A Natural History of the Hedgerow

Author: John Wright
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847659357
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 339

Book Description
It is difficult to think of a more quintessential symbol of the British countryside than the British Hedgerow, bursting with blackberries, hazelnuts and sloes, and home to oak and ash, field mice and butterflies. But as much as we might dream about foraging for mushrooms or collecting wayside nettles for soup, most of us are unaware of quite how profoundly hedgerows have shaped the history of our landscape and our fellow species. One of Britain's best known naturalists, John Wright introduces us to the natural and cultural history of hedges (as well as ditches, dykes and dry stone walls) - from the arrival of the first settlers in the British Isles to the modern day, when we have finally begun to recognise the importance of these unique ecosystems. His intimate knowledge of the countryside and its inhabitants brings this guide to life, whether discussing the skills and craft of hedge maintenance or the rich variety of animals, plants, algae and fungi who call them home. Informative, practical, entertaining and richly illustrated in colour throughout, A Natural History of the Hedgerow is a book to stuff into your pocket for country walks in every season, or to savour in winter before a roaring fire.

Hedgerow History

Author: Gerry Barnes
Publisher: Windgather Press
ISBN: 1909686409
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Book Description
Oxbow says: For many years hedges have been the most common field boundary in rural Britain, providing a stock-proof barrier, a field boundary and a haven for wildlife. Despite this, they are rarely studied in any detail in landscape archaeology. The authors of Hedgerow History rightly argue that hedges, as an essential feature of the landscape, their origins and development, are as worthy of study as any other part of the landscape. Their book focuses on the species content and diversity of hedges, how these came about and how they changed over time. The introduction provides the background to hedges in Britain, the development of field boundaries, changes in fields and farming, especially the impact of enclosure, hedgerow management, and methods of dating hedges. In an attempt to evaluate the pioneering work of Hooper and Pollard in the 1960s and 1970s, and gain insights into the diversity of hedges and the possible human and animal reasons for it, Barnes and Williamson carried out a detailed survey of hedgerows in Norfolk. Finding 61 shrub species among the Norfolk hedgerows, they attempt to tie this data in with evidence on geology, soils, climate, woodland, enclosure, farming practices and historical factors, as an indicator of the processes of continuity and change that have taken place in the wider landscape.

Philistines at the Hedgerow

Author: Steven Gaines
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 031649027X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Book Description
Bestselling author Steven Gaines's "richly entertaining" (People) and juicy social history of the Hamptons. As one of America's most fabled communities--long a magnet for artists, celebrities, the very rich, and their respective hangers-on--the Hamptons have been a scene of constant collision among the established old guard, New Money, and the local families who farmed and fished the region for generations. In serving up three centuries of Hamptons history, Steven Gaines introduces a host of colorful characters including Jackson Pollock, Ron Perelman, Lauren Bacall, and the Bouvier Beales of Grey Gardens infamy. Philistines at the Hedgerow is a mesmerizing feat of storytelling--a book that takes us behind the privet hedges and rolling sand dunes and brings vivid life to the curious passions and personalities that animate the Hamptons.

Hedgerow

Author: Eric Thomas
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
ISBN: 9780688036836
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 46

Book Description
The story, based on fact, chronicles the life of a hedge, how it grew, its resources and wildlife, and how its life continued through the ages until it was destroyed by modern times

Hedgerow

Author: John Wright
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140880185X
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
A recipe-complemented guide to edible plants that can be found in the British countryside shares essential facts about conservation, safety, legal concerns and necessary tools and includes additional information about seasonal growth cycles and cooking strategies. By the author of Mushrooms.

The Ecology of Hedgerows and Field Margins

Author: John W. Dover
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135135549X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Book Description
Hedges and field margins are important wildlife habitats and deliver a range of ecosystem services, and their value is increasingly recognised by ecologists. This book reviews and assesses the current state of research on hedgerows and associated field margins. With the intensification of agriculture in the second half of the last century, field sizes were increased by amalgamation and the rooting out of hedges, synthetic pesticide and inorganic fertiliser use increased, and traditional methods of hedge management were largely abandoned. The book is split into two main sections. The first deals with definitions, current and historic management, the impact of pesticides, the decline in hedge stock and condition, and new approaches to hedge evaluation using remote sensing techniques. The second section explores the pollination and biological pest control benefits provided by hedges and field margins and examines the ecology of some of the major groups that are found in hedgerows and field margins: butterflies and moths, carabid beetles, mammals, and birds. A case study on birds and invertebrates from a research farm managed as a commercial enterprise, but which attempts to farm with wildlife in mind, brings these themes together. A final chapter introduces the neglected area of hedges in the urban environment. The book will be of great interest to advanced students, researchers and professionals in ecology, agriculture, wildlife conservation, natural history, landscape, environmental and land management.

Tales of the Irish Hedgerows

Author: Tony Locke
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750982993
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
Traditional hedgerows are rapidly vanishing from our countryside. With their disappearance, we lose not only their flora and fauna but also the tales and folklore that have always surrounded them.This book records these stories before they disappear from memory. With chapters dedicated to specific plants or animals, we learn about the folklore of the hedgehog, the badger, woodmouse, thrush, wren, bumblebee, hawthorn, foxglove and hazel and many more.These are tales of wisdom and magic that help us to gain a greater understanding of the natural world we live in and which encourage us to live in closer harmony with that world.

The Theft of the Countryside

Author: Marion Shoard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780851172002
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description

Of Cabbages and Kings

Author: Caroline Foley
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 1781011591
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Book Description
“An excellent account” of Britain’s tradition of parceling out land for the public to grow food on, and the colorful history behind it (The Independent). This lively book tells the story of the private garden plots known as allotments—from their origin in the seventeenth century, when new enclosures that deprived the peasantry of access to common lands were fiercely protested, to the victory gardens of the world wars, and into the present day, when they serve less as a means of survival than as a respite from the modern world. While delving into the effects of the Napoleonic Wars, the Corn Laws, and the utopian dissenters known as the Diggers, the author reveals the multiple roles of allotments—and champions their history in the hope of protecting them for the future. “Foley’s book reminds us that the right to share the earth has always been an asymmetric struggle.” —The Guardian “Fascinating and handsomely illustrated.” —Daily Mail “Well-told . . . . [a] gallop through the history of useful rather than ornamental crops.” —Spectator Australia

Dying for Saint-Lo

Author: Didier Lodieu
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 9782352500353
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
From 5 to 20 July 1944 American invasion forces ran into fierce resistance around the French town of Saint-Lô, an important railway and road communications center in Normandy. As well as the Heer divisions such as the Panzer Lehr, GIs had to fight the redoubtable paratroopers and Waffen-SS who made them pay a heavy price for each hedgerow and each village they managed to take.