An unexpected redesign to the garden hedges ...

 I love space, green space in particular as it has such a calming effect on ones wellbeing. During lockdown, I often shared how our garden helped us to keep calm when the world around us was in such turmoil. 

I potter, grow salad greens, tomatoes & herbs & am always watering (from the waterbutts) adding to the beds or sharing cuttings with friends. 

I have always gardened or grown things in pots - indoors or out, in various countries; it is part of my being. 

Two weeks ago,  as I was preparing for students, my morning peace was shattered by the sounds of a chainsaw. 

I was taken by surprise because hedges & trees cannot be cut during nesting season (from March until the end of August) . I was not even aware that the neighbour had thoughts to cut down this mature hedge as this is only their second year in that house. 

We always watch the squabs (young pigeons) fledge from this hedge in nesting season & have had several taken by a sparrowhawk that seems to know the nesting season well. 

We have hedges / bushes / shrubs on 3 sides, 2 of which belong to us as they fall within our boundaries, the third in a neighbours but we have always maintained our side & the top for at least 15 years. 

My interventions were fruitless & the hedge was unceremoniously cut down on a whim without even checking for nests. 

It is upsetting having this 20 foot long hedge cut down & the loss of the 8-10 foot height has left us feeling rather exposed to the other neighbours that I know well. 

Hedges are also wonderful sound barriers; muffling the sounds from the gardens & providing welcome shade & a green oasis in summer.  Removing all the greenery creates a heat island which can easily be several digits higher in temperatures than the surroundings. In winter, hedges break the winds that whistle up the road so they are essential in bad weather.

Hedges & plants also filter out pollutants which is beneficial to health. This NASA site explains it rather well ... 

The most noticeable effect was observed on a holiday in Sofia in Bulgaria, when the street  temperatures were well in to the 40C & the radiating heat from the pavements & bitumen roads made it so uncomfortable. While out walking to the Cathedral, we turned in to a side street to return to the market & were met by shade & cooler temperatures because the street was lined on both sides by beautiful trees. It really brought home the effect of trees on the ambient street temperature. 

I digress - faced with a bare patch above our fence, I ordered 140-160cm laurel bushes from an online company because our local plant nurseries did not have large enough ones. 

I asked a  parent of one of my students to do the groundwork. He has his own gardening business & has the right equipment to make fencing holes so it was a lot easier for him to do it. 

Our large corner tree sheds all its leaves in Autumn & we rake them in to the corner under our back hedge where they break down in to nutritious dark leaf mould. I put lots of this well rotted leaf mould in the new potting holes, along with bonemeal as suggested for laurel hedging. 

The 4 large plants arrived after about 10 days & they are very healthy but closer to the 140cm height rather than 160cm I had hoped for.  

  

However, they were planted along with a witch hazel I moved from another flower bed. I moved many of the geranium pots from the shed / summer house & added even more leaf mould around the pots & the new plants to preserve water & protect the plants as they settle in. 

They look promising & I have been staking them & using plant clips to straighten out the branches for added height, willing them to grow to the top of the fence at least this summer. 

     

The upside is that this laurel hedge is now completely in our garden so it will provide the side hedging to our rear garden.  Unfortunately this will not reach full size for a few years which is a shame for the nesting birds but it is a start. 

To distract myself, I have brightened up our hanging baskets in the front & been thankful for sunlight & rain, hoping the laurels will grow about 50cm this year … 

Is privacy important in your environment? Tell all ... I hope you will look in again, follow & share please. 

Dee 🌳🏡🪴👩‍🌾