Plant a native hedgerow

HEDGES of native trees and shrubs are a treasured part of our landscape, dating back to a time when Bronze Age farmers cleared woodland for grazing and growing crops. Sometimes strips of trees were left between fields and ancient hedgerows can contain gnarled fragments of old forest.

We have 500,000 miles of hedgerow in the UK, forming valuable habitats for plants and animals, as well as allowing movement between otherwise isolated woods, meadows and sources of water. For similar reasons, mixed wild hedges are popular with nature-loving gardeners. These romantic, informal features, perhaps with primroses, bluebells, cow parsley and red campion growing