Pruning intertwined climbers - can I sort this or do I need a proper gardener?

[FireflyGirl]

We moved into our house 10 years ago, and I had done very little gardening before this.

To get some colour, I bought 4 climbing plants from Morrisons (clematis, cotoneaster, jasmine and honeysuckle) and planted them about a foot and a half apart with trellis supports. I then ignored them for a few years.

They absolutely flourished, outgrew the trellises, which mostly rotted away and have leaned over to form a sort of arch. Due to no light, everything under there died but it's like a secret den so I've laid some pavers for the kids to play.

However, I'd like to try and tidy it up a bit. The problem is, the internet tells me that they need pruning at different times, and they are so intertwined I would have difficulty. I don't want to accidentally kill one of them.

If I want to keep the 'arch', do I need to bite the bullet and call in a garden expert?

Chop it all down to the ground, and l5then train it as it regrows.

Just give it all a good trim, you won't kill it. Some bits might not flower this year, but it'll recover.

You could give it a good trim but you might get aesthetically better results from patiently disentangling and tying back in, at least as long as your patience allows. Do it between now and end March.

Your “garden expert” will simply take a hedge trimmer to it. So you might as well do it yourself