March 2016
Looking to top end of hedge before...
...and work underway
View towards oak tree before...
...and work underway
Closeup of hazel stakes and binders
View from far side of hedge
View past oak tree, hedge completed
Tapered end to hedge, firewood saved to the right
65 yards hawthorn with ash standards, Bow Brickhill, Beds. Crop & pleach. The live stakes are called crops and the laid stems are the pleachers
In marked contrast to the previous hedge, this one is about as tall and heavy a hedge as one can lay, especially working on one's own as hedgelayers typically do. It would have been impossible to secure this hedge by adding stakes in the conventional way. Live stakes retained alternately each side of the hedge and the hedge laid down the middle
View towards triple stemmed ash, before...
...during...
...well past the triple ash now...
...and finished!
This view along the top of the hedge with work in progress shows how compact the hedge is given the size of the material
View from the front showing how dense and solid the end result is
The back of the hedge is as solid and tidy as the front with more brush
Another view from the front showing the mountain of brush beyond the post and rail fence that has come out of the hedge
View towards the end of this very solid hedge
View towards the end of the hedge and another group of ash retained on the verge