Tall Hedges at Awkward Angles in Sumner

The Brief

Some hedge jobs are straightforward. This one wasn't.

The boundary hedges at this Sumner property had grown tall, well above head height and the top line had gone uneven. Getting a clean, level cut across the full run meant working from height with a long-reach pole trimmer, adjusting angle and reach constantly to keep the face flat and the top dead straight.

The hedge backs onto a coastal outlook with ocean views. It's also tight to the deck, which meant every clipping had to come off clean without making a mess of the hardwood surface below.

What We Did

Phillip used a Stihl battery-powered long-reach hedge trimmer, the right tool for tall boundary work where you need control at the end of a long arm rather than a standard blade up a ladder. With ear protection on and the ladder positioned carefully along the deck edge, he worked the full run of the boundary hedge from one end to the other: trimming the top flat, squaring the face, and keeping the angles consistent across the height.

The property also had established feature trees including a large olive ball-trimmed into a clean sphere, and several cabbage trees at different heights. Each was pruned individually, shaped to a defined form, and the surrounding beds cleared of any trimmings that fell in.

All clippings were cleared from the deck, swept from the garden beds, and removed from site. No mess left behind.

The Result

Sharp lines across the full boundary. The hedge now reads as a single level wall of green, not a patchy run of uneven growth. The olive is a clean sphere. The cabbage trees are tidy. The deck is spotless.

The owner has a coastal garden in Sumner that looks properly maintained and they didn't have to touch a ladder.

Project Snapshot