In the ash hedge shown above, the hedge has been laid from left to right.  Two stems just to the right of the large stump on the left had been previously laid in the opposite direction and could not be laid to the left in the normal way These have again been laid to the right, but then back to the left You can see the second cut in one of the stems above the large stump on the right Reverse laying is a useful technique for filling in gaps in hedges and can be unobtrusive, as here Always make the higher cut first

Example 2 - a hornbeam challenge

The hornbeam stems in the picture on the left were cut part way through at some point in the past and bent over to the left, but the hedge is being laid to the right!  The cuts were all made too high, with a bowsaw and by someone who did not know what they were doing. It was necessary to double lay each stem first to the left and then back to the right so that the finished stems lay the same way as the remainder of the hedge as shown on the right.  This worked successfully with the four of the five stems which were still alive, although only three are easily visible in the picture