On a horrible wet day last November I used 90 bare-root whips to plant a native hedge in a species mix approved by the RSPB as a potential home and food source for the local birds. A whip is basically a 600mm twig with no leaves and a rather sorry looking clutch of dried roots at one end. Their appearance did not inspire confidence.

Undeterred, I used a bulb planter to take a good deep plug of soil out of the ground. Into the bottom of this hole I sprinkled some mycorrhizal fungi which made contact with the whip roots as they were eased into position. The operation was completed by backfilling with fresh soil then inserting a support cane for the tiny tree and its spiral rabbit guard.

Dripping wet and cold after completing a further 89 plug/plant/protect operations, I straightened my back and cast an eye along two offset rows of baby native hedging. Looking at the fragile little sticks in the soggy earth I never thought the first Dog Rose (Rosa canina) flower would appear on the summer solstice of the following year. The proof is the photo above - what a little beauty.