Hedge cutting in Dorking

Hedges trimmed, shaped and reduced across Dorking, with the birds and the neighbours in mind.

Plenty of Dorking hedges have had decades to settle in. Rose Hill was laid out around The Oval from 1831, the Deepdene roads went up between the wars, and Chart Downs followed between 1948 and 1952. That’s a long time for a privet or yew boundary to creep sideways. Hedge cutting in Dorking is often as much about winning back half a metre of path as getting the top straight.

We cut laurel by hand, because a powered trimmer slices the big leaves in half and they brown at the edges. Every cutting is raked out of the border and taken away. And we always look through the hedge for nests before we start.

Hedge trimming rules in the UK, and hedge cutting in Dorking’s nesting season

The law protects active birds’ nests, and a thick boundary hedge near woodland or open country is just the place birds choose. Dorking has a lot of both. So the main cuts go in between September and February, outside the nesting season. A light summer trim for shape can be fine, but only after a proper look through the hedge, and if we find a nest that section waits. People often ask when to trim a hedge in the UK. The honest answer is later than most would like, and more carefully.

Tall hedges on sloping Dorking gardens

Hills make hedges harder. On a garden that drops away, the same hedge can be shoulder height at one end and well over your head at the other, and the downhill face is often on the neighbour’s side. We bring the right access kit, stage big reductions over more than one visit, and agree beforehand how much comes off each face. Leylandii cut back into bare brown wood won’t regrow, so we’ll tell you if a reduction is going too far.

One thing to watch: anything in a boundary that has grown into a proper tree is a job for an arborist, and in the Dorking Conservation Area tree work needs six weeks’ notice to the council.

Hedge Trimming in Dorking: your questions

Anything else, just ring. You’ll speak to the people who do the work.

What does hedge cutting cost in Dorking?

It depends on the length, height and type of hedge, how easy both sides are to reach, and how much waste it makes. A regular trim costs less than a big reduction. We’ll look and give you a fixed price.

Can you cut the neighbour’s side as well?

Only with their say-so, as it’s their garden. Most neighbours are happy to let us through, and it’s worth asking, because a hedge cut on one face only grows lopsided.

How often should a laurel hedge be cut?

Once a year is usually enough, in September after nesting has finished. Privet and leylandii grow faster and look better with two cuts a year, the second a light one.