Tidying the Hedge

Winter is a challenge for many.  It is not unusual for people to hold on through the summer months, to let go in the cold of winter, so it is a busy for funeral directors and natural burial grounds like ourselves.  Being outdoors in all weathers can be hard work, and where life is hard the need to find beauty and inspiration is greatest. At Sun Rising, the first shoots of daffodils leaves are coming through the grass.  Primroses are flowering on the occasional grave, hardy and determined, despite the heavy frosts.  Catkins are hanging from the bare branches of a few of our hazel trees, tight and pale at first, growing in in length until, honey-yellow, they open.  The tender new buds of growth on the dog roses are another sign that is heartening. A task of these cold winter months is to cut back the hedges.  Around the car park we’ve just done this, giving a tidy feel for the new growth to come.  Allowing a little curve on the top to avoid the unnatural straight lines created by the side-arm flails along the country lanes, we hope the hedge will bush up well this summer.  Maybe this time next year we’ll be able to lay the hedge.

The Trimmed Car Park Hedge at Sun Rising

The Trimmed Car Park Hedge at Sun Rising

Do let us know what signs of you spring you find at the burial ground and around the nature reserve?