We start today with a little trip back in time. It's August 2005, and here (left) was the state of my new native hedge. Hawthorn was the main ingredient, with Blackthorn, Dogwood, Wayfaring Tree, Privet and Field Maple, plus some Dog and Burnet Rose to clamber through.
The little whips, which had gone in two winters before, were just beginning to flesh out. They'd had a severe pruning when they went in the ground, and a second one the next winter, and now at last they were looking more like little bushes than just twigs in the ground.
Goodness knows where the five years have gone since, but here's how she is looking right now (right). If it were a child, you might be saying, "Hasn't she grown". Oh, yes, and she has a mind of her own now, too!
My 'management regime' (gosh, that sounds posh - I don't normally call it that) is to keep her in check one side one winter and the other the next. And what you're looking at here is the 'outside' which went unpruned last winter. From this side she will look a little more under control by next March!
The great thing about the 'one side at a time' technique is that it allows the Blackthorn and Hawthorn in particular to flower on the uncut side, and thus produce berries. And the House Sparrows love it, and the Wrens love it, and Blackbirds and Dunnocks.
What I really like is that I can now take a photo that looks like a slice of countryside, when if I panned backwards you'd see it sits in a world of tarmac, bumper to bumper cars and densely-packed houses. It may not be an image of orderliness and tidiness, but I like to think I've brought a bit of life to my neighbourhood.
If you want to drop by my RSPB wildlife gardening blog, it is updated every Friday, and I'd love to see you there - www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/hfw
I would like to know how your Burnet rose is doing? I've got a Dog rose and last year a Sweetbriar, and have just ordered a Field rose, but was uncertain about how Burnet roses grow and what they need soilwise.