The pandemic restrictions have affected us, here on the avenue, but thankfully not as badly as they could have done. We have taken healthy walks, delivered cake to friends and neighbours, prayed more, cooked more and kept in touch with family and church by phone and electronic media.
The back garden has seen the benefit of new coats of paint on our fence, our shed and the home made planters, all in a tasteful shade of darker brown.
Finally we turned our attention to our boundary hedge. The time had come to reduce the height of the hawthorn, holly and privet. Why stop there, we thought, the time had also come to remove the Leyland Cypresses that had been planted along our boundary to shield us from the park.
Once we examined these we discovered some interesting features. The cypresses had been pruned before but that had not stopped parts of the trees from dying. They had grown into and distorted the hedge. They had risen to such a height that they blocked the early morning sunlight. They were covered in ivy, which, unchecked, was also strangling the hedge. The hedge that had looked so strong and green from our side was actually a mess and needed to come down to a height of around seven feet. With the consent of our neighbours we set about it.
So far my husband has demolished four trees. We have two to go. Already the area behind our hedge, once a jungle, is now a glade. Sunlight glances on the hazel bushes. Holly that was once long and straggly is beginning to grow again. The hawthorn will regenerate and the evergreen logs we have left in place will become a bug haven as they decompose. Everything changed as it was opened up - we just have to keep it that way.
