Late last winter we planted 16 willow in the poultry paddock in the area we thought we would build a pond in, but because of the Avian Flu lockdowns and subsequent water access restrictions, we shelved that idea. 13 of the willow seem to have survived and so today we (David) strimmed the area to give the young saplings a bit of breathing space and hopefully, more chance to really grow. We also left a fair bit of the blackthorn in situ as well, our thinking being that a mixed willow/blackthorn mini copse will make quite a nice feature. It will also encourage a bit more wildlife and be a great place for shade and cover for the birds. As the photo shows, we tied yellow tape around all the trees we were keeping so that they were easy to spot and keep away from when we strimmed. Be great to take another picture at the end of the year and see the difference!!