How to trim your bush like a pro

June is the perfect time of year to cut back your bush, but how do you go about it? And what shape should you be aiming for?

Trimming expert Charlie Bloom talks us through how to get the best results plus Holly and Phillip go head-to-head as they put their hedge trimming skills to the test in the ultimate Bush Plucker Trial.

How to prune

Charlie says: "Usually you want to prune in June or July and generally you should just need to do it once a year. At other times you can chop the odd branch away but they should generally stay in shape. You should always avoid cutting hedges in the sun as this can scorch the plant and harm it - think of it like you're wounding the plant and the sun is burning it after. Also you shouldn't really prune in the winter, especially in the frost, as this again can limit regrowth."

Charlie's pick of trimming tools

• Electric hedge trimmers - "These are best if you have a large area of bush/hedging to prune. This is the first stage in cutting back the overgrown bits and leaving you with a nice clean hedge to work more intricately with. There are also really good cordless trimmers which means you can charge it up and take it anywhere - which is particularly good if you have a rather large garden, or difficult places to reach."

• Shearing scissors - "These are good for large areas as they can quickly clear away overgrowth."

• Topiary scissors - "These are good for much more intricate trimming, so if you're trying to do shapes or specific details on the bush, they're specially designed to work wonders."

• Standard scissors - "If you really just need to get in there and take out that last little bit of overgrowth to get the perfect shape, standard scissors work great. It's just for those fiddly bits at the very end."

• Hand trimmer - "Personally I think they're better than big hedge trimmer because you have more control and really shape your bush"