Be Wild with your Garden’s Hedge

It may be time to say goodbye to the plastic and wooden fences that mark many property lines across the country. Though such fences may mute the sounds of street traffic, screen unsightly views and offer some privacy, you can accomplish those same goals—while providing food, cover and nesting places for birds, pollinators and other creatures—by planting a wildlife hedge.

Unlike formal hedges that must be clipped as meticulously as a poodle, the mixtures of native flowering and evergreen trees and shrubs that make up a wildlife hedge can follow their own growth habits.

Love your neighbor, yet don’t pull down your hedge.” Unfortunately, hedges have generally been pulled down to make way for fences and walls; hard barriers that are often made with treated wood or plastic. They can also divide wildlife habitats and impede the flow of traffic for animals that may have traditionally crossed in the area.

Which is why the idea of a wildlife hedge is so great.

Rather than a fence or a wall, and more cottage-garden wild than a manicured topiary hedge, a wildlife hedge is much like the hedgerows of the UK. Unlike the uniform American hedge with its one type of shrub and straight lines, a hedgerow includes a variety of plants. For a wildlife hedge, think of a mix of taller and shorter species, filled with fruit for eating, and nooks and crannies for cover and nesting.

• Plant flowering trees first.
• Choose a variety of native shrubs, ones that provide different kinds of wildlife treats, and that will provide throughout season.
• Vines will help tie it all together, while also providing more fruit and nectar for birds and pollinators.

Think of it as your own tiny wildlife preserve, offering permanent residents and visitors a place to rest and forage, or to even call home. And how much lovelier than a dumb fence – instead, it’s a living thing, changing with the seasons, and alive with singing birds, flitting pollinators, and crawling creatures.

References:

1. https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2018/June-July/Gardening/Wildlife-Hedges
2. https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/plant-wildlife-hedge-instead-building-fence.html

By- Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

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