SEHLS at Ticehurst

Out with SEHLS near Ticehurst on Saturday. Another wet day, although it did brighten up in the afternoon - I don't mind working in the rain but do dislike having wet gloves.

This was an interesting job, as the hedge was around part of a smallholding, and whilst in parts it was a planted two-row hedge of mostly Hawthorne with a few stems of Beach, Spindle and Field Maple, other sections were the remains of an old and overgrown garden hedge full of exotic species.

I was working on one of the more straightforward sections and you can see that the hedge was about eight feet high and had been cut several times at about five foot. A bit tangled and knotted but generally light and easy to lay with hand tools. The only minor problem was that we were laying left handed.

Getting it down now and trying to cover the pleachers with what little material there is. Trimmed off the lower branches of the Oak standard but this had suffered some damage in the past at about five foot putting a kink in the trunk and making it a little uneven. Still raining, and getting muddy now.

 

Hedge laid, weather clearing up and just a bit of tidying up to do. 

 This shot shows most of the main run of hedge but there were three other sections, all different in character which unfortunately I didn't photograph.