Hedges

[MaryN]

Not sure if this is the right section, but here goes. If I sound like a schoolmarm, I apologise in advance, but this a topic I'm familiar with.

If you have a bit of a blank area round your house, then a hedge is a great way to fill it with the potential to keep out unwanted intruders, animal or human; provide shade and habitat for flora and fauna; and potentially provide food for you.

I have spent several hours this morning putting in 25m of hedging in our field. My purpose was mainly to provide a stockproof barrier, but also to improve the security of the perimeter (so I shall also be adding some netting later). I chose blackthorn (sloe). I particularly wanted to use hedging that was indigenous to the country because I consider it important to maintain a natural balance. Blackthorn is not only a prickly horror, but it also provides a dense barrier that few animals will want to tangle with. There is also the additional blessing of sloes at a later date for that all-important sloe gin or vodka. The area I was planting is currently hedge-free, so I needed to make a choice of a bush that grows quickly. Blackthorn is pretty speedy and also has the additional benefit of spreading by suckering, which means that it grows from the base up. This is great for keeping a really dense hedge.

It is really important to choose the right hedge for your requirements. A lot of folk seem to favour the awful cupressus - the gardener's bane - and I can appreciate that a thick barrier of this planting can look impressive. It does have the benefit of growing very quickly and densely, and can provide a good deterrent to prying eyes. But, in my opinion, the cons far outweigh the pros. It is not difficult to force your way through; unless it is carefully pruned ( which takes time and effort on a regular basis) then it quickly produces areas of deadwood which do not grow back; it produces large quantities of dead "needles" which kill off anything which tries to grow in the surrounding area; and you are likely to annoy your neighbours if the trees get too high. Much better, in my view, to pick something which will provide a better deterrent to intruders (animal or human) and which hopefully will not necessitate too much attention.

If you are going to plant a hedge to improve the security at y our property, then try to think longer term. Very few hedges will grow quickly enough to give you a rapid return for your labour, and a mistake in choosing the wrong planting for your needs will result in time lost of maintenance or worse, replanting, and money lost. Not a great result. The sooner you start the better.

I have another hedge to deal with soon. This one is already in existence but needs repair. It consists mostly on may trees (hawthorn) and is, like blackthorn, prickly and unwelcoming. I shall be repairing it with maytree saplings. I am sure that plants recognise their own breeds and hope that the new saplings will integrate quickly.

Happy planting.