UNDER COVER
Hedges have much to offer even the urban gardener. They can be clipped formally or left to develop a more natural shape, and also provide nesting sites for birds and small mammals, plus shelter from the wind and a good habitat for spiders and other insects.
In smaller spaces, a single shrub, such as Cornus mas, Viburnum opulus or Rosa moyesii (each of which offers wonderful flowers and berries or hips), planted in a border or large pot will make your garden seem bigger by making use of vertical height.
The more flowers your garden can offer throughout the year, the greater the number of bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects it will attract and support. Try to have something in flower every month, especially early or late in the year, sticking to single flowers that wildlife can feed readily upon.
A shrub or small tree, such as Malus sylvestris, Amelanchier laevis or Sorbus hupehensis, will work especially hard in creating seasonality, while supporting not only climbing plants, such as clematis and roses, but nesting birds and their hatchlings, too. Trees provide foliage for aphids and caterpillars to feed upon, and via their blooms nectar and pollen for insects to dine on – all of which, in turn, will feed our feathered friends.
The Seven Son Flower Tree (Heptacodium miconioides) offers an extended flowering food source. Loved by butterflies almost as much as buddleia, its showy, heavily scented flowers bloom in autumn when most others are spent, falling with the first frosts, and the flower’s calyx darkens from pink to deep burgundy, offering welcome colour to the garden.