But this time serious tree trouble….. The large oak which stood at the edge of Millfield Lane opposite the Stock Pond causeway. I saw it on my way back aross the heath this afternoon and stopped to talk to Ranger Paul who was trying to clear a gulley beneath its torn up roots to let …
#Heath_hands
Hacking holly – and mid winter sun
This was intended to be a post about an extremely enjoyable morning hacking holly earlier this week (see below) – but the winter sun on the heath as I walked back from South End Green this afternoon was so lovely that I could not resist including it. And how irrestibile were those mandarin ducks on …
Clearing out the Hill Garden pond
A rather grey day last week saw the full complement of gardeners in thigh high waders gathered around the Hill Garden pond to attack the sedge and the water mint. As with so much else during the pandemic, both had taken advantage of the reduced gardening input to go forth and multiply – to the …
The 2022 Conker Championship!
Sunday was a very exciting day! The return of the annual Hampstead Heath Conker Championship, banished for two long years by the pandemic. And the figures showed how much it had been missed – over 300 registered competitors and hundreds of spectators. Heath Hands also raised over £300 in donations and sales, launched the new …
On the heath and in the cemeteries
I realise that it is months since I reported on the goings on around the heath and in the cemeteries – so here we go with a quick round up. And while the weeds with which we battled throughout the spring are always with us, I am happy to say that we have now largely …
Managing the Tormented Heath
Actually, it was introduced to us as the Tormented Slope but Tormented Heath has so much more of a ring to it. In fact, charred slope might have been closer, as burnt to a crisp it certainly was. However, the ‘tormented’ had nothing to do with its scorching and everything to do with the tormentil. …