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Mi madre se puso a podar los arbustos.

Mi madre se puso a podar los arbustos.
My mother started to prune the bushes.
From Lesson 303:Starting an action (ponerse a)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Mi madre se puso a podar los arbustos.

What is the difference between se puso a podar and empezó a podar?
Both mean 'started to prune'. However, ponerse a followed by an infinitive is a very common phrase in Spain to emphasize the active or sudden start of a task. It is especially natural for physical tasks like pruning bushes.
Why do we need the pronoun se in this sentence?
The verb phrase here is ponerse a (to start doing something). If you drop the se, the verb is just poner (to put or place), which would completely change the meaning and make the sentence incorrect.
Why is the verb in the preterite tense (se puso) rather than the imperfect (se ponía)?
The act of starting a task is viewed as a single, completed event in the past. Even if the pruning itself lasted a long time, the exact moment she began the task has a clear beginning and end, which requires the preterite tense.
Do I always need the preposition a when using ponerse like this?
Yes. Whenever you use ponerse to express starting an action, you must link it to the following infinitive verb, like podar, using the preposition a.

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