In preparation for building the entrance to Willowbrook, We have had the old Shea oak (
Casuarina) hedging removed along the frontage of the property, and the stumps ground in order to replant it with 300 metres of
Cupressocyparis Ovensii hedging.
Ovensii are, for all intents and purposes, identical to their more ubiquitous cousins
Cupressocyparis leylandii, however unlike
leylandii,
Ovensii are canker resistant. You can see the men cutting down the Shea Oaks in the photo above, and note on the far side of the road is a nice
Cupressocyparis leylandii hedge. The hedge on the other side of the road runs for about 300 metres, so we have matched it all the way along the road on our side . We have already had neighbours stop by and say how good the road looks with the Shea oaks gone, and how great they think it will look once the two hedges match (which is very kind of them). It certainly will give the entrance real presence.
Below: Leylandii with patches of canker. Once it starts there is nothing you can do about it.
We must give a big thanks to Harry and Lloyd at
Wairere Nursery, who sourced our new Cupressocyparis trees, they are already 5 feet tall, so we have a good start to the hedge. Wairere has their annual sale on at present, so pop by and check out the nursery along with the stunning display gardens.
Below: a before shot. Note the Casuarina (close up above) - no matter how tightly you trim them they always ends up looking manky. Maybe a fine tree for the outback, but not a tidy hedging choice.
Above and Below: The after shots.
Each tree is planted 3 feet apart. Hopefully they will establish their roots well over winter and be away in the spring.
Eventually they should provide a nice tidy hedge like the Leyland hedge below.
With the view opened up we can see the prized bulls at the stud across the road...
