Hi folks,
Thanks for the replies. Sorry for not coming back before now but I lost my internet connection, then a bit of work turned up before I could get it sorted (can't afford to neglect customers).
To belatedly answer the questions, there are no fences yet (I'll be putting one up to retain the animals of course).
Thanks for the warning on cutting at head height - that was what I was thinking of doing (I had to do that to one of the hawthorns as there was such a weight of Ivy on its top that it was starting to uproot in a moderate breeze).
Don't know how to post pics, though I may have a go once I've taken a pic...
I stopped all work on the hedge for the summer for the birds. The idea of laying the hedge (in the autumn) sounds good but I think that may be impractical for much of the hedge as it's now made largely of a few large wide-spaced trunks that are too big to lay (Assuming my idea of what hedge laying is is accurate - half-cutting stems and laying them over). How large a stem can be laid? If head-height trimming is not the answer, then I suspect it'll be a case of planting saplings in the gaps?
thanks again for your replies, and I'll try not to disappear again after posting a question (*?*!!#~ computers!
)
mab