It was planted in 1908 then transplanted inwards by 1.5m to accommodate the new tram line to Opoho in 1924.
Every year it receives some love with a formal trim. With varying enthusiasm from hundreds of staff over the years, the holly hedge slowly became too tall and wide.
I remember in the 1980s it was the job of the labourers’ team. The sides were done with ladders with a scaffolding plank between. It was so wide we could climb into the middle on the top and stand on the largest branches to reduce the height with a chainsaw and clippers.
She’s a prickly beast and deserves some careful handling.
Holly has adventitious buds and will regrow from old wood if pruned back hard. In 2024, staff pruned the holly’s height down much further than usual.
With a vigorous response, the next stage began in 2025.
Observant locals may have noticed, during late winter last year, half the roadside was pruned back into old wood, reducing the width by half a metre on the footpath side.
This year the other half will be completed.
The result will be a beautiful, healthier hedge, smaller and easier to maintain, with the bonus of a wider footpath.
