pruning

I've recently moved into a house where the garden has been neglected for over a year, but was obviously much loved before that. There are loads of lovely plants in there, but most are very overgrown and woody. In particular, there are beautiful penstomens all round. Can anyone advise me how and when to trim these back as I've never kept them before, and would hate to lose them through over-zealous pruning!

 

I tend to cut penstomens back when I do the autumn tidy up - but I am not sure if this is right. They can be a bit tender so prolly best left til spring

 

I've never been too fussy about my penstmons.

When they're done flowering and the leaves are going off, I just ruthlessly strip them all back to base. (Though I sometimes don't get around to doing that until spring!! )

But whatever I do, they always seem to come back with vigour.