When you have a hedge in your garden it is important to keep it properly pruned to maintain its healthy appearance. The type of pruning your hedge will require is dependant on what purpose your hedge serves; if it is used to give you more privacy it will have different maintenance requirements to a hedge used purely for decoration. As well as thinking about what style you would like your hedge to be cut in there are also regulations regarding cutting your hedge that many people may not have known about. Some of the different ways in which you can have your hedge styled and the regulations that you may not have known about include;

• Regulations – The main regulation regarding hedge trimming is the affect on wildlife. For example one regulation is that you are not allowed to cut through your hedge if you know there is a bird’s nest in use in your hedge at that moment in time. Any one that violates this regulation would be committing an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. So basically before deciding to have your hedge cut make sure you check over your hedge to make sure there are no birds nesting in it.
• Style – There are plenty of different styles that you can now have your hedge cut into by professionals depending on your preference. It is possible for a professional hedge cutter to cut your hedge into nearly any shape whether you want it in the shape of a person or a dog.

However, the main reason people have a hedge planted in the first place is to act as a boundary and to give them privacy from their neighbours or pedestrians. If you are not a professional gardener then it would be advised that you keep your hedge design as simple as possible. When cutting a hedge one of the most important things to be aware of is to know how to use the tools correctly and safely.

Some tools you would require for cutting your hedge will include;

• Electrical hedge trimmer; only use this if you are confident with the safety issues surrounding its use.
• Hedge scissors; these are for the smaller areas or any details you may not be able to cut with the electrical trimmer.
• Garden gloves; these will protect your hands from any thorns or sharp twigs that may be in your hedge.
• Garden rake; this is for raking up the cuttings once you are finished.

If you are not confident with cutting your hedge yourself then there are plenty of professionals out there that would be able to carry out which ever service you require.