My last hedgelaying job of the season was on a lovely hedge over at Milland which is northwest of Midhurst. I had been invited to look at a number of hedges by the landowner, all of which will benefit from laying in due course. As it happens, this particular hedge was the priority for this season and it was also the best quality of the lot.

Planted around 17 years ago, it was 163 metres long, and for the most part was very consistent. It was a mixture of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, dogwood and hazel. It was also the perfect height to get a good build on the laid hedge.

There was also a nice curve to the hedge line at the top end, which always makes for a nice feature.

It wasn’t long before I had the first few stems down and the hedge started to take shape. By the end of day one, I had a good 15 metres of hedge completed, including the binding.

As I progressed further down the hedgerow, the consistency of the hedge began to wane a little. This was due to the large oak trees on the opposite side of the lane casting considerable shade over the years. The result was that there were one or two gaps in the hedge and several hedge plants hadn’t grown so well.

An advanced technique for overcoming this is to ‘Back’ or ‘Z’ lay a stem to fill the gap. I employed this with a particularly awkward field maple. I laid most of the tree in the normal direction, but laid one branch back the other way before pleaching it again to face the right way, thus giving height and bulk to the hedge, as in the photo above.

Another issue that cropped up from time to time was the occasional very big field maple that had grown so well that it had suppressed its neighbouring hedge plants, thus dominating the immediate area as above. However, with the correct tools and technique, it is easily dealt with as below.

About 120 metres down the hedgerow was a double field gate, so that became the obvious target to aim for. Over the next few days I made steady progress and before long the hedge started to take shape.

Eventually, I reached the gateway and so was able to finish off the entire section with my customary withy or twist on the last binding as it goes round the end stake.

Then it was on to the last 40 odd metres down to the driveway. I wasted no time in getting started.

Unfortunately, the wet spell of March/April began whilst I was on this particular hedge, so I endured a few damp days towards the end. Undeterred, I pressed on and soon reached the finish line.

Once the staking and binding was complete, I could stand back and admire the finished job, although it was rather squelchy underfoot by then!

I completed the job on the last day of March, which is officially the end of the hedgelaying season. It was a very satisfying job to do as it’s not often that I get such a consistent hedge to work on. The landowners were very happy with the finished job, and I had numerous compliments on my work from passers-by. I hope to have many more hedges like this to do in the years ahead.