Garden Hedges Types Design

A garden hedge is not only a good border between yourself and a neighbour but can also offer many other benefits. These benefits include, amongst others, being a good home for local wildlife, offering better shelter than a solid barrier, and being a good deterrent against intrusion. Choosing the wrong type of garden hedge can bring many problems so it's important to know how to choose the best hedge for your requirements.

Benefits of Garden Hedges

A garden hedge primarily serves as a boundary between the garden and other land
It can act as an excellent filter keeping dust and other materials away from your garden
A hedge serves as an effective method of reducing wind strength
It can provide an attractive visual screen helping to ensure privacy
It can serve as a god home for local wildlife
A garden hedge is much more resilient to damage from the elements than a solid barrier
It can cost significantly less than a man made fence
Much more durable than a fence, the hedge can literally last for many decades
Choosing Your Garden Hedge
Once you have decided that a hedge is an ideal solution for you it's time to decide what type of hedge you want. There are many things to consider at this stage:

What is the purpose of the hedge?
How much maintenance do you want to do?
How quickly do you want the hedge to act as a barrier?
Are your neighbours in agreement about the installation of the hedge?
Once you can answer these questions you're ready to make a decision. Some of the factors that can influence your answers to the above include how quickly the hedge grows. This affects not only the length of time the hedge requires to become established but also how often it will need to be trimmed. A fast growing hedge may quickly establish an effective barrier but will also require more maintenance.
Another factor is how big the hedge will grow. If you are looking for a small barrier between you and a neighbour then a hedge that grows to around 6ft as a maximum will provide an effective screen, if the hedge can grow much taller than this it may block out light to either yours or your neightbours garden. Also bear in mind that the bigger the hedge the bigger the root system which can drain moisture from the surrounding soil.

Finally consider whether the hedge you choose produces flowers. If it does then it can add beautiful color throughout the year however this has the downside that as the flowers die the petals will drop to the floor which can then require you to clean them up.

Maintaining Your Garden Hedge

Once you have planted your garden hedge and allowed it to establish itself you will occasionally need to carry out routine maintenance work. This involves cutting or trimming the hedge which ensures the edges remain neat and also encourages internal growth to thicken the hedge. You may also need to clear away any rubbish caught in the hedge and deweed the soil area, although this is not always necessary as with some hedges other plants and weeds will not grow.

When deciding what to have in your garden you will have many things to decide on including the plants, trees and borders. One way to make your garden look great is with a garden hedge they will not only bring character to your garden but can give you the privacy that you require. Hedges are also a great way to offer shelter to animals and wildlife and help to keep people out off your garden. You will need to ensure that you plant the right type of hedge as the wrong style and type can cause you problems.

Once you decide on the main purpose for your hedge then you can decide what the best way to plant it is and what plants will be the best. You have to decide how much maintenance you want to put into the hedge and how often you will want to have to trim and tend it. If your hedge is to act as a barrier and boundary then you will need to think about how quickly you want it to grow.