Undervalued and overlooked: Scrub is nature’s way of rewilding — here's how

Whatever the type of landscape, scrub habitats are just as  significant as more celebrated hedgerows, offering a similar suite of benefits

Naturally generated scrub habitats offer a similar suite of benefits to hedgerows. Come May, hawthorn flowers will draw in bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, hoverflies and beetles, all eager for the generous supplies of nectar.

We rarely pay much attention to alder, a hardy tree that readily plants itself wherever opportunity arises. But right now, before any of the broadleaf trees have grown their annual leaves, alder trees stand out. Generously draped with dangling purple-hued catkins, elegant and eye-catching in spring sunlight. In the clayey soils of the northwest, hills are currently cast in a haze of gentle purple, thanks to the abundance of alder and their catkins.

As a rule of thumb, the less intensively managed a landscape, the more the self-sown areas of scrub there are. These clusters of small trees and bushes weave through the landscape, perhaps spreading out from the edges of existing woodland or hedges, reclaiming field edges and corners. Each patch is populated by the tree types already growing well in the area, often those most suited to the soil type, self-seeded from parent trees nearby.