| My last article on how to plant a country hedge | | | | wire. Nature's barbs are found on wild roses. Put |
| covered what is involved in preparing the ground. | | | | some dog rose or sweet briar into your hedging. |
| This concentrates on helping you choose your | | | | Both are rambling roses with well barbed shoots |
| hedging plants. A typical country hedge fulfils one | | | | that can grow 8-10 feet in a year. These shoots |
| or more of four purposes; it is a boundary | | | | run through the hedge, helping to tie it together. |
| marker, it is designed to keep live stock from | | | | They also carry pretty leaves (wild briar leaves |
| wandering, it is a screen and it can be a wildlife | | | | smell of apple when crushed), single flowers in |
| habitat. | | | | clusters - generally white and pink and bright red |
| A stockproof (which includes people and dog | | | | hips held well into winter make roses a visual |
| proof) hedging needs a good proportion of | | | | highlight of your hedge as well as being one of its |
| hawthorn - about 50% is good - and it should not | | | | 'enforcers'. |
| have anything too poisonous in it - so no wild | | | | The most beautiful native shrub of all is the |
| privet, yew or laurel. If all you want is to keep | | | | Guelder Rose. It is actually a viburnum, not a rose |
| animals or people in or out, then pure hawthorn is | | | | at all, has no thorns and most un-roselike leaves. |
| the cheapest way. Hawthorn is pretty - it flowers, | | | | In summer it is covered in cream coloured puff |
| fruits, has attractive foliage in summer and good | | | | ball flowers which are followed by cherry red |
| autumn tints, but a whole hawthorn hedge is a bit | | | | berries and the most magnificent autumn foliage |
| 'samey'. | | | | in shades of red. |
| Why not have a bit of fun and mix it up a bit? | | | | Field maple is also truly beautiful. Little, glossy |
| And not only more fun; in the most literal sense, | | | | green maple shaped leaves with red stalk and |
| variety is the spice of life. You will be amazed at | | | | veins. Helicopter fruitlets in autumn and then |
| the range of wildlife that will be attracted by a | | | | leaves turning in colour to what can only be |
| few additional plants in your simple country | | | | described as Benson & Hedges Gold. |
| hedgerow. | | | | Dogwood is an everyday sort of plant in summer. |
| So we have hawthorn as the base - the cheese | | | | Rather non-descript leaves and flowers that are |
| and tomato in the pizza if you will. Hazel is also an | | | | over in seconds. It does carry berries in autumn, |
| excellent hedge plant. Good leaves - strong and | | | | but you really grow it for its bark. The new |
| broad that contrast well in shape and texture with | | | | growths of dogwood, in winter light up your |
| hawthorn and that colour well in the autumn. Nuts | | | | hedge when all leaves have fallen. Depending on |
| that the squirrels get long before we do. Hazel | | | | the variety, you can pick your colour, red, yellow, |
| also lays well, which means your hedge can be | | | | lime green, purple even black. |
| regenerated every 50 years or so. The crowning | | | | Last and by no means least is Blackthorn. Dense |
| glory of hazel however is its flowering. Hazel | | | | growing, viciously spined, blackthorn is an essential |
| carries catkins in very early spring, on bare wood. | | | | ingredient in any hedge that is needed to keep |
| Not only are they a sight for winter-sore eyes, | | | | sheep in or vandals out. First to flower in spring, a |
| but they are heavy with pollen which is essential | | | | blackthorn bush can be completely hidden by its |
| for bees when they come out of their hives and | | | | blossom. In late summer, pick the sloes to make |
| nests on warm days in late winter. Without that | | | | your sloe wine, brandy, vodka or non-alcoholic |
| pollen they struggle to survive and your fruit and | | | | jelly. And all through the summer listen to the |
| veg suffer as a consequence. | | | | birdsong - for no other hedge plant brings in the |
| Every fence (man-made or natural) is | | | | birds, including nightingales, like Blackthorn. |
| strengthened with the addition of a bit of barbed | | | | |