Hawthorn bloom in May
I’ve been feeling very guilty the past couple of weeks. Our south facing garden had become gloomy and the patio no longer saw the sun. So it was time for a ruthless cutback of trees and shrubs, in particular the 30-foot hedgerow at the bottom of the garden.
While topping the scraggly hawthorns, the gardeners were amazed at the number of birds – blue tits, goldfinches, wrens, blackbirds and thrushes – obviously not bothered by the chainsaw hacking at their home.
I’d timed the Big Prune to avoid the nesting season and when most berries would have been well picked over. Plus a few extra feeders might mitigate the damage?
But I was still very relieved to discover that the Big Prune has actually made my garden more bird friendly. I was asking David, (Information Officer at Lagan Valley Regional Park and source of much useful information and photos for this blog) – and he said there’s nothing better to keep a hedgerow flourishing than good, regular cutbacks.
And he should know, as the Park must have a hundred miles worth of hedgerows. But also because he has an interest in creating even more with Park volunteers, promoting biodiversity as part of the Laganscape Project.
Maybe because no part of Belfast or Lisburn is very far from the countryside, many urban gardens already have hedgerows. They are an amazing species-rich environment. So having even a small hedgerow is the next best thing to your own mini Amazon.
Happy hedgerow home for this chaffinch
According to David, hedgerows are our most widespread ‘semi-natural’ habitat. Although natural and made up of native plants, they have been looked after, planted, trimmed and changed by man for centuries. The UK has over 500,000 miles of them – but you can’t have too much of a good thing.
Many of our hedges are hundreds, even thousands of years old. Far from recent additions - they’ve been part of our landscape for eons. Some of the oldest mark parish boundaries or ancient monuments, showing their importance to our ancestors. The presence of beautiful old trees indicates a hedgerow is a great age.
You know you’ve got one if you have a row of shrubs or bushy low trees planted close together in a row. Longer stretches, like along the Towpath, usually are punctuated with bigger trees. If uncut, hedgerows can grow to 3 metres high and 1 to 2 metres wide. I must have been doing something right because mine was 3 times that size!
Native plants making up a hedgerow include: hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, hazel, elder, dogrose, alder, spindle, crab apple, guelder rose, honeysuckle, wild or bird cherry. Trees are commonly: oak, ash, rowan, birch and elm. To see some examples, check out the trees page at laganvalley.co.uk
A healthy hedgerow habitat can support a large community of animals. Mammals benefiting from the Park’s hedgerows include: field mice, wood mice, stoats, bats, red squirrels (and not so welcome greys), hedgehogs, badgers, foxes.
Room with a view for Belvoir Park red squirrel
And look/listen for birds such as: blue tits, great tits, blackbird, robin, wren, chaffinch, dunnock, yellow hammer, tree sparrow and thrush. Flowers and butterflies like hedgerows too.
Before nesting season begins in earnest, now is your last chance to prune your hedgerow. If you have a lot of it, David recommends staggering the trimming – perhaps one section each year – ensuring there is always a supply of berries, flowers, seeds and nest spots for everyone in the food chain.
Shy hedge dweller
Or plant your own. You don’t need a huge garden. A bushy place at the back with a couple of hawthorns and a holly bush will do nicely. Or, if you have an existing beech or privet hedge, why not start to replant any dying bits with hedgerow species? More diversity and less of the dreaded clipping! In fact, this weekend is the perfect time to survey the garden to see what survived the terrible winter. Then replace any victims with bird and butterfly friendly plants. (A good subject for a future blog).
If you’re starting from scratch – (maybe you have a brand new place with a bit of land and you’d like to lose that bare look) – here’s how:
Hedge planting normally takes place between December and March when the ground is moist and plants are dormant. Native species grown locally thrive better.
Prepare the ground well; the hedge will be there for many years so it is worth putting the time in. Plant the shrubs in a staggered double row about 30 cm apart, mixing up the species randomly. For example the native hedgerows at the Park are around 75% hawthorn.
Enjoy year round interest with this hedge fund - hawthorn berries
Then water regularly through the first year, especially in times of drought. (We should be so lucky!) In the early years, apply mulch each spring in the to promote growth.
Leave any pruning ‘til winter. The longer it's left, the better for the birds and mammals which feed on the fruit. The hedge should be cut back annually for the first few years to thicken it up.
This year, if I want to see the hawthorn in bloom, I can forget about looking out my window. But I am looking forward to a profusion of flowers and fruit next year. In the meantime, I can head to the towpath. And a sunny patio will be compensation.
Hedgerows attract bees and colourful plants like this vetch
ALL PHOTOS FROM LAGAN VALLEY REGIONAL PARK