All the twists, trims and turns of a good hedge lay

Stoke Abbott, Dorset Every limb is a puzzle, whether to remove or keep, how to split, where to interlace

Thunk! The billhook bites deep and splits the hazel slantwise. With a heave and a twist on the trunk, the young tree shakes its embryonic catkins against the sky and swishes down to lie lengthwise with the others. Then begins the business of trimming the prone sapling and weaving it in so it becomes both hedge and living fence.

Hedge laying is an ancient craft. Small tree trunks are sliced with a shallow, diagonal cut and then bent sideways. A thin bridge of wood remains to connect the laid tree to the live root. The horizontal trees, called pleaches or plashes, are interlaced and held in place with posts and crooks - pieces of forked stick driven into the ground. New side shoots grow outwards and upwards, regenerating the hedge from a thick, stock-proof, base.