It’s hard to believe it’s the end of January already!! While at my house, we have not had any snow for the whole month, but a lot of rain, freezing and mild! The weather has not allowed me to go out and do any skiing or snowshoeing, so I have been inside making plans to give some rooms in my house a new coat of paint. It’s funny, when I moved in nine years ago, I was young and had no clue how to decorate and put things together in a home, and now I am finally getting an idea of what I like and want!!
Well, the same goes for your landscape as well! And one of the things you should consider for your landscape, if you can, is a hedgerow.
What is a hedgerow?
- A hedgerow are bushes/trees grown closely together to make a wall or border of sorts.I love the idea of having a natural fence, rather than the chain link fence I have in the back yard now. I have seen hedegrows from everything including forsythia to traditional boxwood.
My hedgerow in the front yard, to be honest, has been a source of contention between my husband and I since we moved in! He wants to rip it out, but I like that we have the hedgerow in the front because of the security it gives. The sidewalk is right on the other side of this hedgerow. I like my privacy!
This is a picture I posted over the fall that showed I am planting tulips in front of my hedgerow.
Hedgerows are very elegant, but they are also very important for animal life. Especially in the winter. They protect the birds, who like to seek cover from predators and perch there during the coldest months of the year. And if you are like me, and have a bird feeder on your front porch, they especially like to sit in there and wait to get their food!
My hedgerow looking bare from my front porch.
So, as your home landscape evolves, and you are looking to put up a fence but would like something more natural, please consider a hedgerow. My best advice to you when considering making one, if you are on a budget, is to wait until late summer/early fall, because that’s when all the spring nursery stock in on sale and you can save a bundle.
Do you have a hedgerow? Tell me about it!
The Bent Trowel 
The previous owners of our house planted a hedgerow of wax leaf ligustrum. Needing better access to the yard, we thinned out every other one and trained into small trees. The birds love it and we now have perpetual shade on the driveway. Blossoms up top keep the bees above our heads.
We did keep the sweet olive hedge intact but lowered it to 3 ft tall so we could see over it on the back porch. Again, birds live the protection to and from the feeders and bath, and in spring blossoms smell like peach cobbler!
Happy New Year and I hope you’re well! ~ Shannon
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Here’s a link to them, if you haven’t already seen. http://wp.me/p28k6D-1J6
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That is BEAUTIFUL. I would love to have this in my back yard!!!
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It’s considered an ‘invasive’ species (brought over from Asia), but I do love them when they’re in full bloom.
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Thank you for this! I love hearing about others having/enjoying hedgerows as much me! They are so beneficial without anybody really understanding! Happy New Year to you, too!!
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Oh I so agree about the hedge and I’m glad you decided to keep yours. I have my whole garden surrounded by something green – mainly ligustrum as I like the sense of boundary and you are right about the birds as they love to hide out amongst the branches. Can’t wait to see the tulips!
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I am too!! I love the privacy, but also the fact the birds love it in the winter, and the spiders love spinning their webs in it in the summer!
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