What is a hedgerow? 🤔

A hedgerow includes both the hedge and features such as trees, banks, walls, gates and fences. It can be ancient or newly planted and contain a single species or many - and everything in between!☺️
A hedgerow is protected, meaning you cannot remove it if it fulfills the following criteria - 
It’s 20m long with gaps of 20m or less in its length 
Is less than 20m long but meets another hedgerow at each end 
If it’s on or next to -
Land used for agriculture or forestry
Land used for keeping horses and ponies
Common land
A village green
A site of special scientific interest 
A local or national nature reserve 
Land belonging to the state 
For more detailed information on UK hedgerows go to
It’s estimated 40% of UK hedges are ancient (covering around 95,000 miles!}. The definition of an ancient hedgerow is generally defined as - those which existed before the Enclosure Acts, passed mainly between 1720 and 1840 in Britain.

Hedges are great for all forms of wildlife😀. They provide food for butterfly and moth caterpillars 🐛🦋. Queen bees uses small holes and cavities in shaded hedge banks for nesting. 🐝🐝
There is evidence to suggest that during spring honeybees mostly visit native hedgerow and woodland plants I.e willow, hawthorn, oak and dandelions and supplement with a small number of garden plants including cotoneaster, hellebores, and some spring flowering bulbs. 🌳🪻🌸

The top ten plants foraged by honeybees for nectar and pollen in the spring are -

Willow
 Hawthorn 
Cotoneaster
Apple and cherry trees
Gorse
Sycamore
Hellebores
Dandelions
Holly
Oak

So, next time you’re taking a walk in the countryside take a look at your surroundings, particularly hedgerows that will be teaming with all sorts of wildlife! 🕷️🐛🐝🐞

The tree council hold an annual National Hedgerow week for more info click here