British Agricultural Revolution
Many species and hybrids are used as ornamental and street trees. The common hawthorn is extensively used in Europe as a hedge plant. During the British Agricultural Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, hawthorn saplings were mass propagated in nurseries to create the new field boundaries required by the Inclosure Acts. Several cultivars of the Midland hawthorn "C. laevigata" have been selected for their pink or red flowers. Hawthorns are among the trees most recommended for water conservation landscapes.