Windbreak help
johunter
Posts: 14
Hi all, just moved to a new house with a lovely big garden but now realising just how windy and exposed it is. It is open to the westerly prevailing wind which goes down a valley right down towards our garden. Our garden slopes upward from the west to east so the wind blows up slope and across the flat bit we have on top. This flat area would be a great area for growing as it is in full sun and one of the few flat areas but it really needs some proper protection.
We are planning on growing a hedge on the far western side of our garden, but don’t think that’ll be much help for the to flat side of our garden. Any ideas for what to do for a windbreak? I love the look of hazel hurdles but wonder if they might not just blow over in bad winds.
Posts
Thanks for the help, hazel hurdles might be a good stop gap while things are growing. Do you find they can withstand a gale? Our garden is around half an acre, about 50m across from west to east.
Hurdles are probably better than windbreak fabric as long as you use sturdy stakes. We used fabric stretched along wire mesh fencing to protect crops in our veggie plot and shrubs along the boundary between us and a wide open field in our last garden and one lot of gales blew all the fencing it was attached to over to a lovely 45° angle. We'd had loads of rain previously and the ground was very soft. The shrubs and veggies were happy but we had to brace all the fence posts.
As for which hedging to choose as a permanent windbreak a lot depends on whether your soil is acidic, neutral or alkaline and also how much of a hurry you're in. A mixed wild life friendly hedge can be planted from autumn to late winter as single stemmed whips and will be comparatively cheap and fast growing. More formal, single plant hedges such as privet, holly, yew, beech, hornbeam will cost more and take longer.