As most people know so far we have had an awful year weather wise in the UK and last year was a complete wash out and even though the temperature has risen this last week we have had extremely strong Southerly winds across the country, hence my damaged fence panel. They had been rattling now for weeks with the incessant high winds and there was no way I was going out in that freezing cold weather to try and stop them. They are easily slide into the upright concrete posts and are a good fit, but shrinkage always makes them rattle in a high wind regardless of how tightly you wedge them in to start with. After he had left I went to inspect the damage and the whole of the bottom section was falling apart so allowing the panel to bow in the middle, further inspection showed another panel further down that had actually snapped on the lower timber allowing that one to bow outward. So I decided to bite the bullet and replace all the panels ASAP, something I would have done next year at the latest, so no big deal, but I would have preferred it to have been at a time of my choosing rather than having to do it come rain or shine sometime next week.
Heathers are good for holding soil toagether, but remember that chicken manure will contain lots of Nitrogen so choose plants that will use it.