GARDENING TIPS
How To Use Hedges In Landscaping
by Paul Curran
A hedge that is well kept and attractive can do much for
your grounds. Used in the front of the house and on the
sides of your lot, hedges are a barrier against traffic,
noise and all things unsightly; at the same time they
enhance the proportions and general appearance of your
house and lawns. And within the boundaries of your property,
hedges define paths and walks, demarcate various areas,
and help to screen service areas and vegetable gardens.
The plant materials generally used for hedges are mentioned
elsewhere in this book. They include the tall background
hedges of holly, thorn or wattle; the informal flowering
hedges of rose, bridal wreath spirea or barberry; Such
evergreens as mugho pine, globe arbor vitae, box or eunonymus
(most of which are used as low edgings) and the colorful
fruit and-nut hedges of thorn apple, hazlenut, cherry,
beach plum, cranberry and quince.
And, of course, there are the formal clipped hedges. Of
these, the Amur privet is by far the most widely used.
In fact, the privet is used so universally that it is
original to choose any of the above for hedging.
How to Plant Hedges
Hedge shrubs must be planted in the same manner as any
other shrub, with soil preparation all-important to the
continued life of the plant. The main consideration here
is the spacing and planning of the plants in relationship
to each other.
One way to get a straight hedge is to dig a trench the
length of your intended hedge, with one side straight
and your plants set against this straight wall. The depth
of the plant depends on what you are planting, but privet
may be set 3 inches deeper than it was before being transplanted.
How far apart the hedge shrubs are set again depends on
what shrub it is, as some hedging materials are spreading
and bushy. Privet is usually set 1 foot apart; barberry,
9 inches to 1 foot;
larger shrubs, 2 to 4 feet.
The way hedges are trimmed has much to do with their health.
While a flat top is neat looking, it is easily damaged
by snow and ice accumulating on top. A rounded top is
better, therefore,
for northern winters. And hedges should be trimmed to
slop outward from top to bottom so that the leaves on
the bottom also get sun.
About the Author
Paul Curran is CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group
and webmaster at Trees-and-Bushes.com, providing access
to their nursery supplier of a range of quality plants,
trees, bushes, shrubs, seeds and garden products.Visit
their site now to find a great selection of hedges for
your garden. |
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How to Start and Run a Landscape
& Garden Maintenance Business
Article by Jack Stone
Copyright © 2003 by ProGardenBiz
Own your business, own your job, own your life.
Statistics show that nine out of every ten new businesses
fail.
Most of these businesses fail within the first year. The
rest
don't make it past their third anniversary. Given such
dismal
odds why would you want to start a landscaping or
interiorscaping business?
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