Gardener's Guide to Protected Growing E-Book

Guy Deakins

• Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 243

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

This book is for all gardeners (be they amateur or professional), garden designers and landscape architects, who want to learn how to create and maintain a protective environment suitable for any type of plant they wish to grow. From large scale glasshouses, shelters and living boundaries, to modest cold frames and greenhouses, this book will equip readers with the knowledge to manage their protected space successfully and sustainably. Coverage includes: managing light, heat and humidity; the climate future and sustainable practices; soil husbandry and alternatives, including hydroponics; health and hygiene in protected spaces and finally, understanding biodiversity and encouraging natural allies. Industry insights from experts and professionals at internationally renowned gardens and leading manufacturers, as well as exceptional research from NASA, MIT and other leading universities, explore what's happening at the cutting edge of horticulture and how this knowledge can be applied in your own garden.

Leseprobe

First published in 2022 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2022

© Guy Deakins 2022

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4036 4

Dedication

To all my teachers, most especially Magdalen, Zachariah and Matilda. Thank you.

Credits

Dennis Brown, Wikimedia CC (page 65); Ellen Penstone-Smith, Farringford Estate Ltd (pages 33 top and 84); Emil Schneider, Bottle Farm Ltd (page 96); English Heritage (page 9); Gary Todd. Wikimedia CC (page 8); James Goddard, Steelscapes Ltd (page 17); Marie Hourigan (page 80 bottom left and 90); Marshall Space Flight Centre, NASA (page 64 bottom); Michal Klajban, Wikimedia CC (page 85 top); NASA (page 85 bottom right); Peter Trimming, Wikimedia CC (page 88); Phil Rowell, Wikimedia CC (page 22); Ronnie Robertson (page 37); Stephen Boisvert, Wikimedia CC (page 98 top); US National Archives (page 98 bottom); Zero Carbon Farms/Growing Underground (pages 63 bottom and 64 top)

Cover design by Blue Sunflower Creative

CONTENTS

Introduction

1 Shelters and Screens

2 Structures and Tunnels

3 Cultivation and Soil

4 Light Constraints

5 Temperature Control

6 The Importance of Sustainability

7 Health and Hygiene

8 Pests and Disease

9 Allies and Alliances

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

INTRODUCTION

‘In the grandest days at Chatsworth, when the sixth Duke of Devonshire was Sultan and Joseph Paxton Grand Vizier of the most ambitious floral court in the world, there were at least forty-five different glasshouses there in addition to the ordinary greenhouses and frames. None was small, and the largest, Paxton’s Grand Conservatory, covered an acre of ground, was heated by six miles of pipes and 350 tonnes of fuel a year and upwards of 70,000 feet of glass were needed for glazing the roofs alone.’

M. Tyler-Whittle, Common or Garden (1969)

This volume is intended to be strictly utilitarian in its purpose. It has been written in order to supply the gardener (whether professional or amateur) with the best knowledge gleaned from a history of humankind’s attempts at creating a microclimate via protective growing.

It covers shelters and screens, structures and tunnels, cultivation and soil, light constraints, temperature control and the importance of sustainability, as well as the vitally important issues of health and hygiene, pest and disease and using allies in the garden. Interspersed throughout the book are points of view from notable amateurs and professionals answering common questions or offering hard-won titbits of information that a horticulturist might find useful in their endeavours (my thanks to the contributors from Kew, Glasnevin, Farringford, Tropical Britain, Audley End House, Kent Wildlife Trust, Howard Nursery, Westland Horticulture, Alitex, Kent Sectional, Polycrub and Steelscapes).

Why Protective Growing?

A garden does not necessarily need a protected environment in the form of a screen, fence or the more specialized environments, such as greenhouses. You can instead use plants that are hardy to your specific climate, buy in plants that need a warm start (sometimes the more economic option, especially if you employ a gardener to tend to them) or grow seasonal vegetables that will take a more exposed location. Take into consideration that glass can be expensive to buy and expensive to upkeep or that hedges take a while to establish plus need to be carefully maintained, and the whole process could be not worth your while. Notwithstanding, the pleasure and reward – once the right conditions have been achieved – are second to none.

To indulge the keen historian, one needs a cursory look at history to whet the appetite further. The concept of protective growing has been long and varied. You will find that most books refer to the Romans as being the first culture to have experimented with the idea of protective growing in the form of greenhouse- like structures in Herculaneum and Pompeii (the Specularia derived its name from Lapis specularis – a transparent stone), not forgetting the experiments on the isle of Capri to supply an Emperor with year-round cucumbers. This is wrong. Not only does this view negate any such experimentation with regards to thorn belts – the intentional construction of windbreaks in order to protect crops, or livestock from harm – but it also removes important developments made by previous civilizations. Indeed, it would be remiss of any such book to ignore the developments of the ancient cities of Uruk, Sumer and Ur – the gardens of which were first developed at the insistence of the womenfolk to create protected environments. If one looks further and recognizes the Hanging Gardens at Babylon as another protected construct, again something built at the insistence of a woman (a queen no less), who no doubt wanted her gardeners to grow fruits, flowers and vegetables otherwise unsuited to the heat of the Middle East. Jump ahead a few millennia to the Saxon use of the ‘dead-hedge’ or haga, made from either a simple ditch and mound of stones or stakes of green hawthorn driven into the ground and woven into an impenetrable fence using pliant hazel for strength – protecting the homestead from animal predators and human marauders. These haga formed a boundary, a sometimes-living screen that offered a longer term solution to those that had to be maintained and rebuilt, year on year. A few centuries later, the walled gardens of the monastery or, later still, the heated gardens of Renaissance princes, are inventions that can be attributed in no small way to the courtyard experiments of much earlier times.

Far Eastern cultures were somewhat more advanced than their European counterparts. Whilst there is no doubt that protective growing was practised, it was not limited to available earth, stone or living materials. According to manuscripts written at the time, the Koreans had fully functioning temperature-controlled glasshouses in the fifteenth century – something that took the Europeans another three centuries to do. However, their ingenuity is not being dismissed to one event here – notable experiments in northern China include interesting results that will be discussed later in this book.

Garden of Nineveh 645–635BCE. Lush gardens, stocked with fruiting plants from many parts of Asia were a common feature of Assyrian palaces.

Audley End House. The restored walled garden provides exceptional shelter both to the glasshouses and food crops grown outside in the changeable East Anglian climate.

Trials with glass on ways of protecting plants from late frosts, according to European tradition, began in Italy in the fourteenth century. These ideas advanced across Europe to be mentioned in the sixteenth-century book by Thomas Hill, The Gardener’s Labyrinth (originally published 1577), giving garden historians the first glimpse into the mind of ‘simple gardeners’ going about their business.

However, the truly great strides in garden ingenuity came after the Industrial Revolution and the advances of iron-making in 1770. That is a time when the names Bonaparte, Paxton and Cocking became synonymous with the pioneering and inventive spirit that was the Enlightenment followed by the Victorian-era garden. Add to that the wealth of plants being brought back by the teams of plant hunters that crossed the globe in ever increasing numbers, it is no wonder Europe continued to push the boundaries of what could be achieved. Stride into the twentieth century and one sees an almost endless series of advances from the replacement of silicate-made glass by wood, plastic, polycarbonate and even aluminium alloy; to the use of passive solar heating, hydroponics and low-energy artificial light to replace the sun!

CHAPTER 1

SHELTERS AND SCREENS

‘Our England is a garden and such gardens are not made by singing – “Oh how beautiful”, and sitting in the shade. While better men than we go out and start their working lives, at grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner knives.’

Rudyard Kipling, The Glory of the Garden (1911)

Shelter

In her book, Seaside Gardening (1962), Christine Kelway says on the effects of wind:

Gardeners have little idea how powerful is the effect of wind on the growth of plants. Though the wind maintains a free circulation of air, dispersing excessive humidity and assisting the sun to ripen seed and young wood, it is extraordinarily unkind to plant life.

It is, therefore, in the interests of all gardeners, no matter their situation, to provide as much shelter from desiccating winds as possible. It is all very well for Derek Jarman to have romantically stated, ‘There are no walls or fences. My garden’s boundaries are the horizon’, (from his diary, published in Modern Nature 1991 and subsequently used as the title of a major exhibition of his work at the Garden Museum, Lambeth 2020). Even he admitted that a gorse hedge would have suited the situation well to provide some shelter. Beautiful though his garden is at Dungeness, his planting palette was drastically reduced to the hardiest of plants.

Taking this as your first lesson, in order to identify threats from the natural environment correctly, first look to see where the prevailing winds come from. This is easily done if you look at the shape of local trees. If exposed to strong winds they will grow in a particular way, the exposed side becoming more aerodynamic, often growing away from the buffeting. Another method is to look at local woodlands or mature hedgerows, if one is nearby. The trees most exposed to high winds will have thicker trunks than those less exposed. This is the side your garden will need protection from the most. The predominant wind in the UK is from the south-west, but if you are on the more exposed eastern side, you may need a north or north-easterly screen too.

Derek Jarman Exhibtion. Garden Museum 2020. His ‘open’ garden withstood one of the harshest climates, but his planting palette was much restricted.

Prevailing winds can be harsh. This tree on the South Downs at Chanctonbury is obviously affected by ‘Westerlies’ moving from left to right of the image.

You will also need to decide what form of shelter you need for your purposes. A hedge or fence is ideal if you are simply aiming to slow the worst of the weather – but choose wisely. A brick wall or concrete fence is ideal if you want to grow trained fruit and retain some heat. A greenhouse, polytunnel or lean-to glass is the next level – but that will need protection itself! Above all, consider your budget and the limitations of space.

Ask an Expert

What are the basic tenets of working within an historic walled garden?

• Making use of the walls for their intended purpose (creating a microclimate) – retaining heat for longer/more efficient cropping and growing trained fruit trees.

• Cyclical seasonal maintenance of annual crops, including successional sowings and trained fruit-tree upkeep, e.g. pruning, feeding and mulching.

• Ensuring that the most appropriate crops are grown according to aspect (south-facing wall, north wall, etc.).

• Making use of glasshouses, some of them heated, where the growing season can be extended and exotic species of fruit and vegetables can be produced, especially historically, e.g. peaches, pineapples and grapevines.

• Crop rotation in the vegetable garden.

• Using traditional Victorian techniques, where possible.

• Putting on a show for our visiting public, e.g. full attractive vegetable plots, herbaceous borders (cut flowers), iris and peony border, in an historic setting.

• Using ‘heritage’ varieties, where available/appropriate.

• Growing productively for our local vegetable box outlets (Cambridge organic: https://www.cofco.co.uk/ and Nourish Linton: https://nourishlinton.com/).

Kelly Fowler, Senior Kitchen Gardener at Audley End House, English Heritage

Inheriting an Existing Shelter

Audley End, near Saffron Walden in Essex, is an interesting historical garden. First laid out in 1605, the house and gardens have seen many changes over the years. One striking feature (among many) is the restored kitchen garden, which has been worked for many centuries and is now run on an entirely organic ethos by English Heritage.

The walled garden, Bishops Palace, Fulham. A fine example of a garden designed purely for protective growing.

The walled garden at Mount Ephraim, Kent. This garden combines a high wall with a high hedge to create a microclimate.

Something often overlooked is what is already there. Whether your space has an existing structure, hedge, treeline or is open to everything, it already has a microclimate. It is worth bearing in mind that all the plants in that space will be growing in that created environment, with that climate as its ‘norm’. Assess what benefits the existing situation has and if structural change will be of detriment to the established microclimate. Perhaps a hedge is overgrown or a wall is badly damaged and needs demolishing? If you have plants in the garden that are tender or require specific growing conditions, understand the threat of creating a new microclimate by lowering or removing what is already there. The same goes with new introductions to the space that may create possible frost pockets and wind tunnels or block a natural run-off. Soil damage is also a major consideration when using machinery.

The rule of thumb is to think carefully before creation.

Artificial Shelter

The Wall

Attractive and long-lived, a well-built wall can be a positive in any garden. Undeniably, it is a very versatile structure if used correctly – it being most suitable to grow fruit trees against, ideal for lean-to structures or walled gardens.

Brick walls are robust but will degrade with weathering and damage.

Another factor to consider is the integrity of the wall structure.

This low wall with ornate metal railings still offers protection, especially as it is so close to the warm house. Private residence.

In the book The Gardener’s Assistant by William Watson (1925), the author describes a wall of six or seven feet (c. 2m) as being ‘adequate’ but ‘15 feet [4.5m] or more in height would certainly prove very advantageous’. Unless the gardener has no local byelaws to contend with, this idea is pretty impractical in both scope and the majority of budgets. There is also the disadvantage that a wall only fully protects those in the direct lee of its shelter.

However, before it is dismissed out of hand, a good garden wall does have the advantage of being both a shelter and a heat sink. A professional should always be consulted when building a wall of any substance but should an amateur wish an attempt – any description of how is beyond the realms of this book – it is a requirement to check government rules and regulations concerning permanent brick or stone structures and to consult the local buildings’ officer.

If you have inherited a wall, then it is wise to inspect the structure and to take remedial action if any of the following is found:

• Is the mortar crumbling and requires re-pointing?

• Is the brickwork damaged, crumbling or cracked?

• Is there a tree nearby that may be causing issues with footings?

• Is the wall thick enough for its height?

• Is the wall upright?

• Has the wall been damaged by climbing plants?

• Is it listed or in a conservation area, requiring specialist treatment?

It is also advisable to assess whether the following conditions have changed since the wall was built:

• Have any large trees been felled nearby causing soil damage?

• Has the wall come into contact with any vehicles?

• Have any supporting structures been removed thereby changing wind load?

After inspection, assess whether it is viable for current and future conditions, including wind load and other aspects that you intend the wall to be used for. If at any time the local conditions change, reassess.

Be Aware!

Whilst there are many professionals, both in print and online, giving instructions, liability is always with the builder and owner. Future climate models predict much stronger winds, more frequently, so all walls should be built accordingly.

Gabions

A viable alternative to a brick wall is gabions. In the majority of cases – within the garden setting – gabions are used to shore up slopes. However, used with consideration and creativity, gabions can provide a sturdy and easily created protective barrier if there is space in the garden and the aesthetic is suitable.

Concrete Fence

To many, this is strictly utilitarian and ugly in appearance. However, it does have its merits. Long-lasting and sturdy, it provides an excellent shelter for plants. By its very nature, a south- or west-facing concrete wall acts as an excellent heat sink, absorbing the sun’s energy much as the concrete does in a domestic storage-heater, releasing it slowly at night. If used with thought, a concrete fence can be most useful when a glass or plastic structure is built directly adjacent, providing warmth for crops.

Wooden Fence

Cheaper than brick, breeze block or concrete, a wooden fence has the advantage of being easily installed and easily repaired. However, they are lightweight. In urban settings, they are adequate at providing a demarcation between adjoining properties and are most often used for privacy. Rarely do they provide any real protection from the worst of the winter weather and could create a wind-tunnel effect, making things worse. By far the best design is the slatted type, which allows some movement of air without presenting a solid barrier. Fences are not difficult to install, but they are a two-person job – assuming you have the correct digging tools. A brief checklist for installation is as follows:

• Always make sure the workmen use treated timber and that it has a fifteen-year guarantee.

• Make sure the footings are to a correct depth and the uprights are installed using a spirit level. Whether using concrete or wood, 70cm is more than adequate to keep them from being knocked over by a strong wind.

• Check all panels for damage or incorrect manufacture before purchase and again later, before installation.

If you have inherited a wooden fence, check the ‘neck’ of the uprights around the soil – this is where rot most often takes place. Apply a gentle, but purposeful pressure to the upright, if it moves then it will need replacing soon. Check all the wooden panels for damage, looseness or rot. An application of wood treatment can be applied; if you are in anyway concerned consult a qualified professional.

Hurdles

Hurdles come in two distinct types. The semi-permanent is fixed in place using hardwood staves; this type is an attractive shelter for a newly planted or a sapling protective screen. The second type is a moveable screen, useful around the garden in times of need to protect delicate vegetables or flowers from the worst summer storms. Made from split hazel or osier (willow), they come in varying sizes ready-made or can be created in situ by a skilled craftsman. The key to this type of barrier is the upright – always use a hardwood, such as sweet chestnut, in order to ensure that the structure has longevity in the ground and can withstand stronger winds. They are not designed to stop the wind, but to reduce the wind by about 50 per cent, thus they allow the plants to acclimatize to their new environment, without constant buffeting.

Hurdles are an excellent and sustainable resource in the garden setting and can be put to use as a screen, as protection for new plantings or simply as a border guard to prevent pedestrian incursion! Private garden.

An interesting development, and a viable longer-lasting alternative to the traditional wooden hurdle, is to use metal such as those built by Steelscapes in Norfolk, UK. James Goddard, the Managing Director explains:

Steel has many benefits, corten steel in particular – from which the panels are made – has an extremely long life, once the rust layer has formed. Woven steel, 3mm thick, coupled with 6mm mild steel posts provides a very attractive fence with a life well in excess of 25 years, with every aspect fully recyclable. The weave in the fencing will allow some wind to pass through with a porosity of around 65–75 per cent. Filtering the wind results in a more stable microclimate reducing the plants’ rate of transpiration and thus dependence on water and stress…. It’s worth noting that the weave and robust nature of woven steel fencing means it provides an excellent support for climbers and the advantages that these can bring, such as providing further filtration of the wind but also of noise and air pollution.

(Personal communication, July 2020)

A steel hurdle. An excellent and attractive permanent structure.

Plastic Windbreak

This ‘windbreak’ is made from oil-based plastic. They are durable, light and easily moved, coming in rolls of varying length and height. Their use in commercial horticulture – to fill gaps in hedge-lines – is commonplace. However, weathering degrades their properties over a remarkably short time.

Living Shelter Belts

A living shelter belt is commonly known as a hedge or treeline. It is designed to disrupt the worst weather from molesting your garden, orchard, crops or structure. It also has the added bonus, if chosen wisely, of being a roost or shelter for bats (such as the lesser horseshoe), predatory birds (such as robins and thrushes) and insects (such as the scorpion fly), all of which will happily rid your garden of pests.

Ideally, you want to aim for one that increases biodiversity, but your need may be different. For example, according to Kevin Kay of Bessborough Farm, Hernhill, Kent, when first setting up their orchard, it was vital to install a hedge to filter the wind not to break it. Therefore, they planted Alnus incana (grey alder), a member of the birch family and a traditional hedge for fruit growers. When it was established – after the third year – they pruned it accordingly.

To the modern gardener, there is an extensive list of plants available as windbreaks and wind-filters, from trees to grasses – some of the more interesting are included in this chapter. Be sure to understand what the final chosen plant needs and possible problems the plant may acquire over its lifetime. It is unfortunate to point out that in many instances what appears to be a quick fix in the short-term, often becomes a headache further down the road. A line of trees is a sensible choice if taken wisely, but they do and will grow tall if left unchecked. Trees will also remove moisture from the surrounding ground and rob a garden of light if placed anywhere other than to the north. Add to this the unerring habit of gardeners to ‘lift’ lower branches, the protective screen becomes next to useless, the lower branches no longer furnishing protection. To add insult to injury, a remedial action is to plant a further shelter of shrubs to fill the gap. Beware of this. Once the trees have established, any future planting will struggle, the trees having done their best to remove available nutrients. That said, if you have the space, poplars are a good choice as a windbreak, being utilitarian, sturdy and relatively long-lived.

Something that all husbands of the land must know of is local byelaws. Inconsiderate planting and argumentative neighbours have resulted in laws that limit the height and width of hedges to a certain metreage. If they interfere with neighbouring properties, local councils will enforce measures (including fines) if the problem is deemed a nuisance.

A hedge can be anything from a wild and straggly affair to a contrivance of art. The key is to choose the right plant for your needs, your site and your situation. Private residence, Norfolk.

Ask an Expert

Understanding a plant’s physiology is key to understanding gardening. What are the basic methods you use to achieve growing success with new specimens?

Research the plant’s natural habitat and environmental conditions. Also look for plants of similar conditions and apply our knowledge of their successful growth. Try to replicate, as best as possible, the natural growing conditions.

Brendan Sayers, Glasshouse Foreman,National Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, Ireland

Ask an Expert

Is there anything specific you have discovered that is most useful as a protective screen?

We have Miscanthus sacchariflorus around some of the container area and it has been a great wind break. It was an accident, as the fence blew down and the nursery was approached about a renewable energy trial in the 1980s, so it got planted. It just can be a bit messy, so makes a job raking it up!

Christine Howard, Managing Director,Howard Nursery

Evergreen Hedges

Following is a short list of recommended evergreen plants. This book has avoided the obvious ‘Leylandii’ or ‘Thuja’ for the simple fact that whilst they are fastgrowing, they offer wildlife very little in either food or shelter and will steal nutrients and moisture from the garden in an adverse way. In the same way, this book does not recommend evergreen Prunus laurocerasus or Buxus sempervirens, which have increasing problems with pest and disease.

Camelia (Camelia japonica)

A glorious hedge, if given the right conditions. It needs an ericaceous soil, so will not tolerate any lime. Prune thoughtfully after flowering to ensure flowers for the following year. Can be host to scale insect and aphids when the young growth is emerging. Once established, it will take quite harsh winters, but any late frost destroys the flower display.

An excellent dividing hedge, camellia provides a welcome and spectacular burst of colour early/late (depending on species) in the year, as well as evergreen screening. Rhododendron could also be used. Private residence.

Coprosma repens

Not a fully hardy shrub, this is a plant that needs careful siting as it will not withstand hard frosts. A useful plant in urban areas where frost is rare, or by the coast in the West; it withstands salt spray. It prunes to a neat hedge similar to Buxus. Available in a variety of attractive foliage, but be warned – it is named after its unusual smell, so pruning can be interesting. Looser habit than box, it won’t hold its shape as well.

Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea)

A neat evergreen hedge can be made of this tough, thorny shrub. Ideal as a security hedge, as only the foolhardy will attempt to push through the vicious thorns. Not expensive to buy, even with quite large specimens. It flowers abundantly given the correct pruning and produces fruits popular with birds. It will take quite poor soils, but prefers free drainage. Pruning is painful unless thick ‘gauntlet’ gloves and shoes are worn! It can suffer from fungal attack.

A box hedge parterre with a mulberry at its centre. Garden designers have to wean themselves off the obsession with box. Its downfall is two types of blight and a moth – whose caterpillars will ravage any plant they are lucky to infest. Box has suffered from popularity, the more it is heavily planted in close proximity (see ‘Green Bridges’, Chapter 7), the worse the problem becomes. Woolly aphid and other pests often overwinter in larger specimens, which causes issues elsewhere. Alternatives are Coprosma repens, Euonymus japonicus ‘Microphyllus’, Santonlina chamaecyparissus ‘Nana’, Taxus baccata and Teucrium × lucidrys. Private residence, Kent.

Kapuka (Griselinia littoralis)

Variegation available. An excellent hedge for all situations, including the coast. Fairly slow to grow, the leaves are generally a lush green. It can take a while to establish but is a hardy shrub that is attractive in most settings. A single plant will grow into an attractive tree. It can be bitten by frost, making the leaves scorched in appearance.

Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Variegation available. Holly has many merits, the main being it is evergreen and very tough. It is a slow grower and will take shade, but is expensive to buy as a large specimen. Excellent in a mixed hedge. It has few diseases, excepting a leaf-mining insect that blisters the leaves.

The holly hedge at Kew is often overlooked but is a vital skirt around the palmhouse.

Spindle Tree (Euonymus japonicus)

Variegation available. This plant is tough, indifferent to soil and can withstand the harshest of conditions, including the exposed coast. Can be slow to establish and not cheap to buy larger specimens. It can be a harbourage for pests in winter, such as woolly aphid. Suffers from white fly infestations, which can cause leaf fall.

Euonymus hedge (with holm oak trees above) at Northdown Park, Margate. It provides an excellent shelterbelt for ornamental planting behind that would otherwise be destroyed by harsh winter winds.

Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)

An excellent, low-growing tree with red bark. An unusual, but worthy, evergreen hedge with the added bonus of attractive flowers and edible fruit. It will take a decent pruning if trained early enough. Can suffer from fungal leaf spot, which leads to leaf loss – this problem can be mitigated with a mulch and regular watering/feeding.

Yew (Taxus baccata)

Yew is a beautiful hedge and not as slow to grow as some describe. Cheap to buy large specimens, it will take shade well. It has a few downfalls: Phytophthora fungal disease is taking its toll (seeChapter 8). Rabbits and deer both enjoy eating its young growth.

Yew hedging at Walmer Castle, Kent. It is exceptionally robust and long lived, though fungus can be a danger.

Deciduous Hedges

Following is a list of recommended deciduous plants. As with above, the list is limited to the experience of the author. It is always advisable to see what grows well in your neighbourhood.