As the hedges turn bare, one fine sight that emerges is the line of perfectly straight ash shoots rising above some of them. As hedges develop over the years, more and more species of tree and bush are found in them, and although ash is not particularly used for making hedges it often works its way in. By now these shoots can already be two or three feet taller than the rest of the hedge. They have smooth, greyish-green bark, and three jet-black buds like teeth at the tip. They can be used to make tough walking-sticks. More fully grown ash trees are easily picked out in winter by the festoons of brown, winged seeds hanging from their twigs. These are known as keys, supposedly because they look like the keys used in primitive locks. They are slow developers. Many of them are not blown down until the spring, and even when they are safely in the ground they lie dormant for a year or more.