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German to English translations [PRO] Science - Botany / Gartengestaltung/Insekten
German term or phrase:Heckensaum
Full sentence: Trockene Wegränder und bunte Heckensäume mit Kleearten wie Hornklee und Kronwicke im Offenland, in Parklandschaften und Gärten sind die Welt des Hauhechel-Bläulings.
I know what a Heckensaum is and looks like (=the area surrounding/under a hedgerow), there are many examples in Google Image Search, but I cannot for the life of me find an English expression for it that is not just a description of the term. Is there a word for this? I'd appreciate any help.
Thank you so much everyone, this was super helpful - and it feels so nice not to debate these things with only myself ;-)
For my particular context, I decided to go with Björn's suggestion of undergrowth. My text is about how to promote wildlife in cities and it contains tips for owners of gardens - so I think undergrowth, in the sense that the owners actually plant things underneath the hedges that attract butterflies, makes the most sense here.
In a more general context though, I believe "margins" is very useful; like you, I have also found this in many texts, but it does, I think, refer more to a place that's left "wild", i.e. not mown or cut.
...because the idea of 'field margins' also sprang to mind - but I couldn't justify upstairs that hedgerows always form field borders. :)
On a different note to Julia, the snippet cited seems to be drawing a distinction between a dry area and the relatively damp(ish) hedgerow terrain - although this may indeed prove more apparent elsewhere in the text.
Hecke and Heckensaum are listed separately. It's not a direct reference to plants and you still can't use hedgerow for both.
Maybe field/grass margins sounds better to you, I don't know. Another Common Blue page describing the butterfly's habitat: "These include field margins, hill slopes, wild flower meadows, roadside verges, woodland edges, brownfield sites and rural gardens." https://www.landscapemagazine.co.uk/countryside/common-blue-...
Many websites don't even mention hedge(row) because a Heckensaum is, according to the CH page linked to below: "Den natürlichen Heckensaum, der sich von der Hecke gerechnet mindestens 50 cm ausdehnt, alle 2 Jahre auf verschiedenen Abschnitten mähen"
As you can see in the picture on the same page, it's not the hedge anymore.
Best
David Moore (X)
Julia,
22:05 Sep 25, 2019
don't be put off a simple "hedgerow" here - you don't plant butterflies,,,
The Small Copper: "They tend to be around woodlands and forests, also in open meadows ( if you can find a meadow), also seen on ferns and will rest in the undergrowth; they are lait flyers too, have seen these in September." https://www.kateyjanephotography.co.uk/Macro/UK-butterflies/
First off, welcome to KudoZ, Julia! Now, I'll be getting right to it: I'm not very fond of any of the answers and I don't agree with David. While I understand his point, a Saum is something pretty specific [emphasis added]: "Die schönste Hecke fügt sich nur richtig in den Garten ein, wenn sie von einem blühenden Saum von mindestens einem halben, besser einem bis zwei Metern Breite begrenzt wird. Dies kann ein Streifen Blumenwiese sein oder ein Beet mit passenden Stauden. Die typischen Heckenbegleiter bevorzugen garen humosen Boden, der sich aber erst nach 5 bis 10 Jahren unter den Sträuchern einstellt, sofern man das Laub im Herbst liegen lässt." https://www.gaertnerei-strickler.de/hecken.html
my first comment stands. It has to be your choice if the context warrants a more detailed description, but butterflies really don't see much difference between a hedgerow and its edges, AFAIAA. If the context does stray into plant territory, then you're probably quite right.
I was going to go with just "hedgerow", except there are parts of the text with an explicit distinction between the hedgerow itself and the edge/margin/border.
David Moore (X)
Welcome, Julia!
14:02 Sep 25, 2019
Please do not use any unnecessary words here: "colourful hedgerows" will do admirably. It stands to reason that hedgerows are at the edges of fields, roads etc., and that's what butterfly books (at least, all of mine!) give as their preferred habitat.
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Answers
23 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
hedgerow margins
Explanation: I'd doubt there is a single word to suit, in which case generalisation may be your best friend.
Chris Pr United Kingdom Local time: 09:23 Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you! I think for a general meaning, this is the most suitable.
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