I did (most of) a horrible job today. The hawthorn clump, to the right of the oil tank, has been turning into a small woodland for a few years now, and a plan to reduce it in height and width, for easier control in the future, has been put off for almost too long.
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I had done half of it by the time of that photo, mostly with loppers, but a few bits had to be sawn.
Eventually, I felt that it was OK, the ivy at the back was left viable, as the shaded part of nextdoor's cypress hedge won't green up now.
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The more observant of the long-term inmates here may notice that they have a good view of
@Carole's butt there (and on her birthday, too!).
To the right of the hawthorn section, it is mostly hazel - that was a lot easier and most of that is shredded now and placed as a mulch on a nearby bed that I've cleared up a bit.
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This is actually an ancient boundary hedge between two townlands and I like to remind the neighbours that they are outsiders.
Further along, towards the shed, it changes to much larger, but also much 'easier' elder shrubs - a job for the winter.
I still have all the hawthorn to shred, but I may do that in stages.