I trailed my fingers through a beech hedge as I walked home earlier, then retraced my steps to run my hand though it again. The leaves were still (just) young, tender: at the bright stage. They felt soft, feathery, light. I particularly like this moment in the hedge's year. Soon, the leaves will have stiffened and darkened: assumed a tougher and more mature posture.
The clever thing about a beech hedge is that, even after the autumn frosts, it retains its brown leaves. Through the winter, many of the leaves cling on, so, though deciduous, it provides all-year-round cover.
The clever thing about a beech hedge is that the old leaves only drop off as the new ones push their ways through.
No comments:
Post a Comment