Hedge-Laying: The art of creative vandalism
Hedge-Laying: The art of creative vandalism to enhance our life-support system
This may seem a strange title but it is good description of what hedge-laying is about.
Hedge-laying is the traditional art of cutting partially through a series of woody stems of hedge plants and laying them over to form a stock proof, attractive, wind brakes that still allows the food of the hedge to be continued to be available for many years while also rejuvenating the hedge. 
Hedges were the remains of our ancient woods that have been whittled away by the tides of agriculture until they were thin strips that acted as permanent boundaries where they provided a convenient source of timber, firewood & food. Hedges of mostly hawthorn were planted extensively from 1750 to 1860 as a group of landlords (called MP’s ) decided they could make more money by robbing people of their land and Inclosing it under Acts of Parliament and raising sheep, than they got from renting out farm land to the villagers to feed themselves. The act of enclosing land under the Inclosure Acts forced the ordinary people who survived the riots to either scratch a living off marginal land of heaths & commons or to look for alternative ways to create wealth in urban areas.
Hedges have been disappearing from our countryside over the past century because the Government used to give subsides to remove hedges to make way for modern unsustainable agriculture which uses more & more energy each year to spay the crops with fertiliser & pesticides than the crops produce when they get eaten by us. Now the greatest threat to our hedges is the small mindedness of Councils and contractors that give it a serve cut twice a year at the same hight to produce a gappy non-fruiting short lived boundary marker.
Hedge-Laying is a skill that anyone can do, although like any other skill takes practice to master.
Although hedge-laying is simple a process of laying down a series of trees to form a horizontal barrier every hedge is different
- Decide where the line of the hedge is.
This is not as easy as it may sound as hedges to be laid have often been planted is staggered rows with other trees planted behind and have been neglected for several years so hidden in bramble & rose with the suckers of elm and blackthorn (with its long sharp thorns to protect its sloes) to confuse things. - decide if there is any obstructions like power cables or standard trees to leave and notice where there is lots of material & the gaps. Excess material can be cut out & used as stakes or to fill up the gaps as hawthorn will often grow when stuck into the ground which is why it is also called quick thorn
- Choose which way to lay – uphill and to the left
(as most people are right handed so find it easier to cut away from the right of the stem leaving the hinge on the left.) - Choose which stem to lay (will not be the nearest if others will form a thicker base to the hedge if laid first or if the nearest one has rabbit or strimmer damage at the base of the side you want to lay it but is healthy slightly higher up (otherwise keep it as a living stake or remove it)
- Dis-entangle it from its neighbours
- Pleach it by cutting vertically with a bill hook or axe,
& upwards with a saw (or even a chainsaiw) far enough (normally 2/3 to 9/10 depending on the age & type of stem) so the tree will bend over and lower it gently down so it lays down on the upward sloping ground without breaking off the hinge (extra pairs of hands can be useful) - Weave it into the others to form a solid ‘A’ shaped hedge that is wider at its base (the suckers of elm & blackthorn can be laid over to the base of the hedge without the need to cut so they can be grow back into the line of the hedge)
- repeat steps 4 to 7 until a good clear length is done
- weave stakes (either living stakes or ones cut from the excess material in the hedge or from other sites) through the centre of the hedge and spaced so that as you hold one stake to bang it in your elbow is on the previous stake
- Plaite the binders (the thin flexible stems of hazel, ash or willow that are at least 3m long) round the stakes to hold the hedge down and to give it the strength to stop cows pushing the hedge over
- trim off the top of the stakes & any branches that could not be folded into the hedge to give a neat finish.
- Enjoy the wildlife that will continue to benefit from the hedge
- Re-lay the hedge in 7 to 12 years
If you want some hedge-laying done Ask Philip 0794 366 1861 or join your local wildlife group like EconetReading.org.uk
Tags: 'A' shaped, Art of creative vandalism, Hedge Laying, pliate binders, stakes
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