Hedgerows

Many of the hedges existing on the farm today follow ancient hedge lines which have marked the edges of fields for hundreds of years.

Since the 1970’s – thanks to the work of a man named Hooper it has been widely accepted amongst scientists that the age of a hedge is related to the number of species you find in any 30-yard stretch.

• The number of species x100 = age of the hedge in years

This makes some sense when you understand that hedges were originally planted with just one species and others spread or invade gradually over time. In the West Midlands the dominant species of tree used to plant new hedges was the Hawthorn. The hawthorn is recognised by its small but heavily indented leaf.

In May white hawthorn blossom adorns the hedge followed by the beautiful red berries of Autumn.

Hedges need to be managed and this involves a technique called layering when the branches of the growing trees are woven to create a firm barrier with no gaps. The picture below shows this hedge when it was last layered.