I was drawn to this article in the Mail and the picture of the magnificent old Yew hedge dating back to 1550.
Peter Pidgley certainly has his work cut out, especially as he is working alone (not sure of the legalities of this now).
The picture shows Peter standing at the foot of an aluminium ladder which is leaning against the hedge. It is apparent to me that using a scaffolding tower is not appropriate because the hedge is so wide and leans back so far.
We have hired a hydraulic platform on a few occasions which does make life easier but you need a stable grounding too and I remember, whilst maintaining the grounds of North Foreland Lodge Girls School - Sarah Ferguson's old school - in Sherfield-on-Loddon, cutting the old formal Yew hedges around the swimming pool, with a vehicle mounted platform and unfortunately getting stuck and causing ruts in the grass.
Sometimes, manual labour and the basics of tools is the best route which leads me on to one very basic tip.
If you add a rigid plank to the top of your ladder (as shown in the
illustration - click to enlarge) you will find that you can get up
close and personal with the hedge without the ladder falling through.
The arrangement makes the working platform very stable and it is as
cheap as chips.
On Yew or closely clipped conifer, a ladder will make marks. Using a board will spread the weight leaving no trace and make it a lot safer for you in the process.
Ironically, North Foreland Lodge School was also strapped for cash (closed in about 2002 due to cash flow and falling attendances) that we sold the Yew clippings too for Cancer research although I cannot remember the company involved.
Buy a hedge cutter here
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