This is a dead hedge, an ironic name considering the habitat it provides for wildlife. Dead hedges are built from woody prunings, tree branches and foliage, creating shelter and food for insects, small animals and birds. They play an important role in habitat conservation and restoration. The material for a dead hedge is usually produced on site through forestry, pruning or clearing work, and the hedge will eventually compost down back to the earth. The ultimate in sustainability! I helped to build this one a few years ago during a stint as a conservation volunteer at Kew Gardens. First we hammered two rows of posts into the ground, angling in one direction. This made them less likely to bow out and fall under the stress of the ‘filling’ than if they were planted straight up. Next we began to weave the longer, springier prunings between the posts to make two parallel walls that were periodically packed with the ‘filling’ of remaining woody material. We kept building these walls and stuffing them until we were left with a lovely, thick hedge. I wasn’t intelligent enough to take a photograph, but fellow Londoners can see a nice example of deadhedgery (not a word, but seems appropriate!) in the nature reserve Leg O’ Mutton Pond, which lies between Hammersmith and Barnes on the south side of the Thames.
This is Solanum dulcamara, Woody Nightshade, a pretty plant that can commonly be seen scrambling through hedgerows. I found the specimen pictured below when I was preparing the ground for planting the Rosa rugosa hedge, and I decided to leave it to scramble through the new planting when it matures. I thought I would keep it chopped back until it had a support to wind around, but of course I didn’t and now it has rather swamped one end of my rose hedge. In future I will let the hedge develop before letting climbers do their thing! Woody Nightshade sports flowers with deep blue, minute, petals that fold backwards away from bright yellow anthers towards the stem. These appear in midsummer and are followed by green berries that eventually turn a vivid shade of red.
I haven’t pruned the hedge since I planted it, but now it has thickened up I will give it a light pruning after flowering, just reducing some of the side shoots that are becoming a little ungainly. Besides supporting nature, the greenery a good hedge provides seems to promote a soothing atmosphere I feel we could do with a bit more of in London. So this hedge of Rosa rugosa is my small contribution to that!
- Abundance in the Edible Gardens Today. (permaculturecottage.wordpress.com)
- BPA makes good on promise to mitigate overcutting of powerline plants in Bethany (oregonlive.com)