Improving a Privit Hedge for birds

[Cowgirl]

This is a sort of cross garden/bird question. Please see photo of my back garden, the bit shown is the bottom end. My garden is approx 300m2 (cant figure out how to do a small 2!) I don't know the circumference as I've lost all my measurements except total area, I must have been working out areas for some reason, but it's a lot !



Anyway, it is completely surrounded by a humongous hedge (which I hate cutting), I wait until end of nesting til I cut it so it always looks scruffy compared to my neighbors. I can't not cut it & leave it to berry as it's rented & I have to have some semblance of tidiness. I know my birds love it tho so I tolerate it, loads of them nest in it hide from sparrowhawks etc so I wouldn't dream of cutting it down. But it just seems that it doesn't benefit the birds food wise. I often think that farmers could leave some of the miles of hawthorn hedges to berry (Before I get outraged farmers replying, I know that a lot do & there are schemes eg countryside stewardship etc that discourage knee jerk hedgecutting, eg "harvested field ...must...cut...hedge".)

However I am toying with the idea of planting some plants which produce berries. I plan on putting a pyrocanthus & a cotoneaster in my front garden against the wall where I feed the birds but I would like to try & put something alongside my hedge (over 6' tall). So far all I can think of is wild rose & honeysuckle, but would they work? Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing? Please help. Any suggestions gratefully received (unless they're rude of course)

Also, is that bird-box situated ok? I put it there as the feeders are there, there's a hedge nearby & it's sheltered from the sun as it only gets the morning sun at that part of the garden. As you look at the photo, the view down the hill is SE.

[Stinky Bob]

Honeysuckle should work really well, as to dog rose I suppose it depends on the size of the hips, too large and most birds wont be able to deal with, Ivy, holly and blackthorn are some of the top of the head, try to keep the colour of the berries to the same colours of berries that are natural UK berry producing plants as birds would be more attracted to whats familar.

I would put your bird box at least 8' away from your feeders so that brooding birds are not disturbed by other birds.

[nigel_b]

Personally I wouldnt go anywhere pyracantha its horrible to maintain and cotoneaster can be really slow growing.

[Moonmoth]

Hi, Personally I wouldnt recommend Ivy to my worst enemy ! how about Clematis and Honeysuckle which are great for Insects and Birds and also a climbing Everlasting Pea . You can stick to Native plants or not ,all have fab flowers and good seed and are easy to keep in hand . Hope this is helpful.

[LouiseD]

Birds love Ivy, it's good for nesting/sheltering aswell as providing berries.

There are several available now that aren't invasive and only grow to 6'.

The concern about it damaging walls is that it'll cause damage to an already weakened/damaged surface but won't if it's a healthy surface.

Clematis, Rose and Honeysuckle will all be good for nesting/sheltering in .... are you thinking of growing these up through the Privet or on a nearby fence/pergola ?

Viburnum tinus is a very good evergreen shrub which birds love to nest and shelter in and could be grown as a shrub infront of the Privet.

For berries though, Pyracantha is excellent and Cotoneaster too (Horizontalis is indeed low growing and slow growing).

[Cowgirl]

Thanks for the replies, given me some good ideas, my thinking was to plant the climbers at the base, in an area of the garden that gets good sunlight and that they would use the hedge as climbing support. Didn't think of viburnum, thanks.

Sorry, I know ivy is good for birds but have been battling constantly to keep it out my garden as the previous tenants had it & ripped it out but it is still constantly trying to establish itself! I have had previous gardens with ivy & it's such a menace. It seems to thrive on weedkiller !

[SheffieldLass]

I find Rugosa roses are great for hedging and as shrubs, flower over a very long period, keep the bees very busy, and other insects too, loads of hips that the greenfinches find irresistable, excellent cover for birds too, pretty to look at, and scented, and very easy to grow. The standard ones do sucker though, but the Frau Dagmar Hartopp ones that I've also grown have not, though they are a little less vigourous, grow more slowly, and have a beautiful scent. They are my favourite Rugosa Rose variety.

I've just moved and have taken some Rugosa plants with me, but have inherited with the new house a nice fairly newly planted mixed hedge of Blackthorn, Rugosa Rose, Hawthorn. And I'm about to introduce some holly into it, though the birds have probably located some seeds there already. And I must try to get some more plants of my spikeless holly ... great plant, loads of berries until the birds go for them (the birds were stripping them in the garden centre so I knew they liked them), and no spikes on the leaves.

Though not producing berries etc, beech makes an excellent hedge and doesn't grow too much each season, so keeps very tidy. The birds here love the beech hedges, for cover, and because it doesn't lose its leaves gives good privacy. Sheffield University had a nice hedge, until they ripped it out ... beech interplanted with cotoneaster. Cover plus berries, and it looked very nice.

[Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

I find Rugosa roses are great for hedging and as shrubs, flower over a very long period, keep the bees very busy, and other insects too, loads of hips that the greenfinches find irresistable, excellent cover for birds too, pretty to look at, and scented, and very easy to grow. The standard ones do sucker though, but the Frau Dagmar Hartopp ones that I've also grown have not, though they are a little less vigourous, grow more slowly, and have a beautiful scent. They are my favourite Rugosa Rose variety.

Thanks Sheffieldlass, I am looking for a rosa rugosa (had forgotton that was it's name!) The one I had at a previous house was large growing, had a really deep cerise flower & had the most gorgeous scent. It was about 8 years ago & it was a pretty old plant so it won't be a modern type. It wasn't much of a garden so it wouldn'y have been a fancy variety either. Any idea which variety it could be? There are so many when you go to a garden centre!

Cheers

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Stinky Bob

I would put your bird box at least 8' away from your feeders so that brooding birds are not disturbed by other birds.

Absolutely! (and at least 8' above the ground). Perhaps on the side of the house instead?

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

This is a sort of cross garden/bird question. Please see photo of my back garden, the bit shown is the bottom end. My garden is approx 300m2 (cant figure out how to do a small 2!) I don't know the circumference as I've lost all my measurements except total area, I must have been working out areas for some reason, but it's a lot.
Anyway, it is completely surrounded by a humongous hedge (which I hate cutting), I wait until end of nesting til I cut it so it always looks scruffy compared to my neighbors. I can't not cut it & leave it to berry as it's rented & I have to have some semblance of tidiness. I know my birds love it tho so I tolerate it, loads of them nest in it hide from sparrowhawks etc so I wouldn't dream of cutting it down. But it just seems that it doesn't benefit the birds food wise.

A couple of things not already covered. For most gardens the greatest impact upon bird food increase, comes from supporting invertebrates, and in fact your privet hedge is likely already a major larder for the smaller birds that use it. Invertebrates offer a food source of greater duration than Autumn/Winter fruits and are available in the critical breeding period.

In simple terms any increase in plant biomass will see an increase in invertebrate numbers but annuals, bienniels and perenniels offer rapid growth and ready opportunites to propagate, meaning faster rewards at lower cost. With the addition of some organic material to the soil, the base of your hedge could easily support a range of wildlife beneficial plants - geraniums (especially G. macrorhyzum), foxgloves and aquilegias will all do well, and with the purchase of a few initial plants/seed and some deft propogation you could cover the full 50metres of your hedge run in three or four years, and you'll have many more invertebrates from year one.

In contrast relying on fruiting shrubs, you are unlikely to see any significant fruit volumes for at least three years, and at the extreme, while Hedera is a great plant, it will not fruit at all for five years and may not produce any notable amount of berries until it's ten years old or more. Even pyracantha or cotoneaster will not begin to match the volumes of food most of put out for birds all year round, until they are five years old or more. Of course it's not a matter of having to choose between shrubs and perenniels - both are desirable - so long as there's room and can be afforded. It's just important not to forget how important those creepy crawlies are. One shrub that will fruit early on - blackcurrent, as most gardeners who grow it knowvery well, it's near impossile to keep the birds off.

CM