Don't dismiss the humble hedge: it can bring shelter, privacy and a vibrancy to your garden. Just avoid the dreaded Leyland cypress, writes Jane Powers
FOR MANY YEARS hedges were a frightening concept in my family, to be included in the same chamber of horrors as rats, head lice and dog fleas. The rented house where we lived when I was a teenager was surrounded by hundreds of metres of laurel hedges. Our tenancy agreement stipulated that we would maintain them, a task that fell to my father. He, a man who heretofore had led a life more of the mind than of the garden, suffered mightily and loudly.
And why wouldn't he? For he had only a hand shears and a body that was not built for hours of repetitive shoulder wrenching. The cutting of the green beasts - four metres tall in places - dominated an entire spring and summer during our nine-month stay. The whole family suffered with him. By the time we left, none of us ever wanted to see another hedge in our lives.
It took a while before I was able to look at a wall of green leaves with a less jaundiced eye, but now, decades later, my conversion is complete. I don't mind declaring myself a hedge zealot. There are so many fine things about hedges that it's hard to know where to begin. But one of the most appealing is the availability of power hedge trimmers, so the cutting operation is not the gruelling job it once was.
Here are a few other pro-hedge thoughts. It gives excellent shelter (to both humans and plants) and, because it diffuses the wind rather than deflecting it, it is more effective than a wall or fence. It acts as a filter both for dust and noise, which makes it an ideal barrier between a house and a busy road. (Beech, however, may not do well by urban roads.) A hedge is cheaper to install than most boundaries and will last longer than a fence.
A hedge also offers privacy in a less aggressive manner than a high wall or fence. And a well-knit hedge based on species such as hawthorn and blackthorn is stockproof, while one of berberis, gorse, holly, pyracantha and roses such as R rugosa will keep human intruders out. William Cobbett, who wrote The English Gardener in 1827, averred that "four feet of good thorn hedge will keep the boldest boy from trees loaded with fine ripe peaches". This advice, however, came after reminding his readers that "every considerate man will recollect that he, himself, was once a boy".
A backdrop of green leaves offers a complementary setting for other plants. Many classic herbaceous borders are backed with yew hedging, where the lightsome froth of the flowers is amplified by the contrasting, deep-green, close-textured foliage. Yet the strongest point in favour of a hedge is that it is a living thing, animating a garden or landscape with its vibrant, ever-changing presence.
Who doesn't feel their heart quicken at the sight of hawthorn foaming with blossom in May or spangled with red berries in autumn? Who doesn't feel the seriousness of winter when they come upon a beech hedge sleeping under its protective coat of rustling brown-paper leaves?
It is that aliveness that makes a hedge invaluable to wildlife, providing sustenance and shelter for an abundance of creatures, from the tiniest invertebrate (which usually ends up as food for the higher-ups) to the fox that may make its den among the roots.
Hedges never go out of fashion: a classic beech, hornbeam or yew hedge is as much at home in a centuries-old garden as it is in the most modern and minimalist space. If you want a splendid, noble structure in your garden, there are countless ways to employ hedging.
It may be used as walls, to divide "garden rooms", or to frame openings with tantalising glimpses of further delights both near and far. It can be clipped and sculpted into fantastical or geometric forms, or into waves and curves to echo a landscape.
But let me interrupt the eulogy to say a few words on Leyland's cypress, the coniferous plant that delineates the boundary of many properties on this island. Do try to avoid this evergreen woody monster. Don't be swayed by the promise of a fast-growing hedging plant and the vision of a near-instant boundary.
Yes, it will quickly make a two-metre-tall hedge, but it doesn't obediently stop there. Every year it will grow a metre or more and will require at least two or three trims to keep it under control. If you let it get away on you, you're done for - it cannot be cut back to the bare wood, unlike some evergreens (yew and Thuja plicata, for instance).
If you want a fast-growing conifer, choose Thuja. Not only will it regenerate from bare wood, but it is also more tolerant of shade and damp than Leyland's cypress. I pass that advice on from Frances MacDonald, who knows more about hedging than most other gardeners I've met, and who also has a stately Thuja enclosure in her Co Wexford garden (as well as several other kinds of perfectly grown hedging).
MacDonald also points out that hedges don't always have to be planted in straight lines. "Why not throw out the occasional buttress to add interest to a large garden or to give shelter to a quiet sitting area?" Although it's prime planting season now (as long as the ground is not soggy or frosty, or the day windy), she suggests that a better plan might be to order the plants for early spring and to spend the winter digging and preparing a decent trench.
I agree. I get upset when I see hedging plants shoved into little holes in the soil. What you need is a trench at least 25cm deep and 50cm wide. If you can dig it deeper, do. When you're about to plant, mix plenty of organic matter in with the soil. After planting, keep the surface free from all other plants, including grass, so that there is no competition while the hedge establishes itself. Feed it in spring with well-rotted manure or pelleted chicken manure, and apply a mulch to retain moisture and exclude weeds.
Hedges are like people: give them a good start in life and they'll grow up strong and healthy. For more information, download leaflets from www.client.teagasc.ie/forestry. Follow the links for technical info.
jpowers@irish-times.ie
DIARY DATES
Frances MacDonald will host a talk on hedging and shelter at 2pm next Saturday, November 15th, at Springmount Garden Centre, Ballycanew Road, Gorey,
Co Wexford. Admission free. 053-9421368, www.springmount.ie
Teagasc forester Steven Meyen will give a workshop, Introduction to Hedgerows, from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, November 22nd, at the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim. Admission is €60 (including a vegetarian lunch). Booking is essential. 071-9854338, www.theorganiccentre.ie