Making something out of very little!

Last Saturday I was out with SHG working on a hedge in a private garden near Lingfield. I say hedge but it was a very disjointed affair with many large gaps. Needless to say it rained on and off all day as seems to be the norm for most hedgelaying sessions this season. It looks thicker than it actually was because of the scrub Holly and Blackthorn that was out of the hedge-line and was later removed.

The shot below shows the cant that Fred and I worked on; part Hazel, part Blackthorn with some Hawthorn and a previously coppiced Holly in the center.

Looking the other way you get a view of the ditch and the bank riddled with rabbit holes. The hedge thinning to nothing beyond the culvert.

We removed all of the Holly except the main stem, where we raised the crown and left it as a standard. We laid back some of the Hazel and later double pleached a couple of stems to cover the gaps. Some of the Blackthorn was difficult as it had been debarked in the past by rabbits and had dead wood where you would like the pleach - that's the challenge of hedge laying for you.

At the end of the cant, and just before it made a right-angle turn, the old hedge petered out under a large Oak, however some replanting had been done recently, which with a bit of luck will thicken up despite the deep shade.

In the end we managed to make something presentable out of very little, and once it has a bit regrowth it should make a decent hedge.

This shot does not fully show, or do justice to, the nice smooth curve Fred got to the binders round the 90 degree turn in the hedge-line nearest the camera.

Cherkley Court

Last Saturday saw SHG at Cherkley Court for the first of three session this season. The house, gardens and estate once belonged to Lord Beaverbrook but are now being turned into an exclusive hotel, spa and golf course.

After several days of sunshine and heavy showers the day dawned dry and bright and the previous nights forecast indicated a mostly dry day. However, this was not to be the case and the showers soon arrived and remained with us for the rest of the session.

As you can see from the shot below the hedge is a maiden of some ten or so years; mostly Hawthorne with the odd rose, Field Maple and other species mixed in. Conveniently located alongside an internal roadway with the golf course taking shape in the background - the chalk subsoil showing clearly through the hedge.

There was a bit of discussion as to the species of the trees in the foreground. These had Hawthorne-like berries but noticeably larger, and sizeable spines on the branches, but the leaves did not resemble the native Hawthorn at all. It would appear that these are Cockspur Thorn (Crataegus persimilis 'Prunifolia'), although they have a more upright stance than most of the on-line descriptions and illustrations suggest but perhaps the crowns had been 'lifted' through judicious pruning.

  

It was decided that we would lay 100 yards in this first session and as the turnout was very good we put two cutters into each cant of about 10 yards. Although we all cut with hand tools, the size of the stems, ease of access to the hedge and lack of any entanglements in the crown, meant that very good progress was made and here my partner for the session Dick and I are about half way through laying.

As the cutters in the early cants finished laying the staking and binding teams got to work...

...and it didn't take long to complete the 100 yards. The stake-line looks slightly off-centre in the shot below. It was down the centre of the stems, however the post and rail fence on the right obstructs the tucking-in and pruning of that side of the hedge to some degree. Despite the recent rain the stakes were very hard to drive into the chalk, which here is only a few inches below the surface.

The last shot is of the cant that Dick and I laid. The safety barrier and chalk subsoil in the background detract somewhat but we understand that the rough and semi-rough on the golf course will be reinstated with native downland species, so in a few years it should be much improved.

The 2014 Nationals

The Nationals were held near Grantham in Lincolnshire on a dry sunny Saturday. Having driven through very heavy rain on the way up on Friday I was expecting the site to be waterlogged but in fact the 'going was soft' rather than muddy.

The SoE section was alongside a farm track and opposite the Midland section, just a stones throw from the main event site. We were able to park in the field next to our cants, which is always a great help.

In the photo below, those cutting in the Open class were nearest the camera, with the Intermediate class starting in the distance. We veterans were lumped in with the Intermediates and in fact there was only one non-veteran in the class.

The cants were ten meters (eleven yards) for both classes, which was a bit of a surprise and the stakes and binders left something to be desired. However, we were all in the same boat and the hedge was even throughout with a few large stems in each cant, no difficult under-storey but very tangled at the top where it had been flailed repeatedly.

As usual the five hours flew by and it was a rush to get my bit finished, so no time for photos during laying. I could have done with another half hour to put some finishing touches but did get the basics finished. The build was OK but the stake line was rushed and could have been a lot better as it wandered out of the hedge-centre towards one end. 

My cant is below with the Midland cutters across the track and the event marquees behind them.

I managed a third place in the Intermediates behind Dave and Lex and all in all I was happy with that as a fair result. Below is a shot of Dave's winning hedge.

The SoE Open class was won by Paul with this...

 

 ...and his very nice stake line.

 

This is a shot down the SoE section from Intermediates towards the Open class in the distance.

And for something different, this is Gary's cant in the Derby class.

Despite the length of the cants it was another great event as the Nationals always are. A nice meal at the hotel and a few drinks in the bar afterwards completed the day.

Oh, and Ian won the SoE regrowth prize - hurrah.