Bet on your hedges
How many different reasons there are to enjoy a hedge. Whether it’s to drink in its shade on a summer’s walk, comb its foliage for sloes or damsons in autumn, or – my own favourite – watch a horse browsing for rosehips, young hawthorn, cow parsley or hazel, a hedgerow brings pleasure in abundance.
While we all have our own idea of ‘the perfect hedge’, that picture will be coloured by what you want it for: to obscure a neighbour’s trampoline; keep cattle in your fields; attract songbirds; or, simply, as in my case, to go flying over in hot pursuit of hounds.
Most of us know the value of hedgerows to wildlife and the environment, acting as corridors, larders and weather shields for species ranging from hedgehogs to dormice and cattle to bats. Less well known, perhaps, is their value in preventing soil erosion, improving pollination or helping with pest control, reducing
