Caring for the hedge

Another hedge mulching task with Stroud Valleys Project, this time for one that was planted by a different group a couple of years ago. The plants were generally in pretty good shape, but had been overtaken by bramble and bindweed.

We stocked up with mulch first from the depot and then walked further down the canal to Newtown where the hedge line was. The first part of the morning was spent wheelbarrowing the mulch from the back of the truck to the hedge line. There was a wire fence in the way, so it took two people to lift the barrow and tip over the edge.

After a tea and cake break (where we enjoyed delicious cake from Lisa and Mary) I headed over to the far end to start mulching the plants with the cut grass from the previous week. We then also clipped carefully to remove the worst of the bramble.

At one point we found the nest of a harvest mouse in a hawthorn, so we were careful not to disturb it any further in case it was in use. Just another reminder of the services that hedgerow provide to nature.