Down To Earth has been pruning my robinia frisia every two years from at least 2011. Their men have always made an excellent job of it. They have ensured the tree has kept a good shape, though having to cut one side back more than the other side in order to satisfy my neighbour’s desire that the branches should extend over her garden as little as possible. They have always taken care while doing the work and last time even put traffic cones over some crocuses on the lawn to stop them getting trodden on. There is a limit, however, to what they can do to protect flowers growing at the base of the tree they are having to go up, so it as well to move any bedding plants away from that point before they arrive and plant them back after they have left. During their visits, the men have also sometimes done some mainly pruning work on a few individual shrubs in the garden. Just recently they have cut down a large dead buddleia to a single ground-level horizonal side-branch with a few shoots coming from it in the hope of resurrecting it. They felt it worth a try. As in the case of all good firms, Down To Earth is very busy and one needs to call on its services well in advance. Prior to taking on work, it sends someone round to look at what is wanted and give an estimate. I live in a conservation area and approval has to be sought for pruning work to be carried out. For a small fee Down To Earth does the paperwork necessary to get the necessary approval. All I have to do then is to ensure there will be a place for the team to park their lorry on the date agreed for the work to be done. The teams have always arrived on the day and time agreed regardless of any bad weather conditions – though there must, of course, be times when the weather conditions are just too severe to make tree work possible. Once the work has been done, the men have always cleared up thoroughly after them. I will add that I have always found everyone very pleasant, whether the men doing the work in the garden or the helpful office staff getting things initially organised.