What advice for local farmer re hedgerow planting

[Aneebe]

My local farming family (hills above Belfast) has kindly hosted a few hives for me this list year. It's quite a bleak spot and quite frankly an emergency "third" spot but I'm nevertheless grateful for it. They are very interested in the bees and are about to choose new hedgerow planting for next week. I was chuffed when they sent me their list to put in order of preference so... could I have thoughts please as to what would be most beneficial for beekeeping. These are approved, local species. Any thoughts much appreciated.

 

[Murox]

My local farming family (hills above Belfast) has kindly hosted a few hives for me this list year. It's quite a bleak spot and quite frankly an emergency "third" spot but I'm nevertheless grateful for it. They are very interested in the bees and are about to choose new hedgerow planting for next week. I was chuffed when they sent me their list to put in order of preference so... could I have thoughts please as to what would be most beneficial for beekeeping. These are approved, local species. Any thoughts much appreciated.

How wonderful. It's generally said that you plant trees for your children and grandchildren; with that in mind it might be useful to investigate some shrubs and plants that won't take so long to establish.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I would definitely add willow blackthorne and holly to your list .

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Nice to see they've put a Welsh oak on the list traditionally around here an oak would be planted every ten yards or so in a hedge and at the corners as boundary markers
Hazel, Hawthorn and Blackthorn are all 'musts' and are great fast growing plants to form the main body of the hedge
The roses, as well as giving blooms and colour are also good for pollinators
a smattering of Rowan and Crab apples would be good too

The woodland trust do planting packs - one specifically for pollinators, so worth looking at their website for ideas.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

My local farming family (hills above Belfast) has kindly hosted a few hives for me this list year. It's quite a bleak spot and quite frankly an emergency "third" spot but I'm nevertheless grateful for it. They are very interested in the bees and are about to choose new hedgerow planting for next week. I was chuffed when they sent me their list to put in order of preference so... could I have thoughts please as to what would be most beneficial for beekeeping. These are approved, local species. Any thoughts much appreciated.

Selfishly as a beekeeper I'd go for Blackthorn, Hawthorn, crab apple, with damson/plum trees and conference pear trees spaced along the line. I've never seen a honeybee on the few dogroses in my hedges,and they're bloody evil to trim. Blackthorn trimming is also a painful occupation and hawthorn too. Pear hedges trained along wires used to be popular around cottage gardens at one time but need regular pruning and maintenance or they get problematic. Selection of hedges needs to be based on why it's there. - stock control, boundary definition or decoration?

 

[JamezF]

It seems like a pretty good mix to me and I'd probably use something very similar if I were planting a new hedge now. As has already been said, blackthorn and hawthorn can be a pig when it comes to trimming or laying a hedge and I've had the scratched arms to prove it on numerous occasions. On the other hand they're pretty good from a stock control point of view once they're established. I laid about 15m of blackthorn last winter and before our neighbouring farmer decided it was his to take his flail to despite being on our side of the fence there wasn't much short of an elephant that would have wanted to force its way through.

If it's not for stock control though, I'd probably lighten up on the numbers of those and plant something easier to manage instead. I always like seeing some beech in hedges still carrying its leaves through the winter. It stops things looking quite so bleak.

James

 

[Aneebe]

My thanks to you all. I think this is a limited list which they have to pick from in order to perhaps avail of funding. We're some 800 ft up and pretty cold/ windy. My understanding is that they are beef farmers so this would from their point of view, be to contain livestock. I will pass on all comments. Much appreciated. I must get back to my candle and wood butter manufacturing. Beats watching Friday night telly if you have an audio book on the go ( just finishing Geddy Lee's new autobiography - I'm a fan of squeaky voiced aging rock musicians)!

 

[markb2603]

I have spindle and bird cherry in mine along with some of those in your list. They are easy to manage and the flowers/fruit appear to attract all sorts.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

It seems like a pretty good mix to me and I'd probably use something very similar if I were planting a new hedge now. As has already been said, blackthorn and hawthorn can be a pig when it comes to trimming or laying a hedge and I've had the scratched arms to prove it on numerous occasions. On the other hand they're pretty good from a stock control point of view once they're established. I laid about 15m of blackthorn last winter and before our neighbouring farmer decided it was his to take his flail to despite being on our side of the fence there wasn't much short of an elephant that would have wanted to force its way through.

If it's not for stock control though, I'd probably lighten up on the numbers of those and plant something easier to manage instead. I always like seeing some beech in hedges still carrying its leaves through the winter. It stops things looking quite so bleak.

James

From bitter experience scratches from blackthorn pale into insignificance when compared to the difficulty of digging the tips of the thorns out of ones person..
Rural hedge ownership in many cases goes back to the enclosures act. Plots were allotted and required to have boundary drainage ditches dug. The spoil was thrown up to the diggers side forming a bank and thorn hedging planted in the fresh soil. This led to the old adage your hedge your dyke when responsibility for drainage maintenance came up. And vice versa, so if there's a dyke present that indicates who the hedge owner is unless there's been some legal jiggery pokery in the past.
Of course if things are lost in the mists of time would you want responsibility for dyke maintenance?

 

[JamezF]

Rural hedge ownership in many cases goes back to the enclosures act. Plots were allotted and required to have boundary drainage ditches dug. The spoil was thrown up to the diggers side forming a bank and thorn hedging planted in the fresh soil. This led to the old adage your hedge your dyke when responsibility for drainage maintenance came up. And vice versa, so if there's a dyke present that indicates who the hedge owner is unless there's been some legal jiggery pokery in the past.

Oh, this is a far more simple case. When said farmer sold this part of his property to the previous owners a fence was erected to form a boundary between his property and (what is now) ours. The deeds make it quite clear that he owns the fence and the fence is the boundary. Since then the hedge has grown on our side of the fence where there was originally none. He's claiming that because he owns the boundary then the hedge must be his because hedges are boundaries, including the specimen trees that were planted several feet from the fence (on our side) by the previous owners.

James