Hazel-nuttery

The north edge of our property borders on a narrow wood that separates us from a vineyard just beyond. On either side of the property line are two rows of noisetiers (hazelnut trees) that towered about twenty-five feet tall. When we moved here ten years ago, a rudimentary fence (just a string of barbed wire nailed to posts) ran down between the two rows and along the length of the north edge of our property.

The trimmed hazelnut row inside our yard. Taken on Friday 09 August 2013.

We had that fence replaced pretty quickly. The fence closed in the yard so our dog, Collette, wouldn't wander the neighborhood. It had the added benefit of keeping the deer out of the yard and away from what would become our vegetable garden. We kept the nut trees, thinking that it would be nice to have a crop of hazelnuts every year. We soon learned that what the nut-boring weevils didn't get, the local squirrels did.

Almost the same view, but outside the fence, taken last spring before the work began.

I tried pruning the trees and cutting suckers off at ground level for a couple of years, but soon gave up in favor of other, more important chores. I had seen hazelnuts pruned hard to create a hedge and thought that we should do that. The years went on and, finally last year, we contracted with a gardener to cut the trees down to about four feet. He did the work this past spring and, at first, they looked pretty bare.

Above, looking the other way, the trees inside the fence being cut down to size last May.

Below, almost the same view on Friday after I finished trimming. The space between the hedge and fence is just right for the lawnmower.

But now that a few months have passed, the trees sprouted new growth and are filling in. I noticed recently that the new growth was getting pretty tall, so I got the hedge trimmer out and leveled the shrubs back to the cut height. The job was pretty easy because I could stay on the ground; no ladders necessary. Now it's starting to look like a proper hedge.