Regenerating the front hedge

Our front hedge has long been neglected and we decided to be severe with it, a lengthy but necessary process. The hedge is formed from Escallonia shrubs and has been in situ for more than thirty years. It is a pretty hedge with pale pink flowers, however due to our neglect it is now more than twenty feet high and although the top is still flower and leaf rich, the lower reaches are brown, bare and dead looking, by hard pruning, we are hoping to replace the dead brown looking bottom six feet, with a lush flower and leaf rich growth.

It is a slow process and the fifteen feet lengths cut off all have to be chopped up, bagged and taken to the tip. I can see this job lasting several weeks, but I am so looking forward to the new regenerated hedge that will be there next summer.

The long pieces cut off have been piled on the lawn, first pile went onto the top lawn, the next pile moved down to the middle lawn, these piles are enormous being fifteen to twenty feet across and eight feet high, there is a lot of work to be done in the clearing of them, meanwhile the pile on the middle lawn, which is outside the patio window and was a source of irritation at first has become a constant delight as it has become a haven for birds.