Hedgelaying in the US?
Holly Stockley
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years agoHolly Stockley
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Stooling hardwood trees to make a hedge
Comments (21)Evergreens were my first choice actually - cedars would be beautiful. Dwarf Alberta Spruce are overdone in some places but not around here and I like them. But the soil is dry. I can't be buying plants (though check out the prices in the nursery list below). And I don't want to mess with pruning and shaping as I would for white spruce. I went walking along the border yesterday and remarked, now that buds are opening, on just how many serviceberries/amelanchier are in that border. I doubt they'd take well to cutting back though. They are very pretty... Thanks for thinking about this with me. This is a great forum - I'm usually on the soil forum but have been spending a lot of time lately reading threads here. Came across this great website the other day. It has a good list of native shrubs, with descriptions, among many other things. Here is a link that might be useful: MacPhail woods...See MoreWhy don't Americans love hedge like Brits?
Comments (72)I also live in Virginia, and was thinking about the British hedge for privacy reasons. I took a roadtrip in the UK several years ago, and my first notice of hedgerows was while driving a one-lane country road in my car rental. The roads were extremely narrow, with little room for mistakes. Initially, I feared accidentally scratching the paint while maintaining the center of the lane. Then, my fear turned into terror when the hedgerows intermittently vanished in favor of a stone walls. It scared the crap out of me. Needless to say, the hedgerows return was a welcome sight. I know I am writing this well after the first post, but for anyone wanting a look at hedgerow building, you should check out Season 2, Episode 6 of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime. As for the "Americans are lazy" comment.. Americans rank relatively high as one of hardest working people in the world, especially against most developed countries. I do think Americans wouldn't take the time to maintain a hedge, but I believe it is more about 'how' they prioritize their time. Even I have berated my brother on the amount of time he spends on his yard. I have commented to him that he spends more time on maintaining it, rather than enjoying it....See Moretotal idiot has an insane rush of blood to head
Comments (9)Ho, the word 'rush' simply never figures in my confused but hipefully benign worldview. Given the horrible news regarding our iconic ash trees (a rerun of Dutch Elm again), the poplar monoculture suddenly seems like a good option since we can gradually restock with an eye to pathogens decimating our ecosystem. But yep, we aim to be more Norfolk than Norfolk and allow pioneers such as downy birch and crack willow a chance to re-establish once we have done a bit of creative felling. Even so, 6 acres of woodland is a far cry from 36 square metres of urban garden and a quarter acre of public allotment. We are probably going to need to invest in a bit of helpful machinery as I cannot see my trusty spade making much of an impasse on the swathes of bramble and nettle. We are horticulturists with a limited knowledge of arboriculture but are willing to learn and have a couple of strong sons (under the maternal thumb and all). As for wild animals, we are singularly blessed (or cursed according to viewpoint) with every type of bat endemic to the UK plus a startling array of birds including the heartbreakingly lovely skylark (I can hear Vaughn-Williams Lark Ascending in my head already). Less welcome is the horrid little muntjac deer (fencing and hedgelaying is going to be a major task) but they are, at least, edible (along with a million coneys - mmm, rabbit pie!) As something of an amateur basket maker, I have already sequestered a corner for the osier beds. Here in the UK, flooding is cecoming a major issue but so far, we have, as a nation, been tardy in considering swales, berms, rain gardens and other man-made solutions to challenging water flows and, as it would be prudent to expect at least one overtopping tidal flooding of the Yare every winter, this is a potential game-changer (our local Cam is a mannerly urban river managed by the usual lochs and gates with only an occassional flooding of the nearby common) so water, in its many manifestations, is probably the most worrying element. A crazy adventure but still, we all need to dream..........See Morehedge for hen-run
Comments (3)I've always found privet a bit of a waste of time, very weak and easy to push through, pull out, break etc, though if you really want to use it use italian privet as it is a little thicker growing than English privet. If you truly want an inpenterable hedge that nothing shall get through have a crack at traditional hedge laying, a very old and neglected technique that is slowly having a bit of a rebirth. have a look at http://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/ and also http://handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index/book/6 as for species, look at what 'shrub' species are local to your geology and plant five different species in your hedge with about 60-70% hawthorn/blackthorn...See MoreHolly Stockley
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