Trees

[damekindness]

I have some trees in my back garden that are getting taller and are quite near the house. (I'm never sure whether tree roots are a problem for the structural integrity of the house) but they do cut out a lot of light

Is it better to leave bit till winter to get them cut right down - as there's less foliage?

I’d get some tree surgeons round now to give you advice and a quote.

It’s probably better to get the crowns thinned and lifted instead of chopping them down, as they give privacy and are good for wildlife.

It depends on the type of tree, distance from the house, the size and age.

Depends VERY MUCH on the trees

pop up a picture and then yes, get a tree surgeon to look at them
as crown lifting and thinning might do the trick

Pictures here - hard to get useful pictures as the garden is quite small! Both are height wise about level with the upstairs ceiling (I'm in an Edwardian Terrace)

Yes ideally would like to keep both for wildlife and such - just a little less of them!

OK, the one with the big leaves is a sycamore.
Weed.
Take down and keep down.

Other one looks like a prunus
clean the trunk of ivy and all sorts (cut a 1 inch chunk out of their stems and leave to die)
and then get it crown halved down to a size that will benefit your garden.

with a much thinned crown you'll be able to lay out fab pots underneath it from March to October

Thank you so much @ListeningQuietly the second one I've just Googled as a butterfly bush ( less of a bush currently and the size of a tree ) which grows back ever stronger as I attempt to prune hack at randomly every year

Yes, the second one is a buddleia I think - I would hack it back to half height now, then really hard every spring (to 1-2ft maybe) and it should stay a medium size. I don't think buddleia roots would be a problem, but I would worry about the sycamore - a reputable tree surgeon would be able to advise, get a local recommendation. I would replace with a different tree tbh.

www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/pruning-buddleia/

I disagree with @ListeningQuietly. The sycamore can be pruned by a tree surgeon. Yes it’s not the ideal tree for A small town garden but it’s there now and can keep kept to a reasonable size.

The buddleja is an overgrown bush and can be hacked back yourself with a small pruning saw and an decent pair of loppers. . Do that over The winter and it will start growing again in February. You can cut it back as hard as you like, even to a stump.

Thank you @UniversalTruth that link is easy to follow even by a gardening idiot like me

@damekindness ime a gardener is just a "gardening idiot" with access to Google and some plants to try ideas out on