Thorny Hedge

2023 Author: Ashton Daniels | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 17:13

A human being has a genetically inherent desire for fencing. This is natural: the world is so arranged that neither the state nor private property can exist without borders. Gardens also have their boundaries, and knowledgeable people claim that it is with the fence that they begin. Her character can tell a lot about the character and wealth of the owner of the garden. Introverts, i.e. people immersed in themselves love deaf fences, behind which you can hide from prying eyes. In this endeavor, they are close to the rich, who do not want to put their possessions on public display. A lopsided picket fence can also say a lot about its owner. As well as a "green" fence - a hedge. About a person who preferred rows of green plantings to a brick or wooden fence, we can say with a fair amount of confidence that he is an open person,appreciating naturalness and loving nature. A live bush fence is a really good choice. Indeed, what kind of fence - even the most sophisticated - can compare with a green hedge that grows, blooms, changes color of leaves depending on the season, and even bears fruit !?

Hedges not only ennoble the territory of the garden, but also protect us from strangers, not always benevolent views, as well as visits from uninvited guests - both bipedal and quadrupedal. Thorn hedges are especially suitable for these purposes. For those who want to create a reliable green hedge of thorny bushes, we can advise you to plant various types of hawthorn, rose hips, barberry.

The purple-leaved form of common barberry looks especially impressive. It is good both by itself and as a background for other green-leaved, light-leaved and flowering plants. Dark purple foliage is characteristic of another barberry - Ottawa. This is a hybrid form, more resistant to powdery mildew, from which the common barberry suffers greatly. And, finally, we must name another decorative type of barberry for a thorny hedge - the Amur barberry. It has long (up to 2 cm) spines and shiny, slightly leathery bright green leaves. All barberries are very good during the flowering period, when they are decorated with graceful yellow flowers, collected in small clusters. Fruits - medium-sized red berries of an elongated shape - also give the plants their own charm. All barberries are easy to trim and look equally good in trimmed hedges,and in a loose fit. Please note only that the Thunberg barberry, which is often found on sale, is not suitable for creating a high thorny hedge: it usually does not grow higher than 1 meter and is only suitable for framing paths, the background of flower beds or as a padding of higher shrubs.

An impassable thorny fence can also be made from various types of hawthorn. Many hawthorns, especially those of American origin, have been awarded by nature with long thorns, which can become an insurmountable obstacle for uninvited guests. And here, first of all, it is necessary to name the large-thorny hawthorn up to 5-6 meters high with thorns up to 12 cm long. round-leaved native to North America, thin spines up to 7 cm long densely cover the shoots. Their characteristic feature is that they are bright green in summer and turn red in autumn. The common hawthorn is also equipped with impressive thorns,which grows wildly throughout Europe and has a remarkable beauty decorative form with double crimson-red flowers. And here is another “local aborigine” - the single-pistil hawthorn - protected by very small thorns up to 1.5 cm long. By the way, many hawthorn species can grow in the form of a small tree, and this must be taken into account when creating a hedge.

The ideal plants for a flowering thorny fence are wild rose hips and, first of all, the dog rose, cinnamon rose, prickly rose and wrinkled rose (rugosa rose). The first three types of roses bloom in early summer, and the prickly rose, which is completely covered with creamy white semi-double flowers, is especially abundant. The wrinkled rose has a more extended flowering period: individual flowers on its bushes can appear even in autumn. Another characteristic feature of it is strongly wrinkled leaves with gray-green pubescence on the underside.

All these roses form powerful bushes up to 2-3 meters high, dotted with thorns, and give a lot of root suckers that creep in different directions. They must be regularly removed or special restraints must be dug into the ground to prevent the growth of plants.

Roses, barberries and hawthorns can often be found on sale, in contrast to the Chinese prinsepia, almost unknown to European gardeners. However, this Far Eastern shrub is ideal for creating thorny hedges. It blooms early and interestingly, has elongated leaves and a very dense crown, and in the second half of summer it is covered with many quite edible fruits similar to cherries. At the same time, prinsepia has quite a "solid weaponry" of small, but very sharp thorns, treacherously hidden under the leaves. It seems that everything is in order with the winter hardiness of the plant, so, apparently, this shrub can be called very promising for creating hedges in central Russia.