Going Native (Hedge)…

Hey, Lulu here again! Have you met my parents? M&D are very clever garden designers and they can suggest all sorts of suitable boundaries in your garden – many clients opt for stone walls or one of the many different types of fencing available. But one of my favourite kinds of boundary is a native hedge. Now is the perfect time to plant a new hedge. In this blog I will explain to you why they are so special and how to plant one…

1. Wildlife will love it
There are two main reasons to opt for a native hedge:

Straight away you will see all sort of lovely wildlife visiting your hedge, from small mammals and invertebrates to insects and all sorts of birds making a home there and eating the berries. Butterflies and moths will also come visiting your new boundary.

2. Year round interest
You will have year round interest from foliage, blossom, flowers and berries. Planting a mixed hedge will provide a wide array of foliage which change through the seasons and some shrubs will provide berries and/or flowers to add additional interest throughout the year.

A native hedge can provide year round interest

Hedging can provide year round interest


Ilex aquifolium
 (Holly) – who can forget the wonderful holly, especially at this time of year. We all know its lovely foliage and hungry birds love its berries.Choose a nice mixture of native shrubs and trees such as birch, beech, oak, hazel (for the lovely nuts if you can get there before the squirrel!), dogwoods (for their wonderful red stems in winter) and hawthorn (berrylicious!). Look at adding in some other wonderful species such as:

Mixed hedging is wonderful for wildlife

Mixed hedging is wonderful for wildlife

The cheapest way to plant your native hedge is to get “whips” which are available now. Winter is the best time to plant a new hedge. The whips will look teeny and not very impressive when you get them (a bit like sticks) but as soon as Spring arrives they will burst into life and will soon grow quickly. Try and source your hedge locally if possible.

Next, the planting…

Prepare your area and remove any weeds, large stones or debris. Your hedge will be there for many years to come so you need to give it a good start. Dig a trench and add some compost to the bottom then plant your whips in staggered double rows, half a metre apart. You can always fill any gaps later if required. Back fill the trench with the native soil and water well and mulch. Feed your hedge once a year and be aware of dry spells when you may need to water your new hedge over the first couple of years. The best time to prune your hedge is late Autumn when you won’t disturb any nesting birds. If necessary, cut back hard as this will help thicken up your hedge.

A native hedge can be anywhere in your garden, not just the boundary

Hedging can be anywhere in your garden, not just the boundary

And remember hedges don’t just need to be used to create boundaries. You can use them within your garden to create “rooms”, add privacy, create journeys and add interest to the garden. Long live the common garden hedge!

If you need any more information on planting a native hedge or any form of boundary in your garden then please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a chat.

Lulu

 

Winter Wonderland

There’s no denying it, winter is just round the corner. The frosty mornings, the winter woollies and the sound of Wizzard emanating from every shopping centre and radio station heralds the winter season. But for us gardeners it needn’t mean bare earth and a dull garden. Here are some of our top tips to make sure your garden is still beautiful to look at throughout the winter season, is packed full of winter interest and is truly a Winter Wonderland (even if it does mean looking at it from indoors with a nice mug of tea a lot of the time!)

A fennel seed head in a Winter Wonderland

A fennel seed head provides winter interest

Evergreen plants

There are a whole host of evergreen plants which can provide structure and winter interest in your garden. Some favourites include buxus sempervirens, viburnum, camellia, skimmia, hebe, phormium and rhododendron. Also, grasses are a must for us in gardens. They look great all the year round but we particularly love them when they are frost covered. Our favourites include molinia, stipa tenuissima, deschampsia, libertia and carex buchananii.

Grasses look wonderful covered in frost

Grasses look wonderful covered in frost

Seed heads

Just because your summer flowering perennials have lost their colour, it doesn’t mean all is lost. Many of the plants in a herbaceous border provide wonderful winter interest through their seed heads. Stars in the winter border include foeniculum (fennel), verbena bonariensis, angelica, echinops, allium, eryngium, sedum and hydrangea to name but a few.

Echinops, still looking wonderful in winter

Echinops, still looking wonderful in winter

Interesting branches

Some shrubs come into their own in winter. A plant such as corylus contorta (the contorted hazel) is a nice shrub to add form and texture to the garden in summer and the catkins are attractive in spring. But for us this shrub comes into its own in winter when you can see its wonderful contorted branches. Other shrubs which look wonderful in winter include prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ and who could ignore cornus stolonifera – the wonderful bright red branches of the dogwood.

Trees

All trees provide a wonderful structure and height in the garden and will add interest in the winter. Some have wonderful bark which will provide additional interest – ones to consider are prunus serrula, acer griseum and betula utilis jacquemontii. All suitable for small gardens and will provide interest all year round.

Trees provide structure in winter as well as somewhere to hang fairy lights!

Trees provide structure in winter as well as somewhere to hang fairy lights!

Berries

Berries are like beautiful gems glowing in a winter garden. While flowers often take a back seat it is time for berries to take centre stage. From skimmia and pyrancathus to ilex (holly) and viburnum there are a plenty of lovely shrubs to choose from. And your feathered friends will be happy too. Remember to plant both male and female holly plants and most skimmias to ensure you get berries.

Winter flowering plants

Some plants flower over winter and are great additions to the garden. These include helleborus, hamamelis, mahonia, cornus ‘Golden Glory’ and viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’.

The contorted hazel provides a magical feel to a winter garden

The contorted hazel provides a magical feel to a winter garden

Other interest

Of course gardens aren’t just about plants. A well designed garden will have structure and form which will make it still look beautiful even when your summer perennials have passed their best. Interesting hard landscaping, seating areas, focal points, water features, lighting, outdoor rooms and many more features can be incorporated into your garden to ensure it is interesting all the year round. To read about some of the many focal points you can include in your garden read some of our previous blogs on focal points:

Focal points – Part 1

Focal points – Part 2

Feature fences and sculpture can provide important focal points in winter

Feature fences and sculpture can provide important focal points in winter

If you need some help or advice on creating your own Winter Wonderland in your garden please get in touch. Or if you want to utilise the winter to get in touch to discuss a design for next year it is the perfect time to get in touch and start the ball rolling.

In the meantime, wrap up warm and have a wonderful festive season.

All at Vialii

Danger Danger! Our Guide To Poisonous Plants

Recently I went on holiday with M&D and my BFF Euan and his parents. It was a brilliant holiday and we spent loads of time at the beach (1) which was LOTS of fun. On one of the days M&D took me to Alnwick Gardens. There is a Castle there where Harry Potter used to live which made it extra exciting. Thankfully we didn’t run into Voldemort! We loved our visit to the Gardens and there were lots of wonderful things to see. My favourite part of the gardens was the Poison Garden. It is sooo dangerous that they keep it under lock and key and you can only get in with a tour-guide. Honest! I learnt lots about potentially poisonous plants in the garden and there are even things you will have in your very own gardens you really ought to know about…

The Poison Garden at Alnwick Gardens

The Poison Garden at Alnwick Gardens


Eating Plants

Now, I don’t want to be scaremonger. It would be boring standing about in a field all day. Really, you just need to be sensible in the garden. But it’s us kids which are most at danger so I feel it’s my duty, as Blogger-in-Chief, to pass on some of the things I learnt and mention a few of the plants which you might have in your garden which could pose a risk.

Now, whilst mummies and daddies are always encouraging us to eat up our greens so we can grow up to be big & strong, this Phil Osophy (whoever he is) doesn’t apply to any old bit of greenery in the garden. You mustn’t just go and eat leaves or berries you find in the garden as they could make you very poorly. Only a CLEVER adult can tell you what is edible in your garden and if you’re not 100% sure then don’t take the risk. Here are some common poisonous plants you will find in the garden which you must not eat:

Foxgloves are poisonous plants if eaten. So don't!

Foxgloves are poisonous if eaten. So don’t!

Skin Irritants

Some plants can give horrible burns or make your skin feel very itchy. Be careful around these plants and if you are helping out in the garden make sure your arms are covered up and you wear gloves. Ask a grown-up to deal with the plants which could cause a skin irritation. We need to make sure we look after our beautiful skin! Plants to watch out for which you may find in your garden include:

Even beautiful tulips can irritate the skin and be poisonous plants so take care

Even beautiful tulips can irritate the skin so take care

So, whilst being out in the garden is my FAVOURITE thing to do and I would always recommend you spend as much time out there as possible, just be careful.
Lulu
1. We went to Northumberland on holiday which I hugely recommend for you to take your grown-ups to on holiday. There is lots for everyone to do. My favourite beach was Bamburgh beach, it’s lovely!

2. I would also class boys as a skin irritant but I don’t know the Latin name for a boy yet to list it here!