Blog - brambles

How to Lay a Hedge

How to Lay a Hedge

by Angus, 25 September, 2008, 114 comments

Hedges are an important part of our countryside, yet they are functional too. The use of hedges goes back hundreds of years (perhaps more) and is an effective way to keep in livestock and mark boundaries. They also have very important benefits for wildlife as they are home to many nesting birds, small mammals and many insects. Apart from being a habitat they also provide a corridor for the movement of animals across field systems and between woodland areas. Landowners need to maintain them but sometimes they get out of control (the hedges rather than the land owners) and once they reach over 4 metres in height they start to encroach upon fields and become “gappy” at the base. It is at this point that they need to be laid - ideally by an experienced hedge layer. Read more...

Blackberries - brambles

Blackberries – brambles

by catherine, 20 September, 2007, 13 comments

This is your last chance to pick your blackberries. Michaelmas (29th September) is, by legend, the day the Devil spits on them, making them inedible. Another version of the story is that a bramble patch broke his fall from heaven. There is a lot of tannin in brambles and perhaps after the 29th, at the end of their season when they start to wither, they are too bitter. They are pretty much over, here in the south-east, but may have a week or two left further north. Read more...

The Dormouse

by Chris, 13 September, 2006, 6 comments

Like some other species mentioned in the Woodlands blog, it is thought that the numbers of the hazel (or common) dormouse have declined dramatically over the last 100 years. This has been associated with the loss of woodlands and hedgerows, and changes in their management. The dormouse is to be found in deciduous woods mainly in the southern counties of England, though there are Read more...

Hedgerows

Hedgerows

by Chris, 11 April, 2006, 2 comments

Do you have hedgerows on your land? Have you ever thought of trying to date them? It is sometimes possible to give an approximate age to a hedge using the ‘hedge dating’ system devised by Dr Max Hooper in the 1970's. This is explained in a number of books, such as The Living History of Our Hedgerows: A Guide to Dating Hedgerows - Lesley Chapman, Brian Steffens (Illustrator) Orchard Publications - paperback - April 10, 2001. Have a look on Amazon.co.uk or similar The basic formula for dating a hedge is as follows: First measure out a 30 metre length of hedge. Work along the hedge systematically recording each woody species. Repeat this process with two or three 30 metre sections of hedge. Calculate how many woody species on average you find in your hedge. Generally speaking, a new species is added every hundred years. Read more...

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