Over six days the Garden team at Bridge End Garden has reduced the height of over half of the 600m long yew hedge Maze.  

Said Senior Gardener, Nathan Doe, ‘It took 33 person days to cut the hedges: cutting, removing the clippings along the endless Maze paths and then chipping, feeding and spreading mulch.  I am very proud of my team who worked very hard to get the work done before the start of the bird nesting season.’ 

They were helped by Rob Mcleod, the Garden Doctor who is a hedge specialist; he provided training for the first two days.  The hedges have become very high and wide, reducing path widths and this is the start of a 10 year programme to rejuvenate the hedges.  The outer and inner hedges have been retained at their existing height and these will be cut next February. 

Nathan said they had decided to open the Maze earlier than Easter and you can see the work for yourself from the 28 March when it reopens to the public. ‘ Please treat the hedges with respect’ asked Nathan. ‘the hedges need to regrow so please don’t barge through gaps and keep to the path’.

(NOTE: The maze will close at midday on Fridays, until Good Friday 18th April. Thereafter the maze will be open Friday afternoons.)

Photo credits: Richard Strong.

Caption: The team of gardeners working on the hedge were: (Left to right) Charles Courtney, Lee Barker, Rob Mcleod, Nathan Doe, and Steven Gates.

Caption photo 2: Yew hedge restoration in action on the maze (left to right) Alex Mcneil, Nathan Doe, Steven Gates