Hedge planting 1994 (photos)
Hedge planting 1994 (photos)
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A good turnout, on a gloomy Saturday in December 1994. Volunteers begin planting Bloomer's Hedge.
Note the use of plastic mulch matting. This was put down a few days before, over a 'Rotovated' strip of ground.
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Mulch matting helps keeps the ground warm and moist. It also suppresses the growth of grass and weeds that could compete for nutrients with the young hedglings
We normally use bare-rooted plants, of local origin. For a big job like this, we also needed to buy in material from reputable growers.
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And here's how it looked a few weeks later. We have had a survival rate of over 90% with these plants, despite the following summer being one of the hottest of recent years.
You can just make out the chalk pits on the North Downs in the centre background. These long sweeping views of the Downs are a major feature of the reserve and we take them into account in all our planning.
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Six years later, in late autumn 2000, the hedge shows what it's made of. This dramatic show of fruit is by one of the Guelder Rose shrubs. It not only looks fine, it provides much-needed food for birds. (And, yes, Guelder Rose is a native plant.)
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And, in June 2002, visitors were able to enjoy this wonderful display of rose blooms.
The hedge is about five feet high in this picture. Although only eight years old, it will be ready for laying in just another year or two.
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See how long the grass is, yet it's not due for mowing for another two months. You can't tell from this photo but the meadow here is full of Bird's-foot Trefoil (Common and Greater). This is the food plant for several species of butterfly and their caterpillars.