Golden Ball instead of Golden Bell.

Tight shape not an enhancement.

It used to take up the whole yard. It had to be cut that way in order to build the walkway, so I decided to keep it sheared.

I would have moved it. Still would, so it doesn't have to be sheared. Totally worth it in my world.

I like the sheared look over the informal look, plus moving it would be more work than just growing another from a cutting.

Logan..looks pretty in bloom but the other 95% of the time wouldn't it be prettier unsheared?.. moving it ONCE is less work than shearing it FOREVER isn't it?..just a thought

I don't really like the informal look... it used to be a giant ugly monster. It stays nice and green during the summer and turns a nice crimson red in the fall. I will see about getting photos after it finishes leafing out, after I prune, and fall color.

Maintaining a formal garden is a lesson in frustration. Plants aren't stamped out like parts in a factory that are meant to be placed in straight rows and matched pairs. The eye will always go to the one that's not like all the others for one reason or another. The work is when you have to do a lot of extras to make it, or them, conform. Don't forget all the necessary timely shearing formality requires. It's always a game of catch-up because it always needs it. I visited Versailles a few years ago and a crew was busy shearing the formal gardens trying to stay ahead of the new growth, almost endless repetitive maintenance. Aacck!

A garden should celebrate life, not constrain it to a preconceived static image.

Logan, don't be afraid to pick up a shovel and put it to work....it's fun!

I think lots of plants naturally have a perfect (or nearly perfect) shape..it seems Logan wants to "shape" about everything..to me the high maintenance formal look seems more "imperfect" than a natural look because humans can't achieve perfection..but nature can be so beautiful it SEEMS perfect..

I really don't like the informal look of forsythia...... I think it looks rather nice this way. It usually takes 15 minutes of my time every other week to snip it back with bypass pruners. I do however agree that there are some plants that should never be sheared, including beautyberry, saucer magnolia, rose of sharon, evergreen azaleas, camellias, and others with an appealing natural form. I will also add that I don't shear trees....... I know some forum members have assumed that I do, and I would advise against it. Trees with central leaders should be kept intact unless they are in a suitable environment for pollarding. The only pruning that I have done to any of my mature trees is crown raising and just recently I decided to try niwaki cloud pruning. I like to mix formal and informal plants, I think it makes the perfect landscape.

Not my taste, but long as it's your grandmother's preference and not just yours, then so be it.

Yes, she likes it that way as well. She always complained about it when it wasn't pruned.