Why a mixed native hedge works harder than a single species

A hedge of one species, clipped into a neat box, is really just a wall with leaves. Plant hawthorn, blackthorn and holly together and you get something that changes character through the year: frothy white blossom in spring, sloes and haws in autumn, and evergreen structure in the bleakest weeks of January. It is also far better for wildlife, because different plants flower and fruit at different times, feeding insects and birds across the whole calendar rather than for a fortnight in May.

For most British gardens, a mixed native hedge is the best-value boundary you can plant. Bare-root whips are inexpensive, establish quickly in our climate, and cope with everything from heavy clay to thin chalky soil. Give it three or four years and it will be a proper screen, a nesting site and a larder rolled into one.

The three workhorses, and what each one brings

• Hawthorn: the backbone of practically every old field hedge in Britain. It makes a dense, thorny, stock-proof barrier, carries creamy-white May blossom that hums with bees, and follows up with red haws that blackbirds and redwings strip through the winter. It is tough, cheap and tolerant of wind and clay.
• Blackthorn: flowers earlier than hawthorn, usually in March, on bare black stems before the leaves appear. It suckers freely, which makes it excellent for filling gaps and discouraging intruders, and those suckers are exactly why you should keep it away from the vegetable patch. The blue-black sloes are, of course, the gin-maker's reward.
• Holly: the evergreen element that gives the hedge a solid green line when everything else is leafless. Slow to start but long-lived, it clips beautifully, tolerates shade and produces berries that see birds through hard frosts. Native holly is either male or female, and only the females berry, so plant them in groups and include at least one male nearby.

For extra interest, weave in a few others: field maple for golden autumn colour, hazel for catkins and nuts, guelder rose for translucent red berries, and dog rose for a scramble of pink flowers and scarlet hips in summer.

Getting the mix and spacing right

Order bare-root whips between 60cm and 90cm tall, in November if you can, and plant them any time from late November to early March while they are dormant. Space them 30cm to 45cm apart in a double, staggered row — that is roughly five plants per metre in two lines. It looks absurdly generous on planting day and absolutely right three years later.

A sensible ratio is about half hawthorn, a quarter blackthorn, and the rest split between holly and your extras. Go easy on blackthorn if space is tight, and buy two-year-old holly transplants rather than one-year whips, as they settle far more reliably.

Planting day: the details that decide success

Clear a strip at least 60cm wide either side of your line and remove perennial weeds properly first — this is the single biggest favour you can do yourself. Fork over the base of the trench, work in a few handfuls of well-rotted compost or garden compost, and plant each whip at the same depth it was growing in the nursery, judged by the soil mark on the stem.

• Firm each plant in with your heel, then water thoroughly, even in winter.
• Mulch 5cm to 8cm deep with bark or compost, keeping it clear of the stems.
• Fit spiral guards against rabbits and voles, and use a cane in exposed, windy spots.
• Water fortnightly through the first two dry summers. After that, the hedge should look after itself.

Trimming without losing the berries

Cut the whole hedge back by about a third immediately after planting to encourage a bushy base, then give it a light formative trim each winter for the first two or three years. Once established, aim for an A-shape — wider at the bottom than the top — so light reaches the base and it does not go bare and leggy.

If you want blossom, haws and sloes, trim in late winter, around February, once the birds have taken most of the fruit. Avoid cutting between March and August, when nesting birds may be in residence, and never take shears to a hedge without a quick look along it first. Trim holly after Christmas once the berries have gone, or accept a lighter crop if you would rather keep it tidy in summer.

A year in the life of your native hedge

• February to March: blackthorn flowers on bare black wood, one of the first real signs of spring.
• April to May: hawthorn delivers its May blossom, and the hedge fills out into a green screen.
• June to August: nesting season — leave well alone. Holly flowers quietly, and roses and guelder rose put on their show.
• September to November: haws, hips, sloes and holly berries ripen together, and field maple turns gold.
• December to January: evergreen holly holds the structure while flocks of birds work through the remaining fruit.

Plant it well, keep it out of the way of paths and small children where the thorns are concerned, and you will have a boundary that earns its place in every season of the British year.