The Front Hedge

The front hedge looked lovely but had got totally out of hand. At 12 to 14 feet tall it was completely unmanageable.


So we have had it cut back to 8 feet tall. Still a major task to keep it in order but any lower and the birds might have deserted it. Lets just hope all the bare bits grow back out again.

My Country Hedge

There are not many things I am proud of creating but my native garden hedge is one of them. It began as tiny seedlings in little pots when we were in our temporary rented house at Brackenside and I planted them out when we got here to The Willows. It consists of 18 species of native plant (and one non-native the Copper Beech which sort of crept in by accident).



The native species are:-
Beech
Downy Birch
Silver Birch
Pedunculate Oak (English Oak)
Goat Willow (Great Sallow)
Wayfaring Tree
Guelder Rose
Holly
Field Rose
Hazel
Hawthorn
Field Maple
Rowan (Mountain Ash)
Elder
Horse Chestnut
Hornbeam
Apple
Pear

Even though it is less than four years (and only three growing seasons) since we moved in, the hedge has been layered once and trimmed at the top twice already. It doesn’t need to be stockproof but it is. The wildlife loves it and so do I.