Over the winter months, hedgerows become a sanctuary for wildlife. They are a lifeline, despite the shrubs being in deep slumber; their leaves fall and the sap retreats to the protection of the roots. Hedgehogs hibernate in drifts of leaves in the undersides of the hedge; insects shelter in nooks, leaf litter or old hollow stalks; Dormice may be dreaming away too under the thicker leaf litter. Birds collect winter hawthorn berries and rose hips and shelter within the amber as the regenerating plants prepare for the spring.