With March beginning tomorrow, and the weather feeling very much like spring, it’s time to stop work on hedging and tree cutting and let nature get on with the rest.
With so many restrictions on work this year, the volunteers have only laid a short stretch of hedge, but I think you’ll agree it is excellent work.
Unlike lots of our hedges, this one is fairly young. It was planted by volunteers in February 2012. Since that’s before my time on the meadow, I’m very grateful to Dave Beszant for allowing us to use these pictures of the hedge being planted.
You can see that after nine years, the hedge now provides a barrier to protect the ditch bank. It’s nice a thick, providing places for all sorts of animals to hide and find food (some of the trees are already producing buds). There are standing trees left as perches and for habitat variety. And nothing will need to be done to it for another decade or so.
If you stop to take a look, don’t forget to say hello to the robin whose territory it is, it will definitely come and say hello to you!
– Hester
