Late in March we planted a further 45
metres of mixed hedging to serve as a windbreak for the nursery, and
as a screen for the new cattle shed. In the past,I've used a mix of
fifty percent hawthorn, balanced with hornbeam, field maple, hazel
,dogwood and spindle,all subjects that grow well here, although hazel
isn't wholly happy with our Weald clay. This time, however, we wanted
to provide a source of winter food for the birds, so in addition to
the hawthorn, spindle and maple I added guelder rose, common privet
and holly. Privet does grow in a hedge elsewhere on the farm, and
holly occasionally, so watch this space. I managed to place the holly
on the drier areas, so we think it will be happy.
As a family we didn't really find it
necessary to grub out hedges in the past-the furthest we got in that
way was to remove odd bits of scrub dotted about, relics of the post
war mania for tree felling that dad inherited when he came here in
the 1950s. In any event, I'm sure we have planted much more than we
removed, and gapped up straggly ones.
Reading and observation have taught me
that they are more than just boundaries and means for controlling
livestock: in a formerly heavily wooded area, they act as a reserve
for woodland plants, insects and animals, and as conduits between
habitats.
