First thing I'd do is get rid of anything that's growing and touching the window. Then I'd figure out how much you want height wise to cover the window and shape it from there.
Hope that helps some!
this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2026
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You can use pruning shears or trimming shears or electric hedge trimmers. Always wear goggles, a mask or bandana over your mouth is also recommended.
Beyond all the leaves is a section of barren stems, if you go that deep then you've gone too far. You want it to be wide in equal directions from its base. Hedges can be trimmed any time of year if they get enough water, even if they become stressed they can usually bounce back all on their own after a period of dormancy.
The bottom covers the bushes around it. Should I let it, or clear out the bottom forcing the tree to only grow upwards not downwards?
You clearly don't need help getting that plant to grow upwards lol, but if you want to thin the overcrowding for aesthetic purposes, snip a few of the offending branches at their base with loppers to make room for the bushes, starting small and snipping a few more every time you trim until you're happy :).
While it could certainly use a trim-up and some cleared avenues for maintenance, it's a lovely garden bed and you don't need to overthink it.
@nieceandtows the big bush in back is a chaste tree. You can hack on it however you like and it will grow back. I cut ours back to a stump last winter and it was 8 foot high again by mid summer.
That means you have complete freedom. You could trim off some lower branches to expose the stems and let more light to the plants around it. You could cloud prune it to artful shapes. You could tip back every branch by 30% to encourage it to be more compact. Wait for winter before doing anything major.
That makes it easier, thank you!
It's a butterflybush. Just cut it back to where you want it to be. They are extremely hard to kill.
I'd use some heavy duty loppers.
Start from the back, round out the shape, but make sure to not cut more than 1/3 of the plant within 3 months of each trimming.