Dead hedges

1 year old dead hedge in early spring. Soon plants will grow through and hide it from view.

When we first moved here one of the essentials on my shopping list was a fairly heavy duty shredder. The garden had been so neglected that almost every plant inside of its one acre size required pruning. This shredder saw a huge amount of use for the first year. I didn't use it at all in the second.

 

Why? Well, it was noisy. Heavy. And slightly scary :-) I also hated to see the timber wasted even though it was often small twigs.

 

Needing privacy along one side of the garden I proceeded to make a dead hedge. It was an experiment. Much of the prunings that year found their way into that hedge, building up a row of privacy between us and the large garden gateway past which many people would walk on a sunny weekend. This worked, I no longer feel on display whilst working in the garden.

 

My premise was that I could use the wood as kindling in the future. If I didn't it wouldn't be a disaster as the prunings would simple rot back into the earth whilst providing a great habitat for the wildlife.



 

Two years later here I am, starting to clear out one of the dead hedges. The wood is brittle and snaps easily. It is being used as kindling. The shredder is sold.