Monday 21 September 2020
After a lovely but busy weekend, waking up this morning was a bit of a struggle and I feel like the fogginess of the morning stuck with me throughout the day.
Today, we kicked off the week with a litter round. Seeing as the country feels days from a huge lockdown, people went ham with the public drinking last weekend and we collected two full bags of rubbish.
After our first break of the day, we went back to Greyfriars to finish cutting the low Euonymus japonicus hedge. I also worked on three Ilex topiary balls and managed not to make them look like eggs on their sides like last time!
This afternoon, we spent some time cutting six Taxus baccata hedges. When cutting Taxus, you tend to cut at an angle, creating a wider base and a tapered top. This allows more sunlight to reach the base of the hedge, encouraging vigorous growth and promoting overall health for the hedge. As the hedges were almost as tall as me, Laurence worked on the tops of the hedges using the long-arm hedgecutter and I cut the sides with the normal hedgecutter.
I’m starting to feel more confident cutting different species and heights of hedges and if the feeling in my arms right now is anything to go by, I’m going to be JACKED by the end of this apprenticeship.
Lili Barras-Hargan 