WHY Are HEDGES SO GOOD For WILDLIFE & Why You Need One In YOUR GARDEN

[@Frostie3672]

Glad you mentioned hedgehogs, probably the most impacted wild animal by the loss of so much hedgerows in this country.

[@rugbyfirstenglishsecond117]

Could not agree more about corridors being so important. By coincidence I am planting a hedge next week. I have 600 native saplings and plan to connect two parcels of old woodland. Combined with leaving my grass uncut, it will be a great corridor.

[@blue2mato312]

That’s wonderful!

[@keithroberts42]

Wish I had more room in the garden , but I do have a front hedge that is full of ivy, and even a sneaky sycamore, and I do have Holly Blues living in it, so it ticks that box for me.

[@ChopsyMiche]

I love beautiful hedgerows. They always look so pretty, so many different colors and textures going on. And always teaming and buzzing with wildlife. I especially love the Cornish hedgerows I have around me. Such a joy to look at and to soak up all that beauty and life. Until next time, thank you🌻

[@george-1961]

Hedgehogs are the very reason I got into wildlife gardening and how I got to your KZbin channel Joel. Heartbreaking to see their hedge habitat loss is the reason for their decline. Thank you for the info Joel 👌👏

[@tomoose22]

Tim and Jo from therestorationcouple/diyfarm channels are doing great work with hedgerows on their farm. Worth a watch

[@fouulg1]

Planted a mix of hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, poplar, field maple and hazel(for the shady back of the garden) last weekend. Excited to watch it grow over the next few years. (Thanks Joel you've taught me loads!)

[@LibertarianGalt]

Sounds amazing 😊

[@kam.89123]

Joel, your videos have been my main source of information on helping wildlife in the garden. My back garden isn't the biggest but over the past year I've added in as many native plants as i could, along with some non native nectar rich flowering plants (as suggested in one of your videos). I've, also, been able to add in Alder buckthorn, Guelder rose and a Hazel this weekend so its starting to come together nicely. Really looking forward to seeing the growth next year and hopefully benefiting the local birds, insects and mammals! Thank you so much for the advice and for encouraging as many people as possible to help wildlife. Seeing the birds visit more often this Autumn, already, has made it all worthwhile 🙂

[@nickiramsay2421]

I would dearly love to rip out the laurel and leylandii hedges surrounding my garden and put in a native hedge, but money and time constraints won’t allow it at the moment 😩 One day hopefully, I’ll get to do it 🤞🏻

[@DeborahPinder-f5t]

Another timely and informative post Joel, thank you, I have just planted out your pick and mix ten pack of bare root trees and was really impressed with the amount of root growth on them and how carefully packed they were. Will be interesting watching them grow, thank you 😊

[@blue2mato312]

Plant hedgerows/hedges and bushes in gardens and start to walk your cats. Today I read the first chronicle by a Norwegain politician suggesting leashtraining cats and a ban on cats roaming free because they do cause so much death of birds and the cumulation of everything else going on our birds are very vulnerable. People need to change their minds about the house cat, they can be perfectly happy even if we don’t let them decimate our wildlife!

[@chickadeecorner]

They also won’t succumb to a horrible death either. A catio is a great option as well. I built one for my cats at a house I had and it was great, they loved it and everyone was safe, cats and wildlife.

[@blue2mato312]

@@chickadeecorner Great point, I had a friend who lost her cat to a car accident and it was so sad. Catios are great! I have only seen them on tv from the US so far, I have watched a lot of Jackson Galaxy. Everytime I have mentioned them to friends with cats they have been very dismissive, people are not used to thinking of any other way to have cats than setting them free outside every day. Many also say that their cats don’t kill wildlife. When I mention it would be safer for the cat either with an enclosure or taking them walking on a leash they think that it is cruelty to cats not to let them roam. At our old summer place there are several endangered bird species and big neighbourhood cats who patrol our property, one summer there were dead endangered green finch fledgelings everywhere and heaps of feather. I tried scaring one of the cats but it didn’t help.

[@Frostie3672]

There's so many cats around here, I got fed up with them trying to catch the birds that I now scare off any that think about entering the garden, I'm home a lot due to health issues & I have lots of ring cameras out there for watching the hedgehogs at night but during the day they have another function, alerting me if any cat tries it's luck! Hoping to attract birds to nest in the garden so obviously cats are certainly not welcome or wanted in my garden. I understand new Zealand has brought in new laws to keep cats indoors & some people over there are changing their minds about even keeping cats because it's finally sinking in about the harm they cause to wildlife.

[@williamgair3230]

I've been fascinated with hedgerows for years, but living in the U.S. I couldn't get the species. Then I thought "hold on, we were settled by Eropeans they must have tried. Not going to go into all of that. "What I've done." I have almost 1/2 acre. I surround it with closely planted fruit,nut,bery trees. In an urban environment this narrows the footprint but accomplishes the same end. So don't think you can't have a hedgerows just because you don't live in the UK. You can. Just get creative.

[@annahemmings3437]

Thanks for this informative vlog Joel ❤

[@janiedunn637]

I’ve got a lovely hedge in my front garden. I think it’s maybe 8 feet in length. I’ve got the best hedge in my street. ❤️ the video. 😊 memories of picking brambles in hedges way back over 45yrs ago with my parents & some of my brothers for my mum to make jam.

[@SisterDogmata]

Lovely memories!

[@eywasdaughter]

Big believer in hedgerows. Was sad to see the Council out chopping them back the other day - they were full of berries, so much wild bird food wasted 😢. Would love to know more about coppicing 🙂🌿

[@adam2802]

Highly recommended looking into hedge laying courses if you're physically able, there are a lot of day courses and they vary hugely across the UK in style and work (I'm particularly fond of the Devon style of hedge laying) and once you have the basics down it's a lot of refining and quite cathartic to do.

[@eywasdaughter]

Thanks Adam I'll look into that 🤗

[@geo.m1639]

Very informative!

[@DJG19870]

Thank you for your video! I walked past a small hedge of beech in Eastbourne a few months ago… it was so loud with little chattering birds. Yeah, I don’t believe in pet cats anymore… even though I used to have them… but they so detrimental to wildlife… unless on a farm with mice or kept indoors. Thank you for sharing such great info.

[@Polofr0g900]

Great video 💚

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Thanks Poppy! Appreciated :) Best wishes, Joel

[@atticbrowser9698]

Another great video, thanks.

[@charliensam]

Excellent information Joel. Thank you so much for sharing. We always use the knowledge you share when we go to plan projects for our property here in the states.🌱🐦

[@itsmewende]

I stopped mowing around my line of loblolly pines many yrs ago, my hedgerow planted itself. It's full of birds, insects and I'm sure the occasional snake, that thank goodness I haven't seen.

[@MrHorserider15]

I planted a mixed native hedge on both back and front garden because the whole neighborhood lacks greenery and wildlife.

[@dcvariousvids8082]

Only yesterday, I was continuing to help coppice a small woodland, which had been privately owned. Mainly to help regenerate what was last coppiced thirty something years ago. And has left areas with all the trees of a particular species per coupe, being the same age. The present owner’s fear, is that in generations to come, the packed tree density and the same age, could have a detrimental effect if a severe storm were to knock blocks of trees down; and the dense upper canopy, is preventing greater growth at ground level. It’s a woodland which is open to the public, is bounded by two drystone walls and two hedges. If one goes carefully, on any day the range of wildlife amazes me. Yesterday during lunch, I was laying against a dead hedge, looking toward an old hedge and wall. My company being robins, a coal tit, a family of hedge sparrows, the glimpse of a field mouse from the neighbouring farm, a woodpecker in the distance and a number of beetles where I sat. I definitely enjoyed my lunch all the more for my company. And the pockets of light through last year’s coppicing, will allow growth of different aged trees and plants from dormant seeds to flourish with the added warmth & light. Meanwhile, we may lay the old hedges, which will give them a longer span and help woodland & field wildlife in future years. Plus it’s nice to just spend some time enjoying, what some may pass, thinking it’s just a boundary. Nice to know about your availability of bare root stock. As it’s a great time to be gapping-up thin hedges / linking old hedge growth, where laying alone won’t quite make it.

[@kingfisher3011]

Its such a shame with new builds the designers unimaginitavly section the gardens with walls and fences will little regard for our wildlife Sadly i was not allowed to grow a hedge around the front garden due to the Housing Assoc contract so i compromised by planting a mini spinney in the centre using bare root shrubs lol

[@kingfisher3011]

Thanks

[@LibertarianGalt]

I'm chucking tons of berries from hedging trees/plants so hopefully a more biodiverse space turns up.

[@michellesleaford4748]

Hi Joel, I would love to replace our fencing with a hedge, however it gives us privacy/ security from the public footpath and roads the other side. I think replacing it with holly/ pyracantha would be prickly enough but how do I go about doing this? It would need to be instant privacy and security. I live in a busy town.

[@mstainthor1947]

You could initially plant them next to the fence, they still grow have done that with mine (and wall), then when you are happy with them - you can remove fence (not planning that with mine yet. You can also improve "bushyness" with hedge laying mentions above. One of hawthorns other names is quick thorn and it does live up to that moniker

[@LibertarianGalt]

Try and get a varied mix of hedging to encourage biodiversity but hawthorns and holly bushes/trees are a good deterrent!

[@adam2802]

Im mad for hedges and im currently annoyed my current boss hasn't been pushing harder for hedge over fensing in an area we're currently working in. Hoping to learn cornish hedging and already have a tiny bit of Devon style hedge laying under my belt. Wish the old hedges around me werent so neglected ot damaged. I have such a pet hate for rhodedenron hedges tho xD

[@excalibur9768]

Hi Joel, I have a new build house and want to create a wild wildlife friendly garden with a couple of small trees, meadows, tall grasses but have no idea where to start regarding choice of plants/trees. Any ideas?

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there, if you're in the UK then I can certainly help, drop me a line at [e-mail] - best wishes, Joel

[@excalibur9768]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thanks for the reply, mate. I've sent you an email 👍

[@chickadeecorner]

I’ve got an acre that I’m wanting to plant a hedgerow around. I have access to lots of native seedlings, the thing that stumps me is spacing. If I follow the spacing based on mature width it won’t be a dense hedgerow and look more like an ornamental planting. But alternatively, unsure how close makes sense. The one you showed looked like maybe 2’ spacing but I assume that was a single species or no?

[@michaelcummings4391]

6 per metre set out as a double staggered row, works out about 30cm spacing between shrubs.

[@chickadeecorner]

@@michaelcummings4391 oh wow, ok thanks that definitely makes sense for the denser hedgerow I'm going for, thank you!

[@beepdebeep572]

Another question, I plan on making a hedgerow in my garden, a mix of hazel, hawthorn, crab apple, viburnum opulus and native honeysuckle. In your opinion how far apart should they be planted? I hear mixed things such as planting them 1.5m apart so they have room to grow, to planting them very close 50cm. But I want to maximise wildlife value and since they need to mature, would 1m apart work?

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there, much as I'd love to be able to answer all these queries in person, in addition to all the work put in to these videos, it's just not feasible to be able to keep up with everyone and YT notifications are intermittent and I easily miss comments. if you're in the UK and buying from www.wildyourgarden.com then I'm more than happy to take time out to advise on a professional and tailored basis of course - hope this helps explain why I just can't keep giving up time to answer every question individually. Feel free to drop me a line at [e-mail] where we're happy to offer tailored and professional advice of course - best wishes - Joel

[@beepdebeep572]

how far from a wall, say 180cm high, can a native hedgerow be planted?

[@gavinhitman9941]

we're Bouts in northwales are you there please

[@NorthernCitrusParrot]

Slightly off topic but I have a Spindle sapling iwould like to plant out in my garden or in the wild.... however I am aware the fruit are poisonous and am concerned about risk to dogs. Am I worrying too much?

[@eelm2079]

yeh deers and badgers love hedges... wolves becoming extinct...

[@Jpatmeadowbrook]

The all wildlife is losing their habitat all over the world and being distracted by lights at night. Thank goodness for organizations in the USA for trying to reserve open space. I’m sure everyone who watches your channel feels the same as you do.😢

[@blue2mato312]

I feel the same, I’m from Norway. It’s certainly a global problem with overpopulation of humans ruining habitats for wildlife and agriculture poisoning so much. Absoluteley agree about the light pollution, it worries me too and the new LED lights are even worse for wildlife than the lights we used to have, specially the bright white lights 😢

[@Cringeage]

Nothing wrong with tresspass, right to roam!

[@elizabethhails3506]

But not on enclosed land unless there's a designated footpath. For instance, you maybe wouldn't like someone roaming in your garden!

[@Cringeage]

@@elizabethhails3506 My garden is the size of a living room. People aren't entitled to vast swathes of the countryside for personal use.

[@LibertarianGalt]

The general public trash most things they're given access to. No thanks!