Yews Get Whacked

Over the last couple of days, the Japanese Yews located along the north path at Clayton have been pruned back drastically. The pruning may be a last-ditch attempt to take care of an eyesore. These two plants have been poorly managed over the years, perhaps due to their location on opposite sides of a path used by vehicles. The result has been a really unnatural and lopsided form (the third Japanese yew, visible at the left in the photo, is not too great, either). The plant shown at right is also host to an aggressive English Ivy. Not sure what will happen next to these plants. Yews are tolerant of severe pruning, and when grown in a garden, they're typically cultivated as hedges or topiary, not as trees.