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We have a new house of about one year and it is time to start on the garden ;-) Our previous garden had hawthorn as the hedging, our new one has laurel. There is about 50ft and nothing else. It would be to much to start again so we are looking for ideas. do we cut some out and plant hawthorn (other species ideas please) inbetween? It is at least 6ft thick so just cutting out sections would worry that the new plants would be swamped. Any help, ideas (plants to use, how to go about it) welcome.
Laurel hedges are excellent for birds. Many species will nest in them and they provide excellent cover all year round. I wouldn't worry too much about yours.
Cheers, Linda.
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I have an 'Otto Luyken' Laurel in my garden which the birds love. I chose it carefully because it's more compact than some others. It's great for cover and really well used all year round so I'm sure the hedge will help the birds. I put a ground feeding tray very near it in the winter to offer protection from sparrow hawks with a potted berberis for deterrence on the other side and some Earthboxes on casters for the smaller birds to hide under if one is around. It works very well and the blackbirds love it because the dense shade keeps the soil moist. I usually give it a compost mulch every spring to help out. That area has a lot of worms.
Replacing some of the plants might be difficult because most laurels are such vigorous plants. I see my neighbours cutting theirs back heavily every year but they soon grow tall and dense again.
Thanks for your help, some things to ponder!