By Davev
Essex,
United Kingdom 
Thanks everyone for all previous help, need it again I'm afraid.
Can anyone please tell me what shrub this is and when best to cut it back, its got quite big and I want to reduce it by about a third if poss..?? Nip bit off last year but not sure if timing was wrong as small part died off, so very important, I do not want to kill it.....
19 May, 2010
Answers
If it is the lilac purne after flowering and then any new growth may well flower for you next spring. It tends to work on mine.
19 May, 2010
Thanks for all your help, when does it normally finishing flowering??
19 May, 2010
Are we talking about the lilac-flowered one at the back? It's hard to tell (have you got a photo closer in?) but I think it's a lilac. They resent being pruned - they flower on old wood. My DH would insist on cutting back the ones in our last garden (he seemed to think he needed to get past them :-) ) and they never flowered properly afterwards.
19 May, 2010