So I was up at 6:45 this morning so walk round to my local Post Office depot to pick up my native hedge that I ordered online last week.
It actually arrived yesterday but the postman didn't knock, and when I left for work all I found was the red note on the doormat indicating he had been- how infuriating!! As my bare root trees would now have to sit in the depot for a whole day extra without water- just because the postman didn't knock on the door! I was in!
So I picked up the box about 7 this morning – it was pretty heavy (its times like this i wish i had a car) and took it home to pot up the plants before I headed off to work.
They were very well packaged and no major damage at all to the plants only 1 snapped side branch- even better i dont think i knocked off any buds when unpacking or potting up the plants- which I thought was amazing considering they were all tied together and i manage to knock off my Japanese Acers buds reckless abandon when walking past the pot as im so clumsy! (speaking of Japanese Acers- of my potted plants my autropurpureum on the side of the pond i discovered to my horror is covered in scale insect on its stems and trunk- i must do something baout it this weekend). This hedge is destined to be put up on the allotment- so they would have to be potted up for a few weeks before they can be planted up there. I only had half a bag of compost- so I ended up putting the 33 plants together in 6 pots.
It actually arrived yesterday but the postman didn't knock, and when I left for work all I found was the red note on the doormat indicating he had been- how infuriating!! As my bare root trees would now have to sit in the depot for a whole day extra without water- just because the postman didn't knock on the door! I was in!
So I picked up the box about 7 this morning – it was pretty heavy (its times like this i wish i had a car) and took it home to pot up the plants before I headed off to work.
They were very well packaged and no major damage at all to the plants only 1 snapped side branch- even better i dont think i knocked off any buds when unpacking or potting up the plants- which I thought was amazing considering they were all tied together and i manage to knock off my Japanese Acers buds reckless abandon when walking past the pot as im so clumsy! (speaking of Japanese Acers- of my potted plants my autropurpureum on the side of the pond i discovered to my horror is covered in scale insect on its stems and trunk- i must do something baout it this weekend). This hedge is destined to be put up on the allotment- so they would have to be potted up for a few weeks before they can be planted up there. I only had half a bag of compost- so I ended up putting the 33 plants together in 6 pots.
I bought the plants from Danny from Botanica (http://www.botanica.org.uk/), who are based in Suffolk. Was very impressed with the quality of the plants and the customer service received.
So onto the good stuff- what did I get?????
Note the 30 pots of Asparagus to be planted out on the allotment!
Well I figured rather than buy a Hawthorn or Blackthorn based hedge- go for a complete mix of species which should encourage a broader range of wildlife.
So I got:
Field Maple (Acer campestre)
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Common Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)
Spindle Tree (Euonymus europaeus)
Wayfairing Tree (Viburnum lantana)
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
Field Rose (Rosa arvensis)
Hazel (Corylus avallana)
Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Wild Pear (Pyrus communis)
Wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis)
Scots Rose (Rosa spinosissima)
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Silver Birch Tree (Betula pendula)
Rowan (Sorbus acuparia)
That's 17 species in total and 2 of each species- I think I will let the birch grow into trees but the rest will be grown in the hedge.
Im trying to decide how high the hedge should be- I think I will let it grow to about 4 feet- this should provide some privacy from neighbouring plots but not too tall to block out the light.
Anyhow- am very pleased so far with the delivery and cant wait to get them planted out! Roll on the 4 day weekend!
I wonder why the Scots Pine made it into the hedge mix? Grows into a massive tree, and wouldn't take any pruning too well!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was for your garden at first, but then it clicked! When do we see pictures of the allotment? A friend of mine has just been working on her first allotment - it was overgrown with dense turf! Apparently the guy told her it needed just a little bit of work... more like a lot of work...
Hey Rob!
ReplyDeleteI chose all the plant individually- so many species are not really considered good hedgerow plants (eg Betula, Rowan and the Scots Pine) They will be put elsewhere on the allotment to give me some height. (Will might have to wait a while for the Scots pine!).
My other half is getting a little sceptical about the number of non veggies going into the plot!
Thye allotment site will get a post all to itself soon- however we are actually still waiting for the plot to be officially ours- apparently the owners are yet to come pick up some of their plants they want to keep so it means we have to wait while they get round to doing it – grrrrr!!!!
Ive so many plants on my patio that need planting out on the allotment! Aspargus, onions, cabbages!!
I used to have a massive Scots pine in my garden. The birds loved it - I even had woodpeckers and Goldcrests visit it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see how big the allotment is - hope the people move their things soon. Must be very frustrating!