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A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and sometimes
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and are of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are known as hedgerows. Often they serve as
windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...
s to improve conditions for the adjacent
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
s, as in
bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...
country. When clipped and maintained, hedges are also a simple form of topiary. A hedge often operates as, and sometimes is called, a "live fence". This may either consist of individual fence posts connected with wire or other fencing material, or it may be in the form of densely planted hedges without interconnecting wire. This is common in tropical areas where low-income farmers can demarcate properties and reduce maintenance of fence posts that otherwise deteriorate rapidly. Many other benefits can be obtained depending on the species chosen.


History

The development of hedges over the centuries is preserved in their structure. The first hedges enclosed land for cereal crops during the
Neolithic Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
(4000–6000 years ago). The farms were of about , with fields about for hand cultivation. Some hedges date from the
Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
s, 2000–4000 years ago, when traditional patterns of landscape became established. Others were built during the
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
field rationalisations; more originated in the industrial boom of the 18th and 19th centuries, when
heaths A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...
and uplands were enclosed. Many hedgerows separating fields from lanes in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
are estimated to have been in existence for more than seven hundred years, originating in the medieval period. The root word of 'hedge' is much older: it appears in the
Old English language Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th cen ...
, in German (''Hecke''), and Dutch (''haag'') to mean 'enclosure', as in the name of the Dutch city
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, or more formally'' 's Gravenhage'', meaning ''The
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
's hedge''.
Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
is recorded as complaining in 864, at a time when most official fortifications were constructed of wooden
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...
s, that some unauthorized men were constructing ''haies et fertés''; tightly interwoven hedges of
hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
s. In parts of Britain, early hedges were destroyed to make way for the manorial
open-field system The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...
. Many were replaced after the
Enclosure Act The Inclosure Acts, which use an archaic spelling of the word now usually spelt "enclosure", cover enclosure of open fields and common land in England and Wales, creating legal property rights to land previously held in common. Between 1604 and 1 ...
s, then removed again during modern agricultural intensification, and now some are being replanted for wildlife.


Composition

A hedge may consist of a single species or several, typically mixed at random. In many newly planted British hedges, at least 60 per cent of the shrubs are
hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
, blackthorn, and (in the southwest)
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
, alone or in combination. The first two are particularly effective barriers to livestock. In North America, '' Maclura pomifera'' (i.e., hedge apple) was grown to form a barrier to exclude free-range livestock from vegetable gardens and corn fields. Other shrubs and trees used include holly,
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
, and
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
; the last three can become very tall. Of the hedgerows in the
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
region of France, Martin Blumenson said,
The hedgerow is a fence, half earth, half hedge. The wall at the base is a dirt parapet that varies in thickness from one to four or more feet and in height from three to twelve feet. Growing out of the wall is a hedge of hawthorn, brambles, vines, and trees, in thickness from one to three feet. Originally property demarcations, hedgerows protect crops and cattle from the ocean winds that sweep across the land.
The hedgerows of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
became barriers that slowed the advance of
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
troops following the
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
invasion during World War II. Allied armed forces modified their armored vehicles to facilitate breaking out of their
beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. The ...
s into the Normandy
bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...
.


Species

Formal, or modern garden hedges are grown in many varieties, including the following species: * '' Berberis thunbergii'' * '' Buxus sempervirens'' (box) * ''
Carpinus betulus ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...
'' (hornbeam) * ''
Crataegus monogyna ''Crataegus monogyna'', known as common hawthorn, one-seed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and West Asia, but has been introduced in ...
'' (hawthorn) * '' Fagus sylvatica'' (green beech) * ''Fagus sylvatica'' 'Purpurea' (purple beech) * ''
Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Aquifoliaceae, native plant, native to western and southern Europe, nort ...
'' (holly) * '' Ligustrum ovalifolium'' (privet) * ''Ligustrum'' × ''ibolium'' (north privet) * ''Photinia'' × ''fraseri'' (red robin) * '' Prunus laurocerasus'' (common laurel) * ''
Prunus lusitanica ''Prunus lusitanica'', the Portuguese laurel cherry or Portugal laurel, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia (the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira ...
'' (Portuguese laurel) * ''
Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...
'' (holm oak) * ''
Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain ...
'' (yew) * '' Thuja occidentalis'' (yellow ribbon) * '' Thuja plicata'' (western red cedar)


Hedgerow trees

Hedgerow trees are trees that grow in hedgerows but have been allowed to reach their full height and width. There are thought to be around 1.8 million hedgerow trees in Britain (counting only those whose canopies do not touch others) with perhaps 98% of these being in England and Wales. Hedgerow trees are both an important part of the English landscape and valuable habitats for wildlife. Many hedgerow trees are veteran trees and therefore of great wildlife interest. The most common species are English oak (''Quercus robur'') and
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
(''Fraxinus excelsior''), though in the past
field elm ''Ulmus minor'' Mill., the field elm, is by far the most polymorphic of the European species, although its taxonomy remains a matter of contention. Its natural range is predominantly south European, extending to Asia Minor and Iran; its northern ...
(''Ulmus minor'' 'Atinia') would also have been common. Around 20 million elm trees, most of them hedgerow trees, were felled or died through
Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...
in the late 1960s. Many other species are used, notably including
common beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...
(''Fagus sylvatica'') and various
nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
and fruit trees. The age structure of British hedgerow trees is old because the number of new trees is not sufficient to replace the number of trees that are lost through age or disease. New trees can be established by planting but it is generally more successful to leave standard trees behind when laying hedges. Trees should be left at no closer than apart and the distances should vary so as to create a more natural landscape. The distance allows the young trees to develop full crowns without competing or producing too much shade. It is suggested that hedgerow trees cause gaps in hedges but it has been found that cutting some lower branches off lets sufficient light through to the hedge below to allow it to grow.


Importance of hedgerows

Hedges are recognised as part of a cultural heritage and historical record and for their great value to wildlife and the landscape. Increasingly, they are valued too for the major role they have to play in preventing soil loss and reducing pollution, and for their potential to regulate water supply and to reduce flooding. There is increased
earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...
diversity in the soils under hedgerows which also help to store organic carbon and support distinct communities of
arbuscular mycorrhizal An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (plural ''mycorrhizae'', a.k.a. ''endomycorrhiza'') is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus (''AM fungi'', or AMF) penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. (N ...
(AM) fungi. In addition to maintaining the health of the environment, hedgerows also play a huge role in providing shelter for smaller animals like birds and insects. Recent study by Emma Coulthard mentioned the possibility that hedgerows may act as guides for moths, like ''
Acronicta rumicis ''Acronicta rumicis'', the knot grass moth, is a species of moth which is part of the genus ''Acronicta'' and family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is found in the Palearct ...
'', when flying from one location to another. As moths are nocturnal, it is highly unlikely that they use visual aids as guides, but rather are following sensory or olfactory markers on the hedgerows. Larkin et al. 2013 find 100% of northwest European farms have hedges, providing 43% of the wildlife habitat there. Historically, hedges were used as a source of firewood, and for providing shelter from wind, rain and sun for crops, farm animals and people. Today, mature hedges' uses include screening unsightly developments. In
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
agricultural hedgerow removal is controlled by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997, administered by the local planning authority.


Dating

Hedges that have existed for hundreds of years are colonised by additional species. This may be useful as a means of determining the age of the hedge. Hooper's rule (named for Dr.
Max Hooper Maxwell David "Max" Hooper (20 January 1926 – 19 November 2000) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Hooper was born in Townsville, Queensland, the son of Archibald David Hooper and his wife Ada Beatrice (née Carr ...
) is based on ecological data obtained from hedges of known age, and suggests that the age of a hedge can be roughly estimated by counting the number of woody species counted in a thirty-yard distance and multiplying by 110 years. Max Hooper published his original formula in the book ''Hedges'' in 1974. This method is only a rule of thumb, and can be off by a couple of centuries; it should always be backed up by documentary evidence, if possible, and take into account other factors. Caveats include the fact that planted hedgerows, hedgerows with
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
, and hedgerows in the north of England tend not to follow the rule as closely. The formula also does not work on hedges more than a thousand years old. Hooper's scheme is important not least for its potential use in determining what an important hedgerow is, given their protection in The Hedgerows Regulations (1997; No. 1160) of the
Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
, based on age and other factors.


Removal

Hedgerow removal is part of the transition of
arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
from low-intensity to high-intensity
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. The removal of hedgerows gives larger fields making the sowing and harvesting of crops easier, faster and cheaper, and giving a larger area to grow the crops, increasing yield and profits. Hedgerows serve as important wildlife corridors, especially in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
where they link the country's fractured ancient
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
. They also serve as a
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
for
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s and other animals. As the land within a few metres of hedges is difficult to plough, sow, or spray with
herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...
s, the land around hedges also typically includes high plant
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
. Hedges also serve to stabilise the soil and on slopes help prevent
soil creep Downhill creep, also known as soil creep or commonly just creep, is a type of creep characterized by the slow, downward progression of rock and soil down a low grade slope; it can also refer to slow deformation of such materials as a result of p ...
and
leaching Leaching is the loss or extraction of certain materials from a carrier into a liquid (usually, but not always a solvent). and may refer to: *Leaching (agriculture), the loss of water-soluble plant nutrients from the soil; or applying a small amoun ...
of
minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...
and plant nutrients. Removal thus weakens the soil and leads to erosion. In the United Kingdom hedgerow removal has been occurring since
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as technology made intensive farming possible, and the increasing population demanded more food from the land. The trend has slowed down somewhat since the 1980s when cheap food imports reduced the demand on British farmland, and as the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...
made environmental projects financially viable. Under reforms to national and EU agricultural policies the environmental impact of farming features more highly and in many places hedgerow conservation and replanting is taking place. In England and Wales agricultural hedgerow removal is controlled by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997, administered by the local planning authority.


Hedge laying

If hedges are not maintained and trimmed regularly, gaps tend to form at the base over many years. In essence, hedgelaying consists of cutting most of the way through the stem of each plant near the base, bending it over and interweaving or
pleaching Pleaching or plashing is a technique of interweaving living and dead branches through a hedge creating a fence, hedge or lattices. Trees are planted in lines, and the branches are woven together to strengthen and fill any weak spots until the hed ...
it between wooden stakes. This also encourages new growth from the base of each plant. Originally, the main purpose of hedgelaying was to ensure the hedge remained stock-proof. Some side branches were also removed and used as firewood. The maintenance and laying of hedges to form an impenetrable barrier for farm animals is a skilled art. In Britain there are many local hedgelaying traditions, each with a distinct style. Hedges are still being laid today not only for aesthetic and functional purposes but also for their ecological role in helping
wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
and protecting against
soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...
.


Hedge trimming

An alternative to hedge laying is trimming using a tractor-mounted
flail cutter A flail mower is a type of powered garden/agricultural equipment which is used to deal with heavier grass/scrub which a normal lawn mower could not cope with. Some smaller models are self-powered, but many are PTO driven implements, which can at ...
or circular saw, or a hedge trimmer. The height of the cutting can be increased a little every year. Trimming a hedge helps to promote bushy growth. If a flail cutter is used, then the flail must be kept sharp to ensure that the cutting is effective on the hedge. The disadvantage of this is that the hedge species takes a number of years before it will flower again and subsequently bear fruit for wildlife and people. If the hedge is trimmed repeatedly at the same height, a 'hard knuckle' will start to form at that height – similar to the shape of a pollarded tree. Additionally, hedge trimming causes habitat destruction to species like the small eggar moth which spend nearly their entire life cycle in blackthorn and hawthorn hedgerow. This has led to a decline in the moth's population. It is now nationally scarce in Britain.


General hedge management

A 'hedgerow management' scale has been devised by an organisation calle
Hedgelink UK
ranging from 1 to 10. '1' describes the action to take for a heavily over trimmed hedge, '5' is a healthy dense hedgerow more than 2 metres in height, and '10' is a hedge that has not been managed at all and has become a line of trees. The RSPB suggest that hedges in Britain not be cut between March and August. This is to protect nesting birds, which are protected by law.Tackling Hedges
/ref>


Coppicing

The techniques of coppicing and hard
pollarding Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice oc ...
can be used to rejuvenate a hedge where hedge-laying is not appropriate.


Types


Instant hedge

The term ''instant hedge'' has become known since early this century for hedging plants that are planted collectively in such a way as to form a mature hedge from the moment they are planted together, with a height of at least 1.2 metres. They are usually created from hedging elements or individual plants which means very few are actually hedges from the start, as the plants need time to grow and entwine to form a real hedge. An example of an instant hedge can be seen at the
Elveden Hall Elveden Hall is a large stately home on the Elveden Estate in Elveden, Suffolk, England. The seat of the Earls of Iveagh, it is a Grade II* listed building. It is located centrally to the village and is close to the A11 and the Parish Church. Curre ...
Estate in East Anglia, where fields of hedges can be seen growing in cultivated rows, since 1998. The development of this type of mature hedge has led to such products being specified by landscape architects, garden designers, property developers, insurance companies, sports clubs, schools and local councils, as well as many private home owners. Demand has also increased from planning authorities in specifying to developers that mature hedges are planted rather than just whips (a slender, unbranched shoot or plant). A 'real' instant hedge could be defined as having a managed root growth system allowing the hedge to be sold with a continuous rootstrips (rather than individual plants) which then enables year-round planting. During its circa 8-year production time, all stock should be irrigated, clipped and treated with controlled-release nutrients to optimise health.


Quickset hedge

A quickset hedge is a type of hedge created by planting live whitethorn (common hawthorn) cuttings directly into the earth (hazel does not sprout from cuttings). Once planted, these cuttings root and form new plants, creating a dense barrier. The technique is ancient, and the term ''quickset hedge'' is first recorded in 1484. The word ''quick'' in the name refers to the fact that the cuttings are living (as in " the quick and the dead"), and not to the speed at which the hedge grows, although it will establish quite rapidly. An alternative meaning of quickset hedging is any hedge formed of living plants or of living plants combined with a fence. The technique of quicksetting can also be used for many other shrubs and trees.


Devon hedge

A Devon hedge is an earth bank topped with shrubs. The bank may be faced with turf or stone. When stone-faced, the stones are generally placed on edge, often laid flat around gateways. A quarter of
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
's hedges are thought to be over 800 years old. The Devon Hedge
on the
Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...
website.
There are approximately 33,000 miles (53,000 km) of Devon hedge, which is more than any other county. Traditional farming throughout the county has meant that fewer Devon hedges have been removed than elsewhere. Devon hedges are particularly important for wildlife habitat. Around 20% of the UK's species-rich hedges occur within Devon.Species rich hedgerows
fro

Over 600 species of flowering plants, 1500 species of insects, 65 species of birds and 20 species of mammals have been recorded living or feeding in Devon hedges. Hedge laying in Devon is usually referred to as steeping and involves cutting and laying steepers (the stems) along the top of the bank and securing them with crooks (forked sticks).


Cornish hedge

A Cornish hedge is an earth bank with stones. It normally consists of large stone blocks constructed either side of a narrow earth bank, and held in place with interlocking stones. The neat rows of square stones at the top are called "edgers". The top of the hedge is planted with grass turf. Sometimes hedging plants or trees are planted on the hedge to increase its
windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...
ing height. A rich flora develops over the lifespan of a Cornish hedge. The Cornish hedge contributes to the distinctive field-pattern of the Cornish landscape and its semi-natural wildlife habitat. There are about of hedges in Cornwall today. Hedges suffer from the effects of tree roots, burrowing rabbits, rain, wind, farm animals and people. How often repairs are needed depends on how well the hedge was built, its stone, and what has happened to it since it was last repaired. Typically a hedge needs a cycle of repair every 150 years or so, or less often if it is fenced. Building new hedges, and repairing existing hedges, is a skilled craft, and there are professional hedgers in Cornwall. The Cornish Hedge Research and Education Group (CHREG) supports the development of traditional skills and works with Cornwall Council, FWAG (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group), Stone Academy Bodmin, Cornwall AONB, Country Trust and professional hedgers to ensure the future of Cornish Hedges in the landscape.


In gardening

Hedges, both clipped and unclipped, are often used as ornament in the layout of
garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
s. Typical woody plants for clipped hedges include privet,
hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
,
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
, leyland cypress, hemlock,
arborvitae ''Thuja'' ( ) is a genus of coniferous tree or shrub in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to '' Thujopsis''. ...
,
barberry ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America a ...
,
box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
, holly,
oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
, lavender, among others. An early 20th-century fashion was for tapestry hedges, using a mix of golden, green and glaucous dwarf
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s, or beech and copper beech. Unclipped hedges take up more space, generally at a premium in modern gardens, but compensate by flowering. ''
Rosa multiflora ''Rosa multiflora'' — ( syn. ''Rosa polyantha'') is a species of rose known commonly as multiflora rose, baby rose, Japanese rose, many-flowered rose, seven-sisters rose, Eijitsu rose and rambler rose. It is native to eastern Asia, in China, ...
'' is widely used as a dense hedge along the
central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
of dual-carriageway
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
s, such as
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
s in the United States. In mild
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
s, more exotic flowering hedges are formed, using ''
Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of Actinorhizal plant, nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceano ...
'', '' Hibiscus'', ''
Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...
'', orange jessamine (''
Murraya paniculata ''Murraya paniculata'', commonly known as orange jasmine, orange jessamine, china box or mock orange, is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rutaceae and is native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia. It has smooth bark, pin ...
''

or lillypilly ('' Syzygium'' species). It is also possible to prepare really nice and dense hedge from other
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
plants, however they do not have decorative
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s as the
bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...
es mentioned before. Hedges of clipped trees forming
avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, ...
s are a feature of 16th-century
Italian garden The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...
s such as the Boboli Gardens in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, and of formal French gardens in the manner of
André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gar ...
, e.g. in the
Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover som ...
, where they surround bosquets or areas formalized woodland. The English version of this was the
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
, normal in large gardens until the
English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
style and the rise of the shrubbery began to sweep them away from about 1750. The 'hedge on stilts' of clipped hornbeams at
Hidcote Manor Garden Hidcote Manor Garden is a garden in the United Kingdom, located at the village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. It is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, with its linked "g ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
, is famous and has sometimes been imitated; it is fact a standard French and Italian style of the bosquet. Hedges below knee height are generally thought of as borders. Elaborately shaped and interlaced borders forming knot gardens or
parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...
s were fashionable in Europe during the 16th and early 17th centuries. Generally they were appreciated from a raised position, either the windows of a house, or a
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
. Clipped hedges above eye level may be laid out in the form of a
labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...
or garden maze. Few such mazes survived the change of fashion towards more naturalistic plantings in the 18th and 19th centuries, but many were replanted in 20th-century restorations of older gardens. An example is behind the Governor's Palace,
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
, Virginia. Hedges and pruning can both be used to enhance a garden's
privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
, as a
buffer Buffer may refer to: Science * Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas * Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH * Buffering agent, the weak acid or base in a buffer solution * Lysis buffer, in cell biology * Metal ion buffer * ...
to
visual pollution Visual pollution is the study of secondary impacts of manmade interventions or visible deterioration and negative aesthetic quality of the natural and human-made landscapes around people. It refers to the impacts pollution has in impairing the q ...
and to hide fences. A hedge can be aesthetically pleasing, as in a tapestry hedge, where alternate species are planted at regular intervals to present different colours or textures. In America, fences have always been more common than hedges to mark garden boundaries. The English radical
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
was already complaining about this in 1819:
And why should America not possess this most beautiful and useful plant Haw-Thorn">Crataegus_monogyna.html" ;"title="he Crataegus monogyna">Haw-Thorn She has English gew-gaws, English Play-Actors, English Cards and English Dice and Billiards; English fooleries and English vices enough in all conscience; and why not English Hedges, instead of post-and-rail and board fences? If, instead of these steril-looking and cheerless enclosures the gardens and meadows and fields, in the neighbourhood of New York and other cities and towns, were divided by quick-set hedges, what a difference would the alteration make in the look, and in the real value too, of those gardens, meadows and fields!


Regulation

In the US, some local jurisdictions may strictly regulate the placement or height of a hedge, such as the case where a Palo Alto city resident was arrested for allowing her xylosma hedge to grow above two feet. In the UK the owner of a large hedge that is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of neighbouring domestic property can be made to reduce it in height. In England and Wales, high hedges are covered under
Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (c.38) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which almost entirely applies only to England and Wales. The Act, championed by then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, was passed in 20 ...
. For a hedge to qualify for reduction, it must be made up wholly or mainly of a line of two or more evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs and be over 2 metres high. To some degree, it must be a barrier to light or access. It must be adversely affecting the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of their domestic property (either their house or garden) because of its height. Later legislation with similar effect was introduced in Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Scotland.


Significant hedges

The 19th-century
Great Hedge of India The Inland Customs Line, incorporating the Great Hedge of India (or Indian Salt Hedge), was a customs barrier built by the British colonial rulers of India to prevent smuggling of salt from coastal regions in order to avoid the substantial salt ...
was probably the largest example of a hedge used as a barrier. It was planted and used to collect taxes by the British. The Willow Palisade, constructed during the early
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
(17th century) to control people movement and to collect taxes on ginseng and timber in southern
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
, also had hedge-like features. The palisade included two dikes and a moat between them, the dikes topped by rows of willow trees, tied to one another with their branches. Gradually decaying throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries, the palisade disappeared in the early 20th century, its remaining willows cut during the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905 by the two countries' soldiers.Edmonds (1985), pp. 80-82 The Meikleour Beech Hedges, located near
Meikleour Meikleour ( ) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies near the confluence of the Tay and the Isla in the valley of Strathmore, north of Perth and south of Blairgowrie. It is in the parish of Caputh. Meikleour is home to the M ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, are noted in the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the tallest and longest hedge on earth, reaching in height and in length. The beech trees were planted in 1745 by Jean Mercer on the Marquess of Lansdowne's Meikleour estate. The hedgerows and sunken lanes in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, France posed a problem to Allied
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s after
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the invasion of Europe, in World War 2. The hedgerows prevented the tanks from freely moving about the area, until they were fitted with tusks.


See also

*
Bibliography of hedges and topiary This is a bibliography of hedges and topiary. It includes works relating to the natural history and botany of the hedgerow as well as works relating to the horticultural practice of the creation of topiary, and works relating to the cultivation of ...
*
Bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...
*
Dead hedge A dead hedge is a barrier constructed from cut branches, saplings, and foliage. The material can be gathered from activities such as pruning or clearing, and in traditional forms of woodland management, such as coppicing. Its ecological succession ...
* Drovers' road *
Enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
* Green wall * Hedgehog *
Hedgelaying Hedgelaying (or hedge laying) is a countryside skill that has been practised for centuries, mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with many regional variations in style and technique. Hedgelaying is the process of partially cutting throug ...
*
Shelterbelt A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the edges ...
* Topiary


Notes


References

* Brooks, Alan and Agate, Elizabeth Agate (1998). ''Hedging, a Practical handbook''. British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. * Pollard, E., Hooper, M.D. and Moore, N.W. (1974). ''Hedges''. London: Collins. * Rackham, Oliver (1986). ''The History of the Countryside''. London: J.M. Dent and Sons. *


External links


The British Hedgelaying Society

The English Hedgerow Trust



The age of hedges
- "Botanist Max Hooper correlates number of species in English hedgerows with centuries in age". Whole Earth Review, Summer 1995, by Charles Elliott.

- Bingham Heritage. *


News articles

There have been a few articles in media regarding using instant hedges:

Bunny Guinness in The Telegraph

Alan Titchmarsh in Daily Express

Gareth James in Huffington Post

Jo Morrison in The Telegraph {{Garden features Fences Garden features Landscape architecture