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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Hedges with edges!
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| Thursday, 25th October 2007 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
Last week I said that October and November were the best months for planting soft fruit. These are also the best months for planting a hedge.
The soil is still warm enough from summer, so that the roots of the hedging plants get nicely established before the cold weather starts. This means they will be in a much better and sturdier state to put on good growth in the spring, which in turn means that they will fill in, bulk out, and knit together to more effectively become the hedge that they are supposed to be.
But just why should we grow a hedge, rather than put up fencing panels or build walls?
Don’t forget, I’m a gardener and for me plants always come first. Fences and walls do have their place as garden boundaries, but growing plants is always going to be my first option.
Hedges are better than solid walls and fences in a number of ways. They filter the wind rather than blocking it; when a solid structure like a wall blocks the wind, the wind has to go somewhere else, which is usually upwards and over the structure. This can cause turbulent eddies of air on the leeward side, and these can do more damage to garden plants than if the wind went straight through without any interference.
Hedges also become havens for all manner of wildlife; and this is something I’m always keen to promote.
And, of course, with care a hedge can be decorative, colourful and full of interest. And it doesn’t need painting or re-pointing!
There are two styles of hedge – informal and formal. The first can be sub-divided into flowering, foliage and mixed hedging (where anything goes; you could have plants with good flowering potential, and later perhaps, autumn or winter berries, as well as plants grown for their coloured leaves).
You could even opt for a few deciduous plants to give the hedge real character. Flowering plants for informal hedges include golden bells (Forsythia), Japanese quince (Chaenomeles), flowering currants (Ribes), some forms of shrub rose, and sloe (Prunus spinosa).
Leaves on plants like these can sometimes obscure flowers growing within the hedge, so it is important that you should thin out some of the flowered growth annually. Leave at least two thirds of the branches intact, so that you are not depleting the density of the hedge too much.
The formal style is when a hedge has a close-knit surface, preferably down to soil level. Many conifers are used for formal hedging, and they do make ideal screens.
The usual garden types include yew (Taxus baccata), Lawson’s cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa), the arborvitae or Western red cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and the infamous Leyland cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii). The latter has the distinction of being the fastest growing garden conifer.
One of the best non-conifer subjects for a formal hedge is beech (Fagus sylvatica), which is fresh green in summer, and golden brown in autumn and winter, until the leaves drop and the fresh ones come. Very similar is the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), but this doesn’t hang on to its leaves for as long.
You could also try your hand at growing and training hedges of some of the more compact pines, firs and spruces.
To make a good formal hedge the plants should be well branched at the outset, and planted into well-prepared soil fairly closely. If the hedge is to be flat-topped or wide, it is a good idea to plant a double row.
When you’re choosing the type of hedge for your situation, you’ll need to think about how much effort will be needed to looking after it. An established ‘leylandii’ hedge, for example, needs two good trims a year if it is to look decent. And if the length of your leylandii hedge is more than a few metres, this can become an onerous chore.
Don’t forget that a hedge that overlooks someone else’s property must be kept to a height of just 2m (6ft); and if you let it get taller than this, and the Local Authority receive any complaints about it, they can force you to cut it down to size.
As for planting, there is no hard and fast rule about whether you plant a single line of plants, or a staggered double line. The latter will achieve denser results quicker, but it all depends on the space you have, and the depth of your pocket! Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
It is getting to the late point for planting daffodils, narcissi, crocuses and most other spring-flowering bulbs; you may have missed some of the popular and fast-selling varieties. So don’t delay: take a trip to the garden centre to see what’s still available.
Lift gladioli and dry them off in the protection of a frost-free shed.
Mulch rhododendrons and azaleas with well-rotted compost or manure.
Prepare sites for your new fruit plants and cover the soil with plastic to keep out the worst of the autumn rains and cold. This will enable you to plant any mail-ordered trees that arrive in frosty or wet weather.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
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