Hedge

<p>A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrubs</a> and sometimes <a href="/facts/Tree/HVVn3srN">trees</a>, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and are of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are known as hedgerows. Often they serve as <a href="/facts/Windbreak/Qyynpea8">windbreaks</a> to <a href="/facts/Microclimate/CGSzXfJ3">improve conditions</a> for the adjacent <a href="/facts/Crop/JoQKR5R8">crops</a>, as in <a href="/facts/Bocage/Th69JPC5">bocage</a> country. When clipped and maintained, hedges are also a simple form of <a href="/facts/Topiary/E3WVeRLh">topiary</a>.
</p><p>A hedge often operates as, and sometimes is called, a "live <a href="/facts/Fence/efJPfQhN">fence</a>". This may either consist of individual fence posts connected with wire or other fencing material, or it may be in the form of densely planted hedges without interconnecting wire. This is common in tropical areas where low-income farmers can demarcate properties and reduce maintenance of fence posts that otherwise deteriorate rapidly. Many other benefits can be obtained depending on the species chosen.
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Hedge open-in-new

Hedge