Clearance

Our ongoing work on the 'wildlife hedge' of our orchard plot is now inspired by the new (replacement) fence.  This weekend I transplanted two jostaberry bushes to fill a gap in the bed that has the honeysuckle.  The damson tree that we moved there a couple of seasons ago now has room to breathe and more sunlight.  M is coming tomorrow armed with the loppers to cut out more dead bramble canes.

Working from left to right we uncovered a rambling rose that we had wrongly assumed belonged to a household over the fence.   We can now prune it and train it along the hedgeline. 

As we cut out the dead blackberries we plan to replace them with a live hedge specifically holly which self-seeds in many of the gardens we tend.  Our customers will be glad if we take this away.  Holly will then provide shelter and food in its new location. 

Winter is a good time for clearance.  Last week a customer hired us for this very purpose.  We filled all the recycling bins available to us.  It will all break down eventually in the composting facilities that our group of boroughs support.

Clearance takes you back to the boundaries of garden and plot and gives you an idea of what is really there.  Brambles, nettles, ivy are all hacked to the ground, chopped up small and dug out if time permits.  Clearance gives you a chance to cherish what is worth keeping and replant in the gaps.  Light comes in and you sense you are in a bigger and better space.