Elderflower, Sambucus nigra, inevitably finds its way into a country hedge sooner or later, and it’s far from unheard of to add it to the mix at planting time. It is suitable for growing as a hedge plant, and is desirable for its flowers and fruit that make elderflower cordial and elderberry syrup respectively. However,… Continue reading Cutting Back Overgrown Elderflower in a Mixed Hedge
Category: Hedges
Soft Edges in Urban Garden Design
Modern buildings and roads tend to create stark boundaries: all structure with no life Well-thought-out planting will soften these hard lines and corners, and bring them alive, like adding a great painting to an empty frame. In general, you want to employ a lot of evergreen shrubs and climbers that cover things up all year-round.… Continue reading Soft Edges in Urban Garden Design
How to Prune Trees VS Clipping Hedges
Pruning woody plants is a big part of a gardener’s life, and winter is when a lot of it gets done – especially after windy weather leaves some rough edges to tidy up. When we examine a typical branch, we can see that there are basically three ways one could cut it: So, a hedge… Continue reading How to Prune Trees VS Clipping Hedges
How to Propagate Hardwood Hedge Cuttings in Late Winter
Right now is an ideal time to try, when the soil is nice and damp and not-frozen.
July is Still a Nesting Month for Many Birds
We can all keep our eyes out for bird nests in our gardens’ hedgerows, shrubs, and trees: especially when trimming & pruning them! According to RSPB guidelines, the main months of birds nesting in the UK are March to August inclusive, so we always check thoroughly for nests before hacking back any of our shrubbery,… Continue reading July is Still a Nesting Month for Many Birds
Is It Too Late for Lavender? June 2023 Edition
It’s June, it’s 2023, that means one thing: Lavender, and above all, is it too late to plant it, now that I can see it flowering everywhere? Let’s get to the point promptly without prevaricating past this paragraph’s pre-penultimate punctuation mark: you absolutely can plant Lavender when it is flowering in June, and really all… Continue reading Is It Too Late for Lavender? June 2023 Edition
Many Layers of a Shrub Honeysuckle Hedge
This Lonicera nitida hedge in a local Somerset car park is a prime example of how good this hedge plant looks despite neglect! A good hedge is thick and bushy down to the base, which is easy to maintain in most cases by trimming at least once or twice a year.Years of neglect tend to… Continue reading Many Layers of a Shrub Honeysuckle Hedge
Everything You Need to Know about Yew Trees
One of only 3 conifers native to the United Kingdom (along with Scots pine and juniper), yew is a familiar feature of our gardens and parks. But how much do you really know about it, and could there be a place for it in your garden? In this article, you will find everything you need… Continue reading Everything You Need to Know about Yew Trees
Getting a Word in Hedgewise
Here at Ashridge the ‘dormant season’ is anything but – in fact it’s our busiest time of the year. But we’re not the only ones kept busy in winter. While we’re despatching bareroot trees and hedging plants from the nursery, out in the fields hedge layers are hard at work. Hedge laying has been practised… Continue reading Getting a Word in Hedgewise
Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?
What is the difference between a cobnut and a filbert? Are they the same thing, with regional variations of nomenclature? Is a filbert the fancier version of a cobnut with a longer husk? And how do they relate to hazelnuts? There must be a kernel of truth in there somewhere… Kent is where you’ll find… Continue reading Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?