Hedgerows

Hedges for Wildlife, Craft Supplies and Berries

Too late, it was realized that the hedgerows provided a windbreak to prevent soil erosion as well as valuable wildlife habitat and bird nesting area. Unfortunately, by the time this was evident a lot of formerly good farmland had dried up and was blown away by the wind.

In other areas, such as the plains and savannas of North America, the advent of barbed wire fencing as a cheap easily installed barrier precluded the planting of hedgerows. In combination with the sheer size of many properties, the hedgerow was basically a non-starter except in an ornamental sense in urban settings.

Lilac (Syringa), privet (Ligustrum) Peking cotoneaster (Cotoneaster acutifolia) and other smaller shrubs were planted extensively in single species hedges around small city lots, providing privacy and seasonal beauty, and in some cases fruit for the birds. Pruning them into submission by hedge trimmers became a routine weekend activity across many cities and towns in Canada and the United States.

Advantages and Uses of Hedgerows

If you’re lucky enough to have the room on your property, a managed mixed hedgerow can provide many advantages.

• For the crafts person, it can be a source of material for rustic crafts such as twig furniture, basketry and carving;

• The cook can find jam making supplies and herbs;

• Birds will be attracted to build nests and contribute to pest control in nearby gardens;

• Gardeners will have easy access to a supply of poles for beans, hurdles and fences.

• Wind will no longer scour away the valuable topsoil, and the hedgerow will also capture wind-blown snow.

In areas that receive a lot of snow, and are also prone to high wind speeds, hedgerows act as a snow fence, which re-directs where the wind will drop the driven snow.

This can alleviate problems such as snow drifts. This is done by determining where the drifts usually occur, then building a hedgerow a few meters before that point. This makes the wind drop the snow in a pre-determined area, such as before it gets to a driveway or road, preventing the snow from blocking it.

Hedgerow Management

Many hedgerows are managed by coppicing, or hard pruning every few years. The drawback to this management system is that after this hard pruning, you have no protection from animals unless the hedgerow is planted along an existing fence. Advantages are that it rejuvenates the hedge, and promotes the rapid growth of long straight poles from shrubs like willow (Salix species) and hazel (Corylus).

Other management systems include: none – allowing all the species to compete naturally. Advantage to this is that there is less work for the gardener or farmer. Disadvantages are that eventually the weaker species will succumb to shade or competition from more aggressive species, and gradually more growth will form at the top of the hedgerow, making it useless for preventing animals from getting through.

A middle of the road system is consists of ‘pleaching’ - bending the long growth of all the plants, and partially chopping through each stem. This enables you to weave the growth into a low fence, and then the sticks will all shoot out new growth. Doing this every year or so will eventually form an incredibly thick strong hedge, as well as providing safe habitat for wildlife, lots of good poles for hurdles and fences and renewal of all the plants.

This system can be used indefinitely – in fact there are in existence a very few extremely old hedgerows that have been maintained using this method for centuries. Unfortunately, pleaching is a dying art – not many people are still around that know how to do it successfully.

The Size of your Hedgerow

A good width for your hedgerow is around one meter across. This will give you access to prune out poles or unwanted growth, while still providing a barrier. If you’re building your hedgerow in combination with a wire fence, it can be narrower while still providing the benefit of a visual barrier.

Best Plant Choices for Hedgerows

• Do you want protection from wind, animals or trespassers?

• Do you want a wildlife habitat to attract birds and other wildlife?

• Is privacy from neighbors or an unpleasant view your main concern?

• Are you a craftsperson with specific needs for poles or basket making supplies?

Depending on your interests, a properly designed hedgerow can contribute to several specific needs all at the same time.

Planting a variety of shrubs and trees together in a hedgerow will increase bio-diversity, provide shelter, fruits and twigs while protecting your property from invading dogs and animals. Thorny shrubs, such as roses (Rosa species), hawthorn (Crataegus species) and holly (Ilex) can be a real deterrent to animals looking longingly at your crops or chickens.

Birds are attracted to many berry bearing shrubs including Saskatoon (Amelanchier), roses, hawthorn, raspberry and blueberries. Including these will give them a food source, and thorny shrubs will give them shelter from predators while nesting.

Insects are magnetically drawn to elderberry flowers (Sambucus) and many other flowering plants. A nectar corridor in combination with your hedgerow will attract many types of pollinating insects as well as beneficial predatory insects.

Did you know that juniper (Juniperus) makes one of the best carving materials as it can be carved when green, and doesn’t split?

Other great materials for twig fences and furniture are willow, hazel, maple (Acer douglasii) all of which respond well to coppicing.

Baskets can be made from many wild plants, even from bark and roots. Vines can be a great addition to your hedgerow, especially grapes (Vitis) and clematis (Clematis).

Combining many different species in your hedgerow will not only give you many of the benefits listed above, it will also provide beauty with successive blooms and fruit from a variety of plants.

If you have enough room on your property line for a hedgerow, the enjoyment you get from the ever changing display will delight and amaze you.

go to Drought Smart Plants home page

Sustainable Gardening

Windbreaks

Shelterbelts

Fast Growing Shrubs