Planting hedges in your garden has so many positive benefits

Apart from being the cheaper option to fencing or a wall, hedges are aesthetically pleasing, sustainable and good for wildlife bringing flowers, berries and leaves. Hedge roots act like a sponge absorbing and holding onto rain water, resulting in less surface run-off and more water storage in the soil. Hedges act as windbreaks from prevailing winds, reducing air pollution by taking harmful carbon out of the atmosphere, and giving us clean air. Dense evergreen hedges with thick branches like Holly, Thuja plicata and yew help reduce traffic and noisy neighbours!

Evergreen, deciduous, flowering, formal or informal 

• Before choosing your hedge for your garden there are a few things to consider. 
• What height do you want your hedge to be maintained?
• Choose the right plant to suit your soil conditions and situation. 
• Check what plants grow well locally given similar growing conditions. 

Evergreen

If privacy and formality takes priority in your garden choose an evergreen as they make excellent hedges with the added bonus of providing shelter and privacy all year round. However, they never stop growing and for this reason they do tend to take more maintenance pruning, ideally twice each year with the exception of slow growing yew. Elaeagnus, Holly, Thuja plicata, laurel, Conifer are popular choices, bearing in mind that if cut into the old wood Conifer will not grow back;

Deciduous 

Deciduous hedges give a more natural look, providing flowers, berries and shelter for birds, mammals, bees and other insects. These hedges filter wind so you won't get turbulence as with evergreens however, they do not hold on to their leaves during winter so you won't get the privacy that you do with evergreens (with the exception of beech which holds onto its brown leaves and looks very pretty especially when caught by frost,) Privet, Hawthorn, Hornbeam, Native mix, Rosa canina, Elder, Rowan, Field maple make very good wildlife friendly native hedges. Deciduous hedges are less maintenance and can be left for a year or two before being cut back and respond well to winter pruning and rejuvenation.

Best hedges to filter noise and pollution

Evergreen shrubs with dense growth from the ground upwards will supply all year round cover and depending on the size of the problem can be interspersed with deciduous trees. If planting on a budget Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata has dense growth and is fast growing so smaller plants can be purchased initially. Leylandii hedging plants are also a fast growing species but would require maintenance at least twice a year to keep it shaped to a good structure. 

The English Yew does a great job at filtering noise and pollution but has a much slower growing habit and so if the hedge needs to be established urgently larger plants would need to be purchased.Cherry laurel, Portuguese laurel, Griselinia and the slower growing Holly all make good sound barriers although not quite as thick a covering as Thuja or Yew. 

To extend the height if not possible with the hedge then planting trees interspersed along hedges can reduce pollution and noise. Trees with larger leaves such as poplar, Rowan and Aspen are very effective during spring and summer. 

Some variety of plants up to 2 metres in height which have been trimmed and grown as a hedge can also be purchased and planted to give instant hedge coverage. 

Best hedges for biodiversity and wildlife

If you want to attract wildlife to your garden a mixed native hedge provides flowers for pollinating bees, butterflies and other insects, berries, fruit or nuts for birds and mammals and shelter for a range of other species. 

Hawthorn makes a great hedge with its thorny dense growth providing perfect nesting sites for birds, along with flowers for pollinators, fruits in autumn for birds and mammals. 

Blackthorn or the sloe is a shrubby tree with flowers and so bring a much needed source of nectar for bees early in the year. The leaves are a food source for butterflies and moths.

WildPrivet is a great wildlife friendly hedge and a favourite for nesting birds, the flowers are popular for butterflies and bees. 

Rowan or mountain ash tree makes a beautiful tree or hedge with berries in autumn much loved by birds such as the waxwing, robin, or song thrush.

The uk native field maple is a brilliant hedging plant for wildlife. Bees in particular are attracted to the flowers, aphids are attracted to the leaves, which then attract predators into the garden such as hover flies and ladybirds.

Hornbeam is a native tree and wildlife friendly. The dense foliage makes great nesting sites and it holds on to its leaves over winter proving a secure shelter. 

At Benita's Garden Services we offer regular garden maintenance, seasonal lawn care, tree and shrub pruning, hedge trimming, perennial care, sourcing, planning and planting.

Call: 07891985701

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If a gardening job is done at the right time it will help save you money and/or spread the cost. It is also better for your garden or outdoor space!

Trees, Shrubs & Climbers

It not too late to plant deciduous hedging plants, shrubs, trees and climbers.

Prune Evergreens such as Choisya ternata and evergreen Ceanothus.

Remove frost damaged shoots from evergreens damaged during winter.

Tie in climbing and rambling roses as horizontally as possible to encourage plenty of side shoots and more flowers.

Mulch roses, shrubs and trees to help retain moisture, condition the soil and prevent weeds. Pay special attention to shallow rooted plants such as Rhododendron, Azaleas and Camellias to help keep the roots cool.

Remove shoots from hardy variegated evergreen to prevent the shrubs from reverting back to one colour.

Prune fig trees

Divide bamboo.

Take softwood cuttings of hydrangeas and fuschias and propagate.

Take cuttings of your favourite conifers.

Beds, Borders & Perennials

Hoe annuals and dig out persistent weeds.

Divide overgrown perennial plants to encourage new growth and flowers and propagate.

Cut back and clear any dead, dying or diseased winter bedding or perennials. 

Deadhead spring bedding plants and bulbs before they go to seed.

Prune back penstemon, Teucrium, lavender and other slightly tender plants above new growth.

Leave daffodils and tulips to die down completely so they can photosynthesis and feed the bulb for next year's flower.

Give shrubs and roses a boost by feeding with an all purpose slow release fertiliser around the base avoiding the leaves. Miracle grow or blood, fish & bone are good all rounders for this purpose. 

Apply a fine mulch of at least 2 -3 inches to feed the soil and nurture the plants.

Put plant supports in place for plants to grow over them.

Sow sweet peas and other hardy annuals outside.

Plant summer flowering bulbs.

Start to feed citrus plants

Greenhouse and conservatory plants will need watering.

Lawn Care

Mow the lawns on a regular basis, keeping the cut on high to help hold in moisture and discourage unwanted weeds. If you can try to leave some areas longer to encourage other taller species of wild flowers to grow to encourage more bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Learn about how to increase bee population ten fold - No Mow May. 

Cut lawn edges to give a neat appearance and prevent grass spreading into the borders. 

Give your lawns a nitrogen spring feed to 

April - May is a good time to sow new lawns and over seed bare patches.

Apply a nitrogen feed to encourage healthy green growth and help discourage moss and weeds.

Ponds

Create extra shade to prevent algae from spreading by dividing and replanting waterlilies when they show signs of growth.

Start feeding fish.

During winter your pond filter would have gotten really dirty and so give it a clean then check a week later to see if it needs cleaning again. 

Planting Wildflowers

Planting wildflowers is an easy and cost effective way to give colour and encourage wildlife to your garden or outdoor space. Since the second world war we lost almost our entire meadows so planting a mixture of wildflowers and grasses will help to provide food and shelter for a wide range of species. There are various ways of introducing wildflowers by laying turf, planting plugs or sowing seed. You can plant a meadow wherever you have space amongst existing shrubs, perennials, or even in troughs or pots. Choose whether you want a perennial or annual wildflower meadow. British native perennial which replicates our lost grasslands and hey meadows add much needed value for our wildlife. Annual meadows tend to be more colourful and planted with non native plants but tend to add less value to wildlife. 

When the danger of frost is over you can start to think about planning and planting your troughs, baskets and pots with new summer bedding.

During the bank holiday why not think about buying some new plants that will benefit the local wildlife?

Plants that attract bees, butterflies and other wildlife

Plants to attract birds into your garden