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Plants need protecting from adverse weather, particularly strong winds. Hedges are the most attractive way of providing shelter.
A strip 4ft (1.2m) wide along the line of the hedge must be thoroughly prepared, preferably double-dug and incorporating plenty of organic material. Planting should be at any time between late fall and spring when weather allows.
Distances between plants vary according to type but are generally in the region of 1-2ft (30-60em). Prune back by a half after planting. Protect with a temporary plastic or gunnysack screen in windy areas and do not allow the young plants to dry out.
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The frequency of cutting hedges varies according to the speed of growth. Informal hedges usually only require cutting once a year, immediately after flowering. The width of the hedge should be narrower at the top. This helps with stability and prevents damage by snow. Treat hedges as ordinary shrubs, feeding them annually with farmyard manure or compost and ensuring that they do not get too dry.
A hedge need not be all of the same material. Cottage garden hedges often were, and still are, a mixture of all kinds of shrubs. Mine consist of beech (Fagas), holly (Hex), hawthorn (Crataegus), hazel (Corylus avellana), privet (Ligustrum), trailing honeysuckle (Lonicera), blackberries (Rubes), snowberry. (Symplwricarpos), box (Buzas), lilac, Lonicera nitida, and a few other odds and ends. This makes a wonderful tapestry of different colors and textures. The big problem is that all these plants grow at different rates, hence it can look a hit ragged. In the country this does not matter, but in town it can look out of place and must be cut regularly to keep it neat and tidy.
A more conventional tapestry hedge that needs much less attention can be created by choosing different clones of the same species. For example using alternate
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