take quite a few branches off the bottom . as for the conifer why don't you put the same type of tree the other end of the wall for balance . if you cut the tip out the tree will lose shape and stay short war you don't want it .

Not sure if you mean the monkey puzzle or the conifer Hank - either way, chopping off the top won't stop it growing, whichever one you mean, though it will make a very unattractive tree in both cases.

And I wouldn't think either of those is suitable for digging out and replanting elsewhere, they've been in too long.

Sorry Hank, I seem to be in a minority of one here. I was just thinking it would be easier and cheaper to move it before it and its roots got too big. OK Derek, 130 feet is perhaps a worst case scenario - probably how tall they get in the wild.

40 metres sg and one of the oldest forms of life alive today bar none .

I'd ditch the Monkey Puzzle, keep the slender conifer and look for something different to balance at the left hand side as you look at photo.

Well, unless my eyes deceive me, that conifer has ivy growing up it - you may need to remove the conifer anyway to get the ivy roots out. I'd remove it just for aesthetic reasons, its got too big and is out of proportion to the house and wall.

What a difference! I'd get rid of the column conifer (it was out of proportion with the old hedge and definitely more so now) by the gateway and replace it with something more interesting.
Maybe you could keep the monkey puzzle for another year or two while you establish another focal point.

Did you resolve the ivy in the pond?

Good loins Urbanite

Thanks guys, I knew you'd not desert me in my hour of need. There're plenty of suggestions for me to study during the next few days.
And 'U', I haven't sorted the ivy on the rockery,
I've spent much of the last few days digging roots out, taking them to the nearby tip, and getting splinters out of my hands.
And I've got the ivy roots out at the base of the conifer.

Great idea Snoop, but couldn't leave this place in this state.
Might have bitten off more than I can chew here - i'm just trying to dig up the root of a holly bush, the trunk of which was 4 ins dia. Huge roots like granite. Weightlifter son had a go at it yesterday and is now really suffering - took 2 ibuprofen earlier.
But I'm persevering, just doing 1 hour at a time.

I agree with MG about the tall conifer but didn't want to be too negative - we can't do with depressing poor Hank too much!
Just thought, if you went for mixed shrubs instead of a hedge could you leave those holly roots in and just SBK them? Nor worth damaging yourself for.

Well power to you Hank, but you could always cut it down really low, drill into the woody stump and apply SBK to the holes. The roots will still be there until they rot away, but at least it won't grow any more.

I guess you have the answer there B. I have a friend coming shortly with an electric saw. I'll expose as much of the stump and root and put the saw to work