However, after being contacted by the program makers, those responsible for the works explained that the brutal-looking measures are actually a sustainable method of encouraging healthy future growth.
As can be seen in Grīziņkalns public gardens, at the moment there are only roots left from the hedges along the street.
Ilze Pīrāga-Gremze, of the parks department of SIA "Rīgas meži" (Rīga forests), explained that the cutting-back is a sustainable solution to fully restore the hedge without digging it up. After cutting off all the old shoots, the beds are uprooted and fed with compost, and the first fresh shoots in the hedge will be visible this spring.
The same method has been has been used in the Esplanade park, where you can already see fresh and regrown bushes. On the esplanade, the hedge was planted in this way in 2021 and has now regrown almost to its previous dimensions.
The bushes of Grīziņkalns park are expected to reach a height of about 50 centimeters after about four years, though faster growth is possible if more intense work is carried out each year, explained Pīraga-Gremze.
Meanwhile, only the tops of another nearby hedge in the park in Grīziņkalns are currently being trimmed, but sooner or later that too will be cut almost to the ground to ensure its longer life.
