A well maintained hedge is a smart looking boundary, and provides both privacy for humans and shelter for wildlife.  A neglected hedge can inhibit access, cause problems with the neighbours, excessive shade etc..  So best to keep it trimmed and tidy.

Song Thrush Nest (photo: Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)

Prunus spinosa (photo Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)

Many deciduous hedge plants, such as Crataegus monogyna (hawthorn) and Prunus spinosa (blackthorn), flower and fruit from the previous year’s growth.  Hence, if you want a good crop of berries you should prune alternate sides each year.  Ideally, wait until after the birds have eaten most of the berries – typically, around now.  I think its best to prune a few centimeters above the previous year’s growth, to encourage vigorous fruiting, and then cut back more severely every few years.

Try to achieve a slight taper from bottom to top, as this allows more light to reach the base of the hedge, and helps prevent gaps at the bottom.  If its a formal hedge it’s worth using a taut string as a guide, to ensure the top is absolutely flat and level.  Formal evergreens – Taxus baccata (yew) and Buxus sempervirens (box)  – are best lightly trimmed two or three times in mid and late summer (nesting birds permitting).  Don’t forget to remove the trimmings, to minimise the potential for disease.

Remember that confiers won’t regrow from old wood, so don’t be overenthusiastic with the hedge trimmer if you don’t want brown patches.  I was once told that if you trim conifers in November or February you can get away with cutting into old wood, but I’ve never put it to the test. (Let me know if you try it and it works, but don’t blame me if it doesn’t!)   Best to keep fast growing conifers well under control from the outset.  I have to confess that we inherited our towering leylandii with the house, and it’s larger than I can reach with a long reach trimmer and step ladder: today involved bribing a chap in a huge John Deere tractor with £20 and a bottle of wine, which was a much better deal than two days of hard graft with the petrol trimmer .

forget the petrol hedge trimmer....... (photo: Rob Wolton www.hedgelink.org.uk)

Ingredients:
1 litre gin – Plymouth gin, ideally, and try to get hold of the duty free stuff – its got more alcohol
500g sloes (that’s the fruit of the blackthorn, Prunus spinosa, just in case you weren’t sure)
250g caster sugar

Preparation:

1. Prick the sloes with a needle, or cut the skin with a knife.
2. Drink half the gin.
3. Combine the sloes, sugar, and remaining gin in a wide-necked preserving jar (“Kilner Jar“), and give it a shake to start the sugar dissolving.
4. Wait for 3 months (agitate gently from time to time), and then decant and drink (or bottle).  Whilst its maturing you can taste, and add extra sugar, if you wish.  (Tip: after decanting the gin, pour sherry over the sloes, and leave for a short while – makes an interesting tipple.)

It’s important not to reverse steps 1 and 2.  Best not to pick sloes before October (ideally wait until the first frost); any later than early November and it won’t be ready by Christmas.  And don’t leave the fruit in the gin for more than 6 months maximum – it starts to taste a bit “off”.  Don’t take any notice of stories about putting sloes in the freezer – the first frost thing is all about how ripe they are, so freezing won’t help.  Make a note of the gin/sloes/sugar ratio on each bottle.  That way you can adjust the recipe to suit your own preference.  Sloe gin goes well after a big meal, or in a hip flask on a wintery day – especially if you’re into hunting or shooting!

Sloe berries - Prunus spinosa

If you can find a wild damson tree, damson gin is made in a similar way – and is delicious.  We found lots of damsons during our narrow boat holiday on the Oxford Canal last September, but the only one I know near home is on private land and it’s purely out of a sense of social responsibility that I ….er…… save the fruit from rotting on the tree .

Haws (Hawthorn berries) - Crataegus monogyna

There are lots of hawthorn berries (haws) on the hedges too, and now’s about the time to pick them.  These can be made into a jelly, which goes well with meats etc..  As with all wild fruits, it pays to taste the fruit before you pick, to make sure they have a good flavour.  You may need to experiment a bit to get the best results, but there is a recipe here on the Eat Weeds blog.  As the blog name suggests, there’s lots of other interesting stuff about foraging there.

Have fun…. and Cheers!