Pig Sty Avenue

Maybe it's something primeval, the need to secure a growing space with a hedge. The Secretary Formerly Known As Bee Lady has not gotten back to me about more bare root hedging plants. I don't know what the story is there, but must proceed under my own steam for now. This winter I'll plant the gorse right around the boundary, in a staggered row with gaps to be filled subsequently. Assuming the seedlings don't get waterlogged or dried out over the summer, there are 200, enough for a staggered row 1ft apart around most of the boundary. For the rest, I'm going to buy (yes, I know) blackthorn seeds , and stratify them this winter to plant next winter. Also silver birch , (the first tree I learned to recognise when I was a small child). Thinking further ahead, maybe several thousand years further ahead, I'm going to stratify yew , (the price of rootballed yew is outrageous - so there's a big profit margin if you have a bit of ground and patience). Holly has ...

As of this morning, I've got 9/10 gorse seeds germinated. Of those, 2 seem to have a problem shedding their seed coats, But let's say a 75% germination rate, and I've estimated I've got 400+ seeds, so that's as many as 300 plants for 280ft of boundary, (250 for now, actually: the S boundary is shaded by its fence, so gorse probably won't do; I'm thinking holly and yew, eventually). I counted up the soft fruit bushes and other odds and ends of plants already in the hedgerow, and 31 have quickened. The hawthorn and alder have been disappointing. Zero hawthorn germinated, so there's something clearly wrong there: even without stratification, I've noticed in the past, you get a 1-2% germination rate; these buggers had 2 months in the fridge. The alder, I've got maybe 6 germinated of several hundred. I'll prepare a finely riddled bed for the hawthorn and alder. They can go in there any time soon. I'll have to keep a close eye on the weeds....