SolveYourProblem
Hedges Article Series
I
Want To Create
The Perfect Hedge
Best
Hedges as Windbreakers
For many years now, people have been using
hedges to act as windbreakers for their gardens. Strong winds
can cause irreparable damage to a beautiful garden, making
the use of hedges as windbreakers even more popular. While
all hedges can act as windbreakers to some extent, some hedges
that are best for the job include:
First, cotoneaster
lacteus, which comes from the Rosacea family,
can serve as a very good windbreaker. These hedges yield red
berries in the wintertime, white flowers in the summertime,
and can grow to be very wide. As a matter of fact, they are
often wider than they are tall. The foliage remains green year
round, and they thrive in full sun conditions. Cotoneaster
lacteus can serve as the perfect wind breaking hedge, as well
as bring beauty to your garden year round. Planting this hedge
around the edge of your property will block the wind from every
direction, keeping your flowerbeds safe from wind damage. Yet
this hedge will not grow high enough to block your view. This
is one of the most popular wind breaking hedges offered.
Next, Taxus
baccata, also know as English Yew, can be very
useful as a wind breaking hedge. They can be closely trimmed,
or can be left to grow very tall. They serve as great windbreakers
year round, due to their thickness, and year round durability.
These evergreens yield a poisonous red berry that is pretty
to the eye, but dangerous if consumed by humans or livestock.
Birds and deer have been known to safely consume the fruit
from the English Yew. This hedge, though beautiful, may not
be your first choice if you have small children.
Another type of bush that can serve as a great wind breaking
hedge is the Blackshaw viburnum. This shrub is similar to the
Hawthorn, except this shrub has no thorns. These wind breaking
hedges will bloom flowers in the spring, which will turn into
edible berries by harvest time, in the fall. These hedges make
great windbreakers because they are durable and can grow up
to fifteen feet in height and twelve feet in width. This makes
them not only a great wind breaker, but a great sound barrier
as well.
The Rose
of Sharon shrubs, when planted closely together,
can also serve as great wind breakers. They can reach heights
that exceed eight feet, and have grown to be up to six feet
wide. Rose of Sharon blooms beautiful flowers throughout the
summer, and will flourish from pruning. Rose of Sharon can
make great windbreakers because of their sturdy, upright form.
A row of these shrubs planted shoulder to shoulder not only
forms a wind breaking barrier, but it also can serve as a colorful
privacy screen. At its full width, it’s also a nice sound barrier.
The Emerald
Arborvitae is a tall evergreen shrub that is also
well suited to form a great wind barrier. This shrub has a
dense growth habit, and has long lasting needles that also
aid in breaking the wind. These shrubs require very little
maintenance, and grow to heights of twelve to fifteen feet
and widths of four to six feet. In place of lined trees, this
shrub makes a wonderful hedge.
Last are the ornamental
grasses that can also serve as great
wind barriers. Ornamental grasses have become popular in helping
break the wind. Most ornamental grasses are easy to grow, and
reach maturity quickly. They work well with other plants, and
come in many sizes, colors, and shapes. Their heights range
from one foot to twenty feet in height, which is one of the
factors that can make them great wind breakers.
Hedges can serve many functions in your garden. They can be
used to divide up a garden plot, as ornamental features, as
privacy screens, as sound barriers and as wind breakers. Not
only are hedges cheaper than fences, they are also friendlier
to the environment. On top of serving your gardening purposes,
hedges also provide a habitat for many insects, birds and other
wildlife.
