Singing praises for... the hedge!

If you like to see small birds - like this sparrow - flitting around your garden, then you’ll be wanting a hedge. Dense shrubs and hedges provide vital habitat for small birds. They give them shelter and nesting spaces where larger birds and animals can’t reach them.

Baby birds are very vulnerable from predators such as magpies and your precious moggy (sorry, but it's true!). Plants with berries, such as the Firethorn (Pyracantha) sustain birds’ food supply through the winter and have the bonus of spring blossom that then feeds the bees and other pollinating insects.

Even a small garden space can have a hedge

I have to sing the praises of the Privet (Ligustrum). A garden staple in the 1970's, it's easy to keep a workable size and only needs attention a couple of times a year - and because it’s evergreen it provides for the winter garden. I think it’s time to revive its' popularity in our garden design!