Our yards take on a special meaning in the long, hot, lazy days of summer. Throughout the East Bay backyards are abuzz with barbecues, pool parties, garden adventures, and relaxing moments with family and friends. In the pursuit of backyard privacy, many opt for fences or hedges. But these boundaries need not be so mundane. Instead of settling for the ordinary, consider creating a hedgerow — a vibrant, diverse, living boundary that will distinguish your space while also providing a host of ecological benefits.  

Hedgerows have ancient roots in the English and Irish countryside, where trees and shrubs artfully combine with an array of other plant life to create a protective, living space around pastures or crops. What started as the act of leaving a border of woodland at the edges evolved into an artful crafting of intricate living boundaries that served as barriers, wind blocks, and wildlife habitats.  

The neighbor shielding walls of arborvitaes or the privet and boxwood borders prevalent in our region today are typical examples of hedges. In contrast, a hedgerow is a lively celebration of plant diversity, featuring an array of shrubs, small trees, and a colorful assortment of flowering perennials, native grasses, ground covers and even vines. Unlike the neat arrangement of a hedge, hedgerows are charmingly chaotic; planted in multiple zigzagging rows and often extending well over 10 feet in width. 

The layout and spacing of your hedgerow plants is completely up to you. While some people opt to place the tallest plants at the back, others might choose to position them in the center or as random accents throughout the design. The main focus should be on selecting a variety of plants that thrive in similar growing conditions and offer varied benefits to wildlife. Plan for staggered blooming and berrying times and include a blend of colors and textures for maximum ecological gains and aesthetic appeal.  

Once upon a time, hedgerows dotted the landscape with a practical purpose — keeping livestock in check and staking boundaries. Fast forward to today, and they've now burst into the spotlight as the darlings of chic garden design. Nestled along property lines and at the back edge of yards, hedgerows offer an opportunity to introduce a trendy and beneficial dash of wildness to even the most conventional landscapes.  

However, hedgerows are not only visually appealing; they are vibrant mini-ecosystems offering numerous environmental benefits. Hedgerows offer valuable carbon sequestration, pollution filtration, and they reduce stormwater runoff, which safeguards our waterways and mitigates flooding. Additionally, hedgerows serve as windbreaks and assist in controlling erosion. Yet, their most remarkable attribute is the diverse range of life they stand to support. 

In a world dominated by humans, these vibrant green areas serve as both habitat patches and movement corridors.

Located at property intersections, these wild edges create safe pathways for wildlife traveling between larger habitats. A well-designed hedgerow packed with native plantings offers welcome refuge for songbirds to rest, nest and forage and provides a dose of the sustenance our pollinators need to survive and thrive.

Even some of the small fascinating creatures that call East Bay home like salamanders, turtles and frogs move between vernal pools and higher ground which requires safe passage often right through residential spaces. The border cover of a well-designed, thoughtfully located hedgerow could be a literal lifeline for our wild friends. 

When it comes to crafting hedgerows, there’s no “right” or “wrong” plant — the most important considerations are suitability to the growing conditions of your space and proven ecological benefits for our region. Small trees might include things like serviceberry, native dogwood, sweetbay magnolia, carolina allspice, fringe tree or redbud. For the structure of shrubs consider including a few evergreens like juniper, American holly, inkberry, rhododendron or mountain laurels. These evergreens will offer welcome shelter for songbirds come wintertime. Native berry bushes pack a serious ecological punch and are a key component of healthy hedgerows. Locally well-suited options include things like northern bayberry, viburnum, winterberry, beach plum, and blueberries. Shrubs with strong winter structure or interest like red and yellow twig dogwood or winter flowering witch hazel extend interest year-round and bright flowering shrubs like St. John’s Wort and flowering raspberry ensure maximum aesthetic appeal.  

Next move to the fun weaving in of an array of flowering perennials, with a focus on selecting plants with staggered bloom times to keep the space buzzing with life from spring through fall. Include early blooming species like eastern columbine, amsonia, wild violets and penstemon. Be sure to include milkweed for monarchs and incorporate an array of nectar rich summer blooming flowers like bee balm, mountain mint and coneflower. Including late summer pollinator powerhouse plants like goldenrod and aster will amplify your hedgerow benefits and bring a natural vibrancy to your early autumn landscape. Don’t forget to mix in native grasses including tall varieties like Switch Grass or Little Bluestem and lower grasses like prairie dropseed or purple love grass. And as a final touch, ground covers replace traditional mulch for an added ecological bonus and might include things like strawberry, bearberry, sedges, wild mint and foam flower.  

Since late summer and early fall are the perfect time to plant the native shrubs and trees that will make up the structure of your new hedgerow, start planning now and get those roots in the ground this autumn so you can enjoy all the many benefits that will spring to life next season. Happy planting — good hedgerows make good neighbors and welcoming neighborhoods for all creatures great and small! 

 “Life in the Garden” brings eco-friendly garden tips from Cindy and Ed Moura of Prickly Ed’s Cactus Patch Native Plant Emporium, where they are passionate about helping people realize the essential role everyone can play in supporting life right outside their own doors