It's tree-pruning time in Amboise. These plane trees along the quai next to the Loire were getting their "haircuts" today. You may have to look carefully to see the guy sawing away with a hand saw. Below are before and after shots. It has always seemed severe to me to do these trimmings but the trees seem to accept it well.
These are quite vivid and striking shots.
ReplyDeleteSo that is the French word for pruning.
Yes that is the word. Coincidentally, another one of our blogger team (Virginia at Paris Through My Lens) asked me recently what the French word is for tree-pruning. At the time I didn't know, but with this as motivation, I dug down and found the definition online. Have no idea whether it is commonly used or not.
DeleteNow we'll have to wait for a few months for the "after" shot.
ReplyDeleteIf you mean with new leaf growth, I'm looking forward to it !
DeleteEverybody needs a haircut.I think these are willows ?? Beautiful shot. Let's wait for spring to admire the result !
ReplyDeleteTess
I'm no tree expert, but the bark on these looks like the classic plane tree. You better come look for yourself ! I'll show you around.
DeleteOh thanks not easy anymore to travel I'm in a wheel chair but life is still exciting and I travel in looking to some bloggers photos for instance yours.
DeleteTess
Well I am proud to be a part of your virtual tour.
DeleteStuart, I"m not sure this is the term I"m thinking but interesting to see how they do it!. People in the south do this to crape myrtle trees and actually it's not all that good for them because it weakens the the new growth, but I know the French like theirs nice and neat! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, the French garden style is very strict as you know. A lot of work, but boy does it look great.
DeleteWell, Virginia just tells me (via Facebook), the word for this trimming she was looking for is "pollarding" (English word). Working from this word, I found there is another French word that corresponds and involves tree pruning: émondage. So I'm not sure what term is commonly used here.
ReplyDeleteThe first shot is fantastic. Here they use the contraptions I showed on VDP at the beginning of December, no ladders.
ReplyDeleteI would usually say élagage...
Yes, for the bigger trees they used cranes like you saw. They also just climbed up with ropes ! Too scary for me.
DeleteAnd thanks for adding yet another vocabulary word to my list of tree-trimming words in French !
Elagage is the word I would use in this instance too, but it really is more the equivalent of 'tree surgery' in English. This severe and regular pruning triples the lifespan of the tree because they end up with huge root systems that don't have to support much on top.
ReplyDeleteWell that explains why it's worth it to trim these guys. I never would have guessed that it would prolong the life of the tree, but that makes sense now. Thanks, Susan.
DeleteI did almost miss him up there Stuart :) It does seem severe, but how fabulous do they look when they come back fresh and renewed.. Plane trees are among my fav trees, love the way they look in autumn too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, somehow they manage to look good at any time of year. Wish I could say the same.
DeleteThe most common term for this kind of pruning of trees is probably la taille, from the verb tailler, to trim or prune. Echenillage seems to mean cutting off the caterpillar nests. Nice photos.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I get from looking up words on the internet. My favorite English-French dictionary gave me the "advice" on the title . I was surprised to learn how many words there are for various ways of tree trimming.
DeleteWell, I'm finally getting around to re-titling this post with the word that is more accurate and commonly used. Thanks to all you Franco-phones for helping me out here. I need it.
ReplyDelete