Hi Folks,
We have some new neighbours who moved in a few weeks ago, just up the road. It seems that they're keen gardeners - I know this because it's what they told my husband. So, as keen gardeners, they need to tidy things up a bit so what better way to do it than to cut down the hedge (containing beech, holly, hawthorn etc., a good home and shelter for hedge sparrows, wrens, bank voles, hedgehogs [if you're lucky], et al) at the bottom of the garden, and replace it with a fence (containing pressure treated timber). Great!
Unfortunately as I’m in a Council house the garden has to be very neat and tidy otherwise I would get a threatening letter from the council and as a council tennant the council have the right to do that. Sadly no wild areas in my garden because of that reason.
That's fair enough Ian, but these are private houses and the hedges have been there for very many years - possibly a couple of hundred. When we first moved here, there was only a very pretty country lane bounded on both sides by old hedges at the end of the gardens. In their infinite wisdom, the council decided that we needed a road so the hedges on the opposite side were ripped out and we now have what almost amounts to a race-track. The hedge on this side has been gradually degraded or destroyed by subsequent new house owners so that there are just a few of us who still have the old hedge still standing. The thing is, the hedge doesn't actually belong to the house owners - it is the property of the council, who do very little to prevent it's destruction, possibly through lack of resources... I'll give them the benefit of the doubt!
Sad that you can't have a wild patch in your garden - wouldn't they let you have a small raised bed with some wild flowers and maybe a washing up bowl pond? It could be really pretty and help the critters a bit - and it wouldn't be a permanent fixture.
Sorry to hear about the hedge destruction Dotty but maybe they want to plant other types of shrub which will also eventually attract insects, birds & mammals. They may have a reason for putting up a fence, like keeping cats/dogs in & out. If they go out to work an easily managed garden is simpler.A new garden is a bit like a new house, most people change the kitchen/bathroom when they move, & probably the garden too.
Our last house had part of an old railway line in it & the bank was covered in wild trees & scrub. It was a huge amount of work keeping things like the Old mans Beard, Nettles & Brambles from taking over the whole place. It was a relief when we sold it! Now we have new neighbours here who own an overgrown jungle. They are clearing it all, putting down a weed deterrant & then will replant with manageable shrubs of their choice. They all serve a purpose for nature though.
Well Hazel, I agree that folk like to change/improve things when they move into a new home. These people have two cats and I really don't think a fence will keep them in, but I wish them luck anyway. Two other things a fence can't do - absorb the exhaust fumes from the vehicles on the back road or act as an effective wind break. We were told that wind speeds up here are about ten - fifteen mph. stronger than in Cardiff, and believe me - it can get very windy up here! One house lost its roof a couple of years ago, another had a greenhouse take a stroll into the next door garden - and fences have been blown down too... Like I said, I wish them luck! p.s. They're retired. I just grieve over the loss of so many hedges and wish folk would think a little before they take them out.
I agree it is sad to see them go, I object more to the wholesale cutting down of trees in our local area & then a big machine arrives to turn them into woodchip which goes off to heat the swimming pool in the local big town. What a rotton priority! It's supposedly "eco" because it's renewable, but only if they are replanted. I don't think anyone checks up.
I think you're right. It's all very well to say that the trees will be replaced but how do you replace a mature tree? It takes so many years for them to grow to their full stature and in the meantime it seems that 'nowadays they have vandalism to contend with as they grow. I sometimes think it's a sad world. I do take heart when I see the once industrial valleys greening over but often that gets spoilt by seeing acres of good farmland being bulldozed for housing, as is happening on several sites locally.
Still, on a happier note - a robin has started to build a nest in our climbing hydrangea and some blue-tits are prospecting the nest box in the hawthorne tree. Hope springs eternal!