Been so busy that I forgot to mention that I went hedge laying on possibly the wettest day of the century so far, back in February. It was a great group to work with, and I learned a lot. It was great to see the transformation and I can’t wait to take a look in the spring as the new growth emerges. Plus I am an accredited hedge layer now..

The idea with hedge laying is to cut part way through the stems of whatever is growing in the hedge, then bend the stem over to about 40 degrees. It is then staked to support it. The stem will then put out new growth from the cut point, and the hedge will be thickened at the base, making it properly stock proof.  The process looks a bit brutal but the end result is very satisfying.

On closer inspection it turns out that very few of our hedges are actually in a fit state to lay just yet, so we have to let them grow out at the tops so there is enough material to work with. This will undoubtedly upset a few people as we leave them all year but eventually we’ll get a hedge that is fit to last a good long time.