Now, as Michael Caine never actually said, ‘not a lot of people know this but hedges go back a long way.’ Some say the first hedges were grown or made to surround and fence off the land on which cereal crops were being grown and date back to the Neolithic era, around five or six thousand years ago – which is a strange coincidence because that’s about how long it’s been since I trimmed mine thoroughly. Some say they were a result of the clearances of land by Bronze age farmers who left strips of woodland to delineate land.
Then there is decorative hedging. The first example we know in the west of hedges being used as decoration was introduced, of course, by the Romans (is there anything they didn’t bring us apart from turnips and drunkenness?) They were known for trimming hedges into interesting shapes, hence our Western understanding of topiary. There is an Eastern tradition of topiary that runs parallel, although the Chinese were more interested in cutting shrubs to enhance their naturalness, rather than making them look like a dinosaur or an elephant.
These days, hedges are still used as borders, to keep our neighbours away, as a marker for land and for decoration while hedgerows are a valued part of the countryside, harbouring and sheltering flora and fauna that might otherwise be swept aside by the development of land and changing methods of farming and husbandry.
Whatever sort of hedge you have, at some point hedges have to be trimmed and pruned to encourage healthy growth and ensure the shape and wellbeing of the hedge. There are many fine examples of tools to carry out this task, you can see our full hedgetrimmer range here… and this blog by my old chum and grenache guzzler Dick Roberts will point you at some of our finest and Japanese machines.
and here’s another blog with a fabulous top ten of great value and versatile hedging machines.
But what I want to impart are some simple rules and guidelines for how to approach the job itself. I’ve done it before, but it is always worth repeating, so here are my tips and tops for safe hedge trimming.
if a flying twig hits you in the eye. Sturdy, sensible shoes (NO open-toed sandals) well-fitted clothing (nothing loose or flappy that could get caught up in the blades) and ear defenders are also a good idea.
And that’s it for today. If you need more information on hedgetrimmers or any other machines, do visit our main site or pay a visit to MowHow, our knowledge base.
Enjoy your garden Drew Hardy
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