In 2007 & 2008 I was invited to give a demonstration of hedgelaying in Holland. (Thanks to Lex Roeleveld www.heggen.nu)Hedgelaying had died out in Holland and had only recently been re-instated by a group of very dedicated individuals. The style currently being used was largely decided upon following intensive study of old previously laid hedges and interviews with the few country people who had a memory of hedgelaying. I was interested to discover that the current style used no stakes and involved laying alternate stems at the base, middle and finally along the top of the hedge as a binder. As the hedge used the living stems to support the hedge, it gave an instantly thick and sturdy hedge and needed no stakes.
Recent thinking in Holland is that perhaps this style is the result of evidence is based on of casual attempts by untrained farmers to lay hedges after the last professional hedgers died out before WWII. Looking at very old laid hedges in the UK and identifying how they would have originally been laid may well produce some interesting styles here.
To read more about the Trip to Boxmeer Holland go to http://davidwperry.blogspot.com/2008/01/hedgelaying-in-holland-2007.html
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