“You can't cut hedges in summer, it's illegal.” It's one of the most repeated bits of garden advice, and it isn't quite right. The truth is more useful.
What the law protects
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it's an offence to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it's in use or being built. The law protects the nest, not the hedge. There's no blanket ban on trimming a garden hedge in summer, but if there's an active nest in it and you cut through it, you've broken the law.
The main nesting season runs from March to the end of August. Plenty of birds nest outside those dates too, especially in a mild year.
What that means in practice
- Check before you cut. Watch the hedge for a few minutes for birds flying in and out with food or nesting material, then look inside carefully.
- If there's an active nest, leave that section alone until the young have fledged.
- Save hard cutting and renovation for autumn and winter, when nesting is over.
Best times to cut, hedge by hedge
Most formal hedges need one main cut a year, and late summer into early autumn suits most of them. Yew, beech, hornbeam and box all clip well then and hold their shape through winter. Beech and hornbeam cut in late summer also keep their brown leaves until spring, which keeps your privacy.
Faster growers like privet and Lonicera need an extra trim in early summer, which is exactly when a careful nest check matters most.
Cutting for a thicker hedge
Cut with a slight taper, so the hedge is wider at the base than the top. Light reaches the lower branches and the hedge stays dense right down to the ground. A hedge cut straight-sided, or wider at the top, slowly goes bare from the bottom up.
And never cut conifers like Leylandii back into brown wood. Unlike yew, they won't regrow from it.
Farm hedges are different
Farmland hedgerows come under separate rules for land managers. This post is about garden hedges only.
Written by Mark, The Garden Curator. RHS Level 3 qualified gardener working across Flintshire and Denbighshire.
