How to Lay a Hedge

Ben is hedge laying this week. Here he shows you how to create a natural hedge or fence using a tried and tested method.
Silky Saws: bit.ly/3dcjAF0
The Store: benandloisorford.com/store/

[@mattt6854]

THIS is the beauty of KZbin : access to this incredible knowledge and experience, delivered with quiet confidence. Amazing stuff guys, great to see such expertise.

[@prieten49]

That's a beautiful hedge. There are so many of these hedge-making videos. I'm going to watch all of them!

[@carlcreason2590]

“PIG-TIGHT, HORSE-HIGH, AND BULL-STRONG” Enjoyed the video.

[@janetyoung2735]

Such a clear demonstration of hedge laying. Superb

[@delaneydillon1671]

This is an incredibly useful video! Thanks!

[@BenOrford]

Great stuff so pleased you found it useful Many thanks cheers Ben

[@greywindLOSP]

Ben this is one of the most interesting informative videos I've seen in a long while! I've never seen this before, I thank you for sharing!.......ATB

[@TheCoffeeBushKid]

Thanks for showing all of us that. Bit envious of your soft ground. Don’t know if you have seen any of my clips but we nearly have to start a hole with a jack hammer so we can get a crowbar to open a hole for a shovel. Well nearly. You get the idea 😉. Stay safe. Regards Andrew 🦘🦘👍

[@yp77738yp77739]

Absolutely fascinating to see the ingenuity of land management that had evolved over centuries. Any reason why I couldn’t use this laying technique with beech please, the reason I have my doubts is that I know that hardwood beech cuttings never take, so there might be something unusual with their growing habit. Thank you.

[@Footydream11]

Loving the variation in the uploads, from classic knife restoration to hedge laying. Thank you for your content.

[@BenOrford]

Wow that’s great thanks a lot. Really glad your enjoying the variety. If you have any ideas of other projects you want to see let us know. All the best cheers Ben

[@Footydream11]

@@BenOrford Restoration and care of leather items?

[@ErikCoons]

@@BenOrford Sorry for the late reply. Wattle and daub? Willow hedges? Thanks for everything.

[@johnparkhurst825]

Great video! How tall would a hedge need to be to keep cows in or is it not practical?

[@neophyte400]

Related channel content diversification, can be tricky; that made it looks easy.. Enjoyed that, tidy work B&L 👊😎

[@BenOrford]

Well thanks a lot, I must admit sometimes we think will our audience like this content but as it is so reacted to Bushcraft, woodcraft and tool use it kinda fits. Really pleased you enjoyed seeing our almost self sufficiency side of our channel. Many thanks cheers Ben

[@jamesvanminnen2676]

So great to have access to this knowledge. Thanks again Louis and Ben!

[@snort455]

this is fantastic. I love this kind of stuff. Sharp edged hand tools. Hard work. Wonderful! I want to play too!

[@roastbeef82]

Best hedge laying video I have seen, a difficult hedge too, well done!

[@BenOrford]

Thanks a lot. I really love doing it but not sure I’ll have time this year it’s so mild things are growing already. cheers Ben

[@wildviaduct]

respect for yor proper cutting, really nice to see

[@terryfletcher6465]

I could watch this kind of skill all day long, it's so relaxing 😌.

[@samuelmartin5061]

Cool video Ben! I love to see the old school techniques that not too many people have learned or know about. Also really liked your video on “how to fit a chisel handle” Thanks for sharing

[@M0untainBerry]

Found this video fascinating. Have never seen this done before, didn't know a hedge could be made this way. Thanks so much for taking the time to show it.

[@ErikGrankvist]

Great video Ben! I am looking at doing something similar, thanks for the information. :)

[@peterwalton1502]

Fantastic skills & great information. 👏👏👏

[@BenOrford]

So pleased you enjoyed it. Many thanks cheers Ben

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

The Stakes and binding is how people used to make game traps and funnels to drive deer and antelope into blind canyons for hunting. Once you have the "fences" in place, you get a herd running by strategically placing "drivers" to turn it onto course, and when they encounter the fence they follow it into the trap.

[@scrumpymanjack]

Really enjoyed this one. Thanks for the clear explanations.

[@faymissk]

Excellent and clear- looking forward to trying this!

[@ernaverheijdt2925]

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed watching.

[@LaidBackHomesteader]

great video. thanks for sharing it with us.

[@mothmagic1]

Dad always said itwas a job that warmed you 3 times. Doing the job, loading the wood you were saving and burning it in your fireplace.

[@BenOrford]

Absolutely plus it warms your soul too. Great saying and hope you enjoyed the video.

[@mothmagic1]

@@BenOrford Oh yes very much so. Thanks for a great video.

[@benhadlow5730]

Great content as always, thanks.

[@fire4food6]

Thanks Ben this is a very useful tutorial!

[@martinfoy5167]

Excellent ben & lois I love this type of craft on the hedgerows 👏👏👏👍

[@philcowdall9399]

that was just such a pleasure to see an expert do that! Thank you so much for making that video!

[@PigmentOfGreen]

Thanks so much, this is incredibly helpful!

[@913WildCat]

so cool, thank you! great production quality as well

[@eccomasta]

Great video, very informative!

[@chrismitchell7801]

Hi, Ben. I'm from Hereford originally and I noticed you referred to the ground as the 'floor'. I say that too. My Australian wife thinks it's weird - then one day we were in a lift and I noticed the button that says 'Ground Floor'. Job done!

[@user-tr5lf5wm8w]

Excellent tutorial, thanks

[@jimargeropoulos8309]

Thanks for that great answer to my question on the last video about tool selection

[@ElizabethClayton-sn3ms]

Great video, thank you. Really helpful. We are doing this now to our hedges thanks to your video.

[@JourneymanHandcraft]

Very enjoyat video Ben! It's been years since a lay a hendge really took me back 😍

[@alanreeder8662]

Hi Ben - Great to come across this quite by chance - useful extra tips here thanks

[@markbunyan9092]

Brilliant video Ben, a subject I know very little about so I know a fair bit more now, and 2 new words, heathering and pleachers! Keep up the good work. I will be having a go at a bit of willow I have to lay this weekend, spring not quite sprung in the western isles yet.

[@PaulOutdoors]

A marvelous watch and listen Ben from start to finish. That is a beautiful spot. I have just undertaken some hedgerow restoration work on my hawthorn and Holly hedge that forms part of our boundary on the edge of Hereford that needed a little laying, coppicing, replanting, staking and binding. Regrowth from the base has already started. I am hoping to do more coppicing and hedgelaying next autumn and winter and have a couple of potential sites. I remember when you were an apprentice to Steve. Heck the years have flown by 👍😊

[@keithmagee4450]

Thanks for a very helpful and informative video. Only about to plant up my hedge, but really useful to know what to do in a few years 👍

[@BernardDauphinais]

Beautiful.

[@charlesbrousseau3988]

Did not know hazels could grow that big! Nice trick with the twist while weaving the binders towards the end. Thanks!

[@robertcorradi8573]

Excellent..... Thank you

[@daane.2300]

This is fascinating

[@darranporter4637]

That was really interesting, I had never seen this before. Thanks. BTW I got 7 'emergency' phone calls yesterday that "Orford's on the telly whittlin" which we all enjoyed enormously. You've inspired 3 brand new whittlers to take up spoon making :) Appreciate your efforts to keep us entertained and inspired. Much love to you both.

[@chickadeeacres3864]

You’re the answer to my prayers. I think I have the materials to start a quick willow hedge around my orchard to keep out deer. Are some of the shrubs in the hedge thorny? We have an abundance of invasive buckthorn which if can be put to practical use, wouldn’t be such an issue.

[@olsonlr]

Never knew such a practice existed. Very clever

[@craftywildcamps]

Just been watching you on the big telly. Looked good!

[@peterleffler2062]

Oh how I wish I had some suitable land ... Nice work Ben.

[@englishhomestead]

Cracking video. Really enjoyed that.

[@BenOrford]

Fantastic thanks a lot

[@charlieneilson1239]

Brilliant vid. One of the best out there. You’re a uk gem. Thanks. Love what you’re doing. I too am a massive fan of the billhook and of laying

[@BenOrford]

Wow thanks a lot. So pleased you enjoyed it. Was such a lovely experience to plant and hedge and lay it on your own patch. Thanks for the comment and hope to get some more done this winter cheers Ben

[@MrGr8golf]

Thanks, Ben. We don't use hedges like this in the U.S. I wish we had all of those nice woods you mentioned...hazel, hawthorn, etc. Good woods for making things from what I've seen in other videos from the UK. You make it look easy and fun. You seem to have tons of patience in all you do.

[@BenOrford]

Thanks a lot glad you enjoyed it. Sure I think it is more a European method of hedge management. We are super lucky to have home grown materials that are so good for other crafts. What woods do you have local to you? Thanks for following us and glad you like our patience with the crafts. You may have not said that if you had seen me fighting with the brambles the day before 😆

[@MrGr8golf]

@@BenOrford Here in Georgia, for working with spoons, wooden knives...small projects, I use black cherry, river birch, eastern red cedar, tulip poplar, black walnut, if I'm lucky enough to get some and sycamore. Thank you for responding. I sure enjoy watching you and Lois.

[@BenOrford]

@@MrGr8golf well they sound like nice woods for sure. I have used tulip poplar and it makes a really light but dense material great for big bowls. The cherry and walnut sound amazing. I have a couple of spoons o have from trip to the US and nice to have something I carved while I was there. Thanks a lot for the kind words really pleased you like our channel 👍

[@jamesluff8415]

Great video! Good to watch and very informative. Looks like a nice job

[@BenOrford]

Well glad you found it useful. Many thanks cheers Ben

[@paulpower1972]

Would love the opportunity to try this. Thanks Ben

[@Forestowo]

Great! Very interesting and informative :) Best Regards!

[@guineapigfarmer6064]

Fantastic video, I'm glad that I discovered your channel. I only knew of your hook knives.

[@BenOrford]

Great glad you found our channel. Well I trained in traditional woodland crafts and green wood working before I made tools. Now you can see some of the extra skills glad you enjoyed it Cheers Ben

[@vyr01]

dont have any hedges, been watching many videos about hedge laying, thanks for making another one for me to watch ( also made me want Billhooks)

[@PhilEvansOnline]

Unbelievable timing! I was just speaking about this hedging technique earlier today. I had a moment of paranoia (Google is watching you) but when I saw it was you, I was relieved. Thanks for sharing Ben & Lois (I am assuming that you were behind the camera). ATB

[@FrankLutz2]

Thanks for this nice bit of info. In America and about to begin a hedge parallel to my neighbor’s high tensile electric fence. He keeps cattle and I keep pasture pigs. Hoping for a nicer, more natural solution to livestock retention.

[@ralfwaanders2405]

Very nice vid. I'd love to see the laid hedge in the summer! Greetings from germany, where this technique is almost unknown!

[@jason46742]

please do more country craft!! very interesting!

[@dylantrollope1873]

Fantastic video Ben! So informative and peaceful. I've really been getting into traditional hedge laying lately and would love to learn and work within that heritage hedge laying/coppicing world. Any advise? May I ask what apprenticeship you did? Thanks again.

[@grantcook5376]

Those bill hooks are really sharp, could you please show us how to field sharpen them ?

[@scraig9120]

the gap: you could "layer" that hazel, So lay it to the ground, scratch the bark where the hazel touches the ground, it will then root there, The chances of those bits that you shoved in the ground "taking" is almost zero as they are too long to support any root that formed. As long as you are laying uphill, you can "layer" many of the hedge row plants, though hazel and spindle are the best. I have layed hedges for more than 20 years

[@What..a..shambles]

Good video,i have the same morris of dunsford billhook , look after it they're not being made anymore 👍🏻

[@carlstoner2012]

Hazel will root in the gap where the saplings died if you had pushed into the soil or earthed up.

[@jh-ds8df]

Amazing. Thank you. I have about a 120 foot of hawthorn, brambles, snowberry, holly hedge, 95% hawthorn. Very dense & overgrown , about 10 foot high. How much do you think this will cost to have it professionally laid? Thank you.

[@KermitP]

Thanks for the video. A question for you, or rather a few questions. How do you handle a hedge corner? How about where it run up two hills, what would you do in the valley between?

[@lajos9134]

Nice. Never seen that before. Well UK is the king in hedge science :) I guess it needs lot of rain to grow back?

[@JONNYROCKIT99]

This is an older video, but I live in East Texas USA. I’d love to do this on my 10 acres. Seems it would be better and prettier than a t-post field fence. What type of hedge plant could I use?

[@slimefart01]

Nice beetle! Pterostichus madidus!

[@spikel984]

That's a lovely looking hedge! Is there more maintenance needed in the coming years or is it left to grow?

[@BenOrford]

Well it’s up to you. At this stage it will regrow and you can let it get to the height you want or trim it once a year to maintain the same height. We normally let it grow a little brighter in certain places to cover things we don’t want to see. Glad you enjoyed it Many thanks cheers Ben

[@JK-zj2sq]

This is a great presentation on the craft, thanks for sharing :) I've recently planted some field maple to wall in my market garden, and have inadvertently realised I could maybe hedge lay it? Would this specie be possible to work with?

[@BenOrford]

Great stuff glad you enjoyed it. Sure Field maple is ok to lay, you might find it’s a little more brittle so you may find you have to be more careful when thinning the pleach but I have laid a few field maple in these hedges. Best to do it when they are a bit younger as they get more brittle the bigger they get. Hope that helps cheers Ben

[@davidquirk8097]

Nice video, thanks for spending the time to make it. When is the best time to do this work please?

[@BenOrford]

Glad you enjoyed it. Well best time is the dormant season so November to beginning of march. I tend to leave it till January before I start hedging to leave the food for the birds Undisturbed as long as possible Hope that helps. cheers Ben

[@paulmatthews570]

Try and make the cuts longer, at least 5 times the dia up the stem.A side axe is far better for larger material

[@doesnotexist6524]

I wonder what sort of tropical and subtropical plants you can apply this to.

[@mccoyburgess844]

Seldom see you using gloves. What materials are they? The palms look to be different from the backs. What can you tell me about them? Great video showing a good way to use natural materials! Thanks for the teaching.

[@robmarshallofficial]

Thank you for this video, it’s very informative, I’ve just picked up an old Yorkshire Billhook which needs a bit of TLC. How do you sharpen yours?

[@swiss300173]

I sharpen ours with a flap disc on a grinder.

[@Dd-sunshine68]

I'm wondering if this can be done with lilac tree's?

[@jessemclaughlin9680]

Can most species of hedge tolerate this sort of shaping?

[@Toherinator]

What does this hedge look like now?

[@Vaessen13]

Thank you so much for showing this, what an awesome skill! Can't wait to try this myself 😀 Question: can a dead hedge be a good start for a live hedge to take over if you have no live hedge to start with?

[@BenOrford]

Glad you enjoyed it. Ok well the dead hedge won’t grow unless it’s fresh cut willow that might root. But if you plant a new hedge with whips protecting it with a dead head he is a good idea if you have rabbits or deer In Your area. We did that a few times in conservation areas where they wanted a low impact protection method for a new hedge. Hope that helps. cheers Ben

[@Vaessen13]

@@BenOrford Absolutely that helps! Thank you :) I've got a lot of dead wood and mature trees on my property but no hedge. I'm looking into planting one soon. Are there any good books that you know of on hedge planting and hedge laying?

[@BenOrford]

@@Vaessen13 great stuff well one of the best books was the BTCV hedge laying book but not sure if it’s still available. But what I would say is get bare root whips from your local tree growers as they will be more suited to your soil and weather conditions. Then get native varieties like hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, guelder rose, Field maple. And plant them about 30 to 40 cm on a zig zag pattern. That will give you a hedge suitable to lay in about 8 years. Hope that helps. cheers Ben

[@Vaessen13]

@@BenOrford awesome! Thank you so much 😀

[@wesfless3874]

Is there an update video on how the hedge looks now?

[@BenOrford]

There’s isn’t but I should do, I just gave it a trim as the regrowth on some of it was about 7 feet especially on the hazel. The hedge is certainly thriving 👍

[@wesfless3874]

@@BenOrfordgood to hear its thriving! hopefully can lay my own hedge one day

[@hannahread9187]

We're you able to get a grant for this work initially

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Do you think I can do the same here in Spain with olives

[@BenOrford]

Well I can’t say I have any experience with laying olive trees but would say if you do it in the so many season and leave a good amount of cambium on the front of the preach it should work. Make sure you lay them up hill and maintain that angle to prevent them dying. Let us know how you get on. cheers Ben

[@dcvariousvids8082]

Why did you leave the tree guard on below ground level?

[@BenOrford]

If I can leave any guards on the hedge I do just to help protect any regrowth. In this case it was the last bit that was still in the ground and not worth removing as it they are degradable tree guards. Hope that helps cheers Ben

[@olsonlr]

Maybe plant some clumping bamboo. Less work

[@jason46742]

will that keep sheep in a field?

[@adelinawarriner6259]

Yes

[@jackfrench7240]

Give it time to thicken up and yes it would , probably best to electric fence off for a bit though if you’re putting sheep in straight after

[@thornhedge9639]

Would this qualify as garden porn? What a treat! Thanks for sharing this!

[@warrenfrost5382]

Damn, now I’ve seen this there’s no excuse to not get it done in the farm.

[@stevenjohnson5126]

You want a topping axe and a chainsaw

[@BenOrford]

Sure for the bigger stuff I’ll use a chainsaw but nice to use the billhook on the smaller stuff. Plus leaves a smoother finish on the pleachers too 👍

[@horacerumpole9263]

Buy it a drink first?

[@pendaofmercia7892]

Do you need an apprentice? 😂

[@mothmagic1]

A dying art. Probably because it's too labour intensive. Far better at contianing livestock than any man made fence. Encourages strong growth and makes for an even better hedge. Probably the environmentalists will claim it damages the ecolofy of the hedgerow rather than admit it does the opposite

[@JS-jh4cy]

Environmentalists can't even shit right and not even think right