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I moved into a new build house last year and have started a garden from scratch, bit new to gardening so hoping for some advice if possible please! :)
In part of the garden I'm planning on making a wild overgrown area and have planted some hedgerow plants like hawthorn, blackthorn, dogwood, etc. I planted them from bareroot plants and they're about 50cm to a metre tall at the moment, theyre in a clump as i wanted to fill an area in the centre of the garden, rather than a row like most hedges. I just wondered what I should do with the area underneath the shrubs? Could i sow wild flower seed so that the ground is covered and gives somewhere for insects etc to hide, or is it better to just mulch the area and not grow anything else underneath? Thanks for the help! :)
Obviously it depends on conditions, but a general rule of thumb is what would you see in the wild? Bluebells like woodland conditions and they are best planted 'in the green' look on line for bluebells that are cultivated, not taken from the wild, there are lots of suppliers and now's a good time to order, they'll be sent to you when they're ready, bluebells bloom in May so it should be some time after that. Woodruff is a nice little native, pretty, delicate leaves and tiny white flowers, make good groundcover and show up nicely, trilliums are tricky, but pretty (beware of slugs, swines will have 'em away in no time) autumn crocus quite like hedge bottoms, snowdrops too (best bought 'in the green' and they will be ready to be sent out now because they're just about to finish flowering, perfect for planting, wood anemone are gorgeous little native woodland plants, so delicate and pretty, ransom (wild garlic - flowers and leaves are nice in salads if you like garlic) they show up nicely because they're white, they smell of garlic so if you don't like that smell, forget them, stitchwort should do well, also red campion (which is actually pink) you often see stitchwort, campion and bluebells together and they make a nice combination, lords and ladies, hardy cyclamen like a bit of leafmould to grow in, there's an autumn one and a spring one and they're gorgeous, delicate flowers handsome leaves - there are more but those should be a good selection. Honeysuckle is nice in a native hedge, good scent but of course it's a climber, not a hedge bottom plant.
I should add, don't get Spanish bluebells, they crossbreed with the natives and are threatening them, make sure yours are natives:-)
Hope that helps - insects will love all of those.Have fun
Best, Kezsmum
Hi Laura,
another option would be to mulch, if possible not with bags of bark from the garden centre, but with the rougher kind of bark obtained from a saw mill. We tried to cut down on weeding a couple of years ago and mulched with bark under a hedge and an old holly tree. Since we did that, two colonies of bumble bees have established in the bark, one under the hedge and the other under the tree.
The chunky bark chippings also provides good shelter for insects and spiders. Our blackbirds, thrushes and robins are often seen there rummaging during the spring, summer and autumn.
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" - Wlliam Blake
Glad to hear you are planting hedge. I agree with doggie, eventually you will have shade most of the time.
We have one boundary which is farmland hedgerow, nothing much grows under it but lots of birds are always in it.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/wildlifegarden/ gives good advice.
Thank you for all the wonderful advice everyone!! That'sgiven me lots of ideas to think about! Think i might mulch the majority of the hedgerow area and then maybe plant some bulbs at the edges where theyll get some woodland shade! Thinking of hiding some logpiles underneath too for the bugs! Think itll take a few years for it all to bush out, ill have to be patient! :D
Unknown said:Think i might mulch the majority of the hedgerow area and then maybe plant some bulbs at the edges where theyll get some woodland shade! Thinking of hiding some logpiles underneath too for the bugs!
Looks like you'll get the best of all worlds with that Plan LauraC:-) Great idea for the bug logs!