GARDENING - FEB.qxp_Layout 2 28/01/2022 11:26 Page 1
GARDENING
The Newt in Somerset
Know your boundaries While your plants lay dormant, now is the ideal time to construct some natural boundaries, says Elly West. Here, she explains how to create everything from strong design statements to wildlife-boosting borders
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ardens may vary in size and shape, but one thing they have in common is the need to mark the boundaries in some way. Often this will be with walls or fences, but I personally love the impact of a well-kept hedge. Now is the ideal time to plant a new hedge, while the plants are dormant, and in time for spring and summer. A hedge is a living wall made of plants. Some are decorative and make a strong design statement, such as the low box-hedge parterres of the Victorian era, or even a hedge maze. Others provide a practical function, acting as a boundary, privacy screen or windbreak. They can be used to break up a space and create different zones, giving structure, leading your eye around the garden and, depending on what plants you choose, they are extremely versatile. A hedge can be formal or informal, evergreen or deciduous, with interesting leaves, flowers or fruits. Hedges are cheaper and easier to install than fencing, as well as being longer-lasting and more interesting. They provide a habitat and shelter for wildlife, and create a good foil for other plants. In spring, you'll have fresh new growth, in summer, perhaps flowers and a home for nesting birds, then the possibility of autumn fruits, and in winter they are the architecture of the garden, carrying frost and snow. Choosing a hedge is an important decision. You'll need to consider the specific requirements such as the height and size you want it to be maintained at, and whether you want it to be evergreen or deciduous. A formal hedge is likely to be a single species for a uniform look. Yew is a fantastic option and can be kept small as an alternative to box hedging, or left to grow to several metres. Its soft, dark green needles make a beautiful backdrop for other plants. However, it's fairly slow growing compared to other options, so you'll need patience. Other conifers can be grown as hedges, including the notorious 72 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
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FEBRUARY 2022
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No 207
Leyland cypress, or leylandii. It's extremely fast growing (up to a metre per year), and has been at the centre of thousands of disputes between neighbours, so either avoid, or be prepared to cut it back two or three times a year to keep it fully under control. There are plenty of other evergreen options, including Portuguese laurel, which has attractive slender dark-green leaves and reddish stems, or Griselinia, with glossy apple-green leaves. This dense, lowmaintenance evergreen grows on most soil types in sun or shade, and is tolerant of wind and salt, so good for coastal gardens. Semi-evergreens include privet – ever popular for good reason as it's tough, easy to grow and maintain, and there are attractive variegated varieties available with leaves edged with golden-yellow or cream. Beech is deciduous when grown as a tree, but beech hedges tend to hold their leaves after they've turned brown until the new growth comes through in spring, giving you cover all year round. Beech can be kept fairly low – at around 1.2m – or allowed to grow tall. The tallest hedge in the world is a 30m beech hedge in Perthshire, Scotland. Hornbeam is very similar and is a better choice if you're planting on heavy clay soil. Box hedging (Buxus sempervirens) is the classic choice for low hedging and edging around the garden, but can be susceptible to blight or the dreaded box caterpillar. The latter is still mostly confined to areas of the south-east but unfortunately present across the UK, so check around your neighbourhood and if you see dead, brown box bushes then it's probably best to avoid. Ilex crenata, a type of smoothleaved holly, makes a good alternative. Likewise, on the road where I live any viburnum hedges in the front gardens are ragged with viburnum beetle by mid-summer. I took mine out and replaced it with silver-leaved privet.
