Lush hedgerow fruits for punky birds and for us humans

At this time of year, with restrictions on cutting lifted, many hedges are flailed to within an inch of their lives. Cutting too hard, too often, too low, or at the wrong time of year will all weaken the hedge over time

Gueder rose berries, a waxwing, sloes and rowan berries — autumn hedgerows are laden with ripe fruits that attract wildlife. Waxwings come here fro the winter from Scandinavia and have a particular fondness for rowan berries

Now that the days are shortening, the autumn bounty of wild fruit is ripening on the trees and bushes. The autumn equinox is upon us, when night and day are equal, and fruits are the culmination of the growing season. Hedges up and down the county are laden with ripe fruits.

The wispy white flowers that emerged from blackthorn trees in March are now swelling as plump round sloe berries. Hawthorn flowers that erupted from the hedgerows in May are now ripening red haws. Guelder rose, another native fruiting tree that’s often found in hedgerows, produces crimson berries alongside its bright red maple-like leaves. Bright clumps of red and orange rowan berries hang from overhead, surrounded by reddening rowan leaves that will be flaming orange in a few weeks’ time. Wild Spindle fruits are worth looking out for too, their star-shaped berries are a bright candy pink colour, encasing orange seeds.