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January project - the beech hedge

16/1/2019

1 Comment

 
There is something really beautiful about a low winter sun and we had a few of those days in January.

January had some cold snaps, heavy frosts and frozen pond. I found some ducks looking a bit lost on the ice.
Picture
But who decides its spring? Of course there is the official calendar view of March 1st or the astronomical view March 20th, but there is also the view of the plants and trees that decide its time to put up shoots and declare, at least for them, its time to grow again.. In the first week of January I spotted the first daffodils and seeds on the hazel tree so at least for them spring has begun.

These signs reminded me that it was time to 'prune' the hedges and shrubs that have been neglected for a long time. So I started with the beech hedge. Two sides of a 40m long by 5m high hedge, overgrown with ivy and in places tangled with brambles and a mass of creepers is a big job by any measure. I chipped away at it a couple of hours a day, most days for the best part of three weeks but by the end of January it was completed and burning what I had cut gave me a lot of satisfaction.

1 Comment
cutting a hedge link
23/3/2021 06:02:24 am

Beech supporting is a generally quick cultivator, accomplishing around 30-60cm per annum. Fagus sylvatica requires some support - after a light trim to clean whenever needed in late-spring, we suggest managing your beech fence in pre-fall or early pre-winter, to ensure you can hold a portion of the dazzling leaf inclusion in winter.

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    Garden & Beyond Notes
    My garden keeps me busy and gives me the exercise I need to keep fit, although it does damage me from time to time. But more than anything else it gives me pleasure, happiness and a sense of belonging and of doing something useful and worthwhile. It enables me to express myself creatively and draws my attention to the beauty and ecology of life. In this blog  I am telling the story of my garden and my involvement and experiences in it through my writing and the photos, movies, music, paintings and other artefacts - it inspires me to create. I have become more conscious of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals and our important role in enabling their achievement my experiments and projects in the natural world show how I respect and try to understand nature and try to enable life to flourish. I know that one day I will not be the custodian of this beautiful landscape we call our home. I must make the most of it now and preserve its presence in my memory knowing that it will carry on long after I am gone and that someone else will care for it and call it their home.
    In March 2022 I joined a group of environmental activists in my village and so I have decided to expand my blog to take in the natural environment of which my garden is a part.

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    Useful Links
    RE Betchworth
    Wildlife Garden Forum
    Surrey Wildlife Trust 
    Habitat Network
    Plant Identification UK
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