As with all planting in your garden, keep it local – there are locally distinctive hedgerow types so find out which ones predominate in your area before deciding which to grow.

Consider which hedges attract the most wildlife – oak, blackthorn (sloe) and hawthorn, for example – and help further by planting wildflowers and grasses at the foot of the hedge.

Remember you don’t have to plant just one variety – you could mix the all-green varieties of holly or privet with variegated species. Hedges can also provide colour in the garden -try planting flowering shrubs such as spiraea, barberry or escallonia in informal hedges.

Low-growing hedges can be used for ornamental effect between borders, and can also appeal to other senses – try aromatic varieties such as lavender and rosemary.

Avoid the infamous fast-growing Leyland cypress, which monopolizes soil nutrients over a wide distance and can reach a height of 135 m (150 ft). Opt for hawthorn, yew and beech if you want a quick-growing hedge.

Don’t be overzealous with the trimmer (use garden shears instead) and avoid shaping the hedge into an upright rectangle, as this can lead to top-heavy growth with gaps below. Training the hedge into an A shape (when seen from the side) makes sure the lower levels get as much light as the top and gives a much stronger and healthier structure that makes a better wind- and weatherbreak.

If your hedge has become thin and gappy, it can be partially revived by the seemingly drastic technique of cutting it almost right down to the ground (with a sloping cut). New growth will usually appear by the next spring, which, with new planting to fill any large gaps, will give a reasonable hedgerow within three to four years.

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1. Natural Fences, Walls and Hedges
2. Organic Chemical Free Gardening

No matter how small or large your garden, it is likely to be bordered by fencing, wall or hedge.

The ideal green boundary is a hedge – a living fence. Hedges have become rare commodities in today’s countryside, with large commercial farms having ripped out many to make way for larger fields and to allow farm vehicles access.

Hedges are hugely valuable as a home to birds, animals and insects, as well as providing a safe habitat for wildflowers and other plants. But on a practical gardening level, they also act as far more effective windbreaks than fences. Wind tends to bounce up and over when it hits a solid boundary such as a fence, and swirling on the leeward side often damages plants. This can also create the conditions that lead to fences being blown down. Hedges on the other hand filter and slow wind down and every 30 cm (1 ft) of hedge height offers 3 m (10 ft) of shelter.

So you will be helping both the conditions in your garden and the environment as a whole by keeping any existing hedges and planting others if you have a suitable space. It need not be at the edge of your property – hedges can also be used to segregate different areas in the garden, such as a lawn from a vegetable patch.

If you are not convinced of the merits of hedges over fences then choose your fencing carefully. If you prefer walls then make sure they are built using reclaimed bricks or stone if at all possible, or, failing that, select a stone that is local to your area. If you are painting or staining fences or walls then remember to choose natural organic products that do not use petrochemicals.

Finally, use the walls and fences as vertical canvases on which to continue your garden by fixing trellises on them and growing climbing plants such as vines, clematis, honeysuckle or wisteria. Western red cedar wood is commonly used to make trellises, but the Canadian forests from which the wood comes have not been well managed so avoid this wood unless it has the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) mark.

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