We have been thinking of constructing a dry hedge. As we have a lot of hedge and tree prunings plus damaged tree branches, which mean a lot of trips to the Dechetterie. We thought we would try a dry hedge (Benjes), Anyone had any experience of this?
We call them dead hedges, and yes found them invaluable. Remember to put a hedgehog tunnel (or 2) at the bottom.
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Good idea Jane. Thank you
Yes, we also have a dead hedge, 5m long, 1m wide, max height about 1.8m, when it compresses down it gets filled with more cuttings/branches.
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Our garden is surrounded by trees on the boundaries as in the typical bocage of this area in Normandie. Our gardener here has always recommended putting extra material, as in dry hedges into any gaps on the top of the banks where it has been eroded by deer or other animals coming and going out of our garden. I imagine this has been happening for many years around here.
We had lunch on the lawn today together with a really big hare who came to see what was on offer. Not at all scared. Just lovely to see
Two a bit years ago I started restoring some ground laid bare when we had our mains water connected.
I made a series of dead hedges using hazel poles, and woven willow from a tree we had just pruned….
It’s very easy to do and restores the land very quickly. It’s a bit messy today but full of all sorts of insects and mammals.
…And today…
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I want one now! I have 2 or 3 piles of stuff that was too big or spikey to compost and we never put it through the wood burner. This is perfect, and I want to do hedgehogs you are welcome so double good!
Where’s the hedgehog tunnel?
we are lucky to have loads of hedgehogs and no cars around to crush them but, at the base of the hedges, there are quite large tree branches and loads of space for animals to come and go. It’s quite a useful add on to have for branches too thick for the shredder.
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Give it go if you have the time.
On another much and rock bank where I could not drive wooden poles in the ground, I used 10mm steel reinforcement bar for the uprights (the kind used for the electric fence). Works quite well.
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Never seen a hedgehog here in Normandie where we are but supposed there must be some around but unseen
Well, if healthy, they should only be out at nighttime. If you see one during the day, then it is very hungry and in need of a bit of help.
Perhaps a nighttime stroll will bring luck and this time of year, you might hear the male hog grunting whilst in pursuit of a bit of fun with a lady hog :)
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Yes, we must try harder in the evening. Saw the one my sil has in her garden which she feeds with hedge hog food. It had 4 hoglets last year
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When our Airedale Rona was convalescing from an op on her elbows she was only allowed very short walks. So last thing at night I walked her round the garden in the dark, with a torch. The hedgehogs seemed to keep to their own patch and typically we’d see 2-3 per night, but there were at least 4 given they had their own territory.
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Wonderful!
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Excellent work. Hope we can do as well. I want it to be attractive as well as practical. We shall see. Haven’t seen a hedghog here in Normandie for a long time.
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Beautiful. I wish we’d known of this when we first came here. Could have made use of a lot of the branches and saplings we’ve cut down over the years.
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We hadn’t seen any hedgehogs, then we bought a trail camera to watch the feral cats in our back garden, that was very interesting watching all their antics. We moved the camera to our front garden to watch the same cats. Then we saw regular hedgehog visitors having a good snuffle around. Absolutely brilliant, love these cameras.
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I’m surprised dead hedges are allowed, when AFAIK ‘they’ insist on any untended growth along boundaries being cut back in case of wildfires. Débroussaillement. A dead hedge seems like an elongated potential bonfire.