It’s been a couple of years since I wove willow around blackthorn
(Prunus spinosa) stumps near the chalk pond at Stave Hill Ecological Park. That
summer it looked something like what you see pictured above.
Nettles, garlic mustard and goosegrass were abundant and later on taken
by new blackthorn shoots. This year I cut is all these back, ahead of birds
nesting in the new thicket, and added freshly cut willow styakes from a
pollarded fence nearby to the existing low fedges – see also this post from more info and images.
I might weave a few more stakes before the new spring growth prevents me
from doing so and hides the work once again. I’m hoping this time to make a
better job of documenting the transformation on the ground in the coming
months. Keep you posted…
