Set off your flowers to perfection by planting a hedge this month. Filtering out the wind can turn a garden from windswept hillside to cosy flower haven; hedges also provide homes for wildlife and soften boundaries to a gentle green that’s the ideal backdrop for brightly-coloured perennials. Choose from deciduous hedges which drop their leaves in winter, such as elegant native beech or hornbeam; sturdy evergreens like yew for year-round shelter; or for a more natural look go for a mixed native hedge full of dog roses, hawthorn, hazel, field maples and blackthorn.
Plant a Hedge
Prepare your ground before you buy the hedging plants, digging in lots of organic matter as you go. Use a peg and string to mark the line of your hedge, then buy in the bare-root saplings at any time during winter. Plunge the roots in water for an hour to rehydrate them, then plant straight away burying the roots just below the soil’s surface.