Training honeysuckle into a climbing rose means a lovely show in the spring. But there comes a time when the honeysuckle is too wildly rampant, and must be cut back, especially the dry part underneath.

At some point I decided to add star jasmine to the mix coming from the other end of the fence, upon which a bougainvillea also grows.

Pruning requires that I stand on a ladder enmeshed at times with two very thorny First Prize roses. There is blood. I have rose gloves, but they are too bulky. It is such an odious task that I want to get it all done in one afternoon.

The roses, surprisingly, have established themselves, and can be tied to the fence. This is better done with an assistant, who would make sure the laterals don’t whip back into the face of the pruner. But alas, there are only the ravens, the jays, and the squirrels.