You'll by now have probably gathered that I LOVE hedges. I think they are such an out-and-out winner for so much garden wildlife.
So I thought today's blog could be very pictorial, in the hope that it will inspire someone out there - maybe you! - to take up our special offer with Ashridge Trees and plant one (remember to quote the special code RSAT112 to get your discount and for Ashridge to make their donation to the RSPB).
So I just took out my camera for ten minutes this week into my small front garden, where I have about 10 metres of hedge.
The elegant Hawthorn leaves, neatly nibbled, are beginning to turn yellow.
The Field Maple leaves are well on their way too - they can be one of the yellowest leaves of any of our native trees.
The Dog Rose hips are looking vibrant, waiting for a Greenfinch to find them.
What I bought as 'Dogwood', expecting black berries, turned out to be Cornus sericea with white berries. But lovely nevertheless. (Shame the ladybird on it was a Harlequin!)
And these are the leaves of Burnet Rose, neatly etched with the trails of leafminers. (I think in this case they are of one of the Stigmella micromoths, but is there an expert out there who can put me right?).
To me, my hedge is a never-ending delight of life, colour and texture. Oh, and it has been so cheap compared to a fence too - now there's a thought to keep me extra happy!
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 read a lovely story a few years ago concerning birds nesting in a hedge. A woman wrote in to a magazine to say that her horse was being difficult and wouldn't let her catch him. Instead, he led her into the paddock and pointed with his nose to the hedge. She looked inside and found a bird's nest.