Once upon a time, this land was all fields which were bordered, at regular intervals, by hawthorn trees.
Looking along the line from the bottom of my garden, the remnants of most of them can still be picked out. Unfortunately, most are now nearing the end of their natural span and needing quite a lot of attention. In fact, two winters ago, a largish piece snapped off my next door neighbour's hawthorn and landed in the garden of the gentleman at the bottom. It did a little damage, so he wasn't overly impressed. As a result, my neighbour had his taken down completely.
I have twice had mine cut back, but, this year decided that it needed a vigorous pollarding. I was a bit reluctant because I do enjoy the white blossom in the spring. The result, however, has been a real opening up of what was already a lovely view and I can now see the tops of the distant ridge of hills from downstairs as well as up.
Drawing back, reveals more of the garden. The pure white pear blossom, which has been promising for a few days, has finally delivered, the delicate pink cherry is still in full show-off mode and the Kerria japonica (Jew's mallow) looks like a splash of bright yellow sunshine.
After years of watching narrow strips of sky between lines of terraced houses, I count myself richly blessed to have a view and a garden like this :)
