From the beginning of December 2021 I have been working two days a week for myself once again. I still work the other three days for Leconfield Estate but I am really enjoying the flexible nature of my new working arrangements, especially as it means that I can carry out a lot more hedgelaying.

Last month I was invited to carry out some hedgelaying for a landowner in Chiddingfold. I was asked to lay a boundary hedge that was actually part of an old Shaw, or Rew. A Shaw is a narrow strip of woodland, usually between fields, that was left behind when the fields were originally cleared for grazing or crop cultivation. A Shaw can be very old and will often contain plants and trees associated with ancient woodland.

This particular hedge was very typical of those associated with a Shaw in that it had a lot of hazel interspersed with hawthorn.

All of it was ‘overstood’ and very long and leggy. It was going to be a bit of a challenge to get the hedge down and also looking respectable once finished. Just to add to the interest, the ground sloped up from both ends so that meant that the stems would have to be laid uphill from two different directions, with the cross-over point roughly halfway along.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I got stuck in right away. Cutting from the mid-way point I ‘back laid’ the first stool to give some depth to the hedge. Subsequent stems from adjacent stools would be laid on top of those in the picture above from both directions.

One of the issues with laying an overstood hazel hedge is that the stems are usually very long with all the ‘brush’ at the end. This can lead to a hedge that looks very flat in construction so you have to be quite selective in which stems you lay and how you build the hedge.

Before long, however, I had one end of the hedge down and staked and it was looking nice and thick with plenty of infill.

I continued with the other end in much the same fashion and after another two days I had the job completed. The only stem that I couldn’t include was a large hawthorn that was just too big to lay. It actually makes a nice feature alongside the restored boundary.

So, another hedge laid, a boundary enhanced, wildlife habitat improved, and another happy customer. What’s not to like?