1st load of granite (approx 20 tons) and soil (Oct 6)

The digger prepares the footings,

before laying the first courses, (Oct 6)

Oct 8, things are starting to look good

By the 13th Oct, the hedge is really taking shape

16th Oct and it is getting bigger

but we are running out of granite

Oct 21. After a new delivery of granite and soil, and a visit from Storm Aurore, things progress to the end game

Today, Oct 22. The Cornish hedge is now finished, and the ground prepared for the mixed hedge. (Beech, Copper Beech, Hornbeam, Hawthorn, Yew, Holly and witch hazle)

Now all the hedge needs is to be planted out, I have:-

Calluna vulgaris

Erica carnea - 4 different cultivars

Erica x darleyensis - 3 different cultivars

Erica vagens

Alyssoides utriculata (Greek Bladderpod)

Anemone nemorosa (Wood Anemone)

Armeria maritime (Thrift)

Erigeron karvinskianus (Seaside Daisy)

Plantago coronopus (Buck's-horn Plantain)

Ulex gallii (western gorse)

Sedum anglican (English stonecrop)

Polypodium vulgare (common polypody)

Scilla verna (Spring Squill)

I also have lots of seed and other seedlings coming on, but just too many to list. The above are what are champing at the bit, waiting to go into the hedge.

Tomorrow, though, I start on the mixed hedge.

Fof

What great stonework! It is a thing of beauty in and of itself. You have been very busy and I look forward to seeing more pics! Good on you!!

@thefof Zone 8/9 UK Beautiful! Have never heard the term ”Cornish Hedge” for a stone wall but easy to understand how the name came to be. I do hope you’ll share pictures once your plantings are in. That’s the fun part! Curious - what is the little creature in your ID picture? Is it a garden friend or foe?

That is great work. Well done.

tj

Gorgeous. I won‘t ask what it cost but I’m delighted there are still craftspeople with the skills to build them and that you’ve dumped the leylandii for one. The old ones are entire ecosystems and little worlds of their own. I recall diving behind a wonderful old one on the north coast cliff tops and lying in a ditch to avoid being blown off my feet by an atlantic gale. I noted the Celtic shovel propped against it too. Our US friends might not realise how unusual that is.

A very interesting form of wall building. Your plant list looks like it is going to be a flowering Cornish Hedge and lower maintenance to boot.

Now off to find out what is so special about a Celtic shovel.

@thefof Zone 8/9 UK Thank you so much for your very informative & interesting explanation! @floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK is spot on that at least this US friend did not realize how unusual your stone wall is. Your explanation helps me appreciate the true value of your wall. My knowledge of Cornwall countryside is limited to the beautiful scapes shown on our PBS TV channel with shows imported from UK - Doc Martin, All Creatures Great and Small and the like! My personal UK travels were limited to London.

That little possum is much more appealing looking than our local possum critters!

Hi floral. All I will say is that it cost a bit more than £100.00.

The leylandii had been gone for some time and the stumps were pretty rotten. What I was replacing was a 1.8m wooden fence, as in pic #1, that completely surrounded the property.

Those Atlantic gales are something, aren't they. Thank god for the hedges to hide behind.

Christopher - You bet. I intend to do as little as possible to it. Low maintenance is the way to go. The harder I have to work, the more heat and CO2 I generate which all contributes to global warming. Lay back, chill out and help cool the planet is my motto.

KW - You would have seen Cornish hedges in the Doc Martin programs, but those in All Creatures Great & Small are the rubble filled, dry stone walls of Yorkshire and Dales. A totally different animal.

A lot of people in Aus consider the Brush-tailed to be a pest. I think they are great. I was at my place in Queensland, one year, and went out the back, without checking first. There were 6-8 young ones all stuffing their faces on the bird seed. Their responce to my appearing was to dash to the top of a tree. The problem was that they all climbed the same tree, a young (10' or there abouts) Melaleuca styphelioides ( Prickly Leafed Paperbark) I had planted. The result was the top of the tree bowed over, snapped off and dumped them all. The tree never got over it.

It’s the shovel I was referring to as unusual. We mostly use spades here, not long handled shovels. That shovel style remained in Western areas.

The Erigeron will go nuts and would probably arrive of its own accord. It isn’t a native species and I remember never seeing it as a kid. My first sighting was in France. Now it’s spread everywhere.

I know the Erigeron is an alien, but I do like it, as do the bees. As you say, it is everywhere, so one more site will make zero difference. I first found it in Aus where I used it as a very drought tolerent ground cover. It is as tough as old boots.

This was so interesting, thank you for sharing.

I find the Erigeron benefits from occasional close clipping to keep it a bit neater. I have it growing on steps it in my tiny garden .... uninvited of course. It’s naturalised here but I didn’t intend to imply it’s invasive or that you shouldn’t plant it.

No fret floral. Down here, it appears at times, to be invasive, as it seems to be everywhere, like ancient monuments (including me :-)) ).

A hack back everytime it looks straggly does it the world of good, and reminds it who the "boss is".