Another Hedge Update

The days got nice again on Monday, which means I'm back at the hedge trimming. There really isn't much left to do. So I'm taking my time, hoping against hope that the town will fill in the roadside ditch before I get to the final part.

The short section along our road. Done!

The roadside hedge is in two sections: a short section along the front yard and a long section along the back yard. The inside has been done for a while. So my first step was to finish the short section. I stood in the ditch to do the vertical part, and bridged the ditch with old shutters to get the ladder close enough to do the top. It was pretty easy, but there's not much of it to do.

The long section behind the house is all that's left to finish.

The longer section is harder because of having to move the shutters every couple of meters. But rather than get started on that, I decided to cut a notch out of the tallest part of the hedge between us and the neighbor. It's on the northeast corner and is right up against the neighbor's fence. There's also a pear tree very close on our side of the yard.

The notch.

I figured that by notching the hedge, it will be easier to trim next year. I won't have to teeter on the ladder where the hedge is tallest and dodge the limbs of the pear tree. I also think that the notch adds a little je ne sais quoi to the whole thing. Like sculptcha (that's "sculpture" in New Yorkese).

*** UPDATE: I finished the vertical part of the long hedge on Wednesday. Just the top left to do.

*** UPDATE: This morning I finished the top. Now it's all done for another year.