Hedgelaying

The Island’s annual hedgelaying competition was held today at ‘Blackwater Hollow’.

Having recently relocated from central London to the Isle of Wight; urban to rural, I was very interested to learn how the hedgerows are traditionally managed.

It aims to recreate the straggly plants into a neater, denser barrier. The stems are cut nearly completely through in places to allow them to be layered, without damaging them. This style is strengthened with vertical stakes and horizontal binders.
The management of our country’s hedges is clearly very different from the clipping of formal boundaries found in some of our gardens, but they are both equally important for a safe haven for wildlife, and offer sheltered corridors to pass along.

I found the U.K. national hedgelaying web site www.hedgelaying.org.uk of further interest and highlights the importance of our hedgerows and rural skills.