Be aware that Blackthorn does sucker aggressively and will do its best to become an expanding spiky thicket rather than a neat hedge, so isn't a particularly suitable plant for a garden.The GC man's reaction was excessive but not entirely unjustified in relation to this species. Hawthorn is also ferociously spiny but is non-suckering and makes a good hedge.
Firethorn isn't a UK native and Sea Buckthorn is only native along parts of the E coast, so neither are particularly appropriate choices for a native species hedge.
Hebe is an odd suggestion for a hedging plant though - good as a flowering shrub but I don't think it would mix well with the other species and has limited powers of regeneration from older wood i.e. if you cut it hard back it will more likely die than resprout.
Be aware that Blackthorn does sucker aggressively and will do its best to become an expanding spiky thicket rather than a neat hedge, so isn't a particularly suitable plant for a garden.The GC man's reaction was excessive but not entirely unjustified in relation to this species. Hawthorn is also ferociously spiny but is non-suckering and makes a good hedge.
Firethorn isn't a UK native and Sea Buckthorn is only native along parts of the E coast, so neither are particularly appropriate choices for a native species hedge.
Hebe is an odd suggestion for a hedging plant though - good as a flowering shrub but I don't think it would mix well with the other species and has limited powers of regeneration from older wood i.e. if you cut it hard back it will more likely die than resprout.
What does "sucker" and "non-suckering" mean ? I've Googled but am non the wiser.
The firethorn we've placed in a far corner which is a fox entry point - so we don't mind about that. The Hawthorn is only going to be about 6m metres in length so i hope it won't be totally unmanageable.
Suckers grow out from the roots, sometimes from the base of the plant but sometimes popping up at some distance. They can be a real nuisance because they appear in all sorts of places and are hard to remove.
Tiny children should always be supervised when they play in a garden but they learn quickly to avoid spiky bushes, bees and wasps. I am sure they learn much more and enjoy much more in a proper garden than they suffer from a few scratches .
Very effective (and safe) way to teach children not to eat unfamiliar berries from hedges is to give them a nice ripe sloe to try. Takes the skin off your teeth but not actually poisonous
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The only thing wrong with a hedge full of plants with thorns and prickles is disposing of the bits when cutting the hedge. We have a 50 to 60 foot run of mixed Haw and Blackthorn hedging and trimming is a nightmare of extreme pain. Another word of warning, Blackthorn prickles go septic very quickly when they puncture the skin.
Having said that, Hebes are about the worst possible choice for a decent hedge. The vast majority of them are not even hardy. Here they die out in even a reasonably mild winter.
Garden safety is all about managing the risks. Our two kids were brought up in a garden with hawthorn hedging, a pond, stone steps, stone walls, foxgloves, aconitum and a whole host of other potentially nasty elements. They spent most of their early childhood happily playing in the garden without any mishap, aside from the compulsory bumps, bruises and scrapes that are a part of a normal childhood. However, they were supervised and taught which are the dangerous bits as soon as they could understand. It makes me smile now when I hear my daughter explaining to my grandson what is safe and what is not so safe. She isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a gardener but she has a sound understanding of garden safety.
Sorry to waffle but the gist of what I'm saying is, it's ok to have anything in your garden as long as you are prepared to manage the risk associated with it. The only thing I'd definitely advise against is triffids but I've not seen those at the garden centre lately.
I have grown up in and still have a garden with a long hawthorn hedge on one side of the garden and a mixed hedge on the other, consisting of box, holly, privet, hawthorn, hazel and snowberry.
I am still (currently!) alive to tell the tale, which is that, in truth, the dead fallen skeleton holly leaves that you can't see until you put your hand on one of the prickles, hurt more than hawthorn!
Rose prickles hurt more too and wounds from roses go septic very quickly. Bet the garden centre bloke wouldn't dissuade your wife from buying his rose bushes though!
Blackthorn wounds are notorious for going septic, but as long as you have a pack of antiseptic wipes or similar to hand when in the garden, you'll be OK.
Both of our hedges are around 7 ft in height, but perfectly manageable with ladders and a petrol trimmer.
About now, in spring, I like to wander along the hedge and nip off the youngest hawthorn leaves to eat - they taste nice, a sort of sappy freshness with a slight nutty flavour.
Foraging in your own garden can be an adventure for a child and a good place to instruct which plants are dangerous and which are not.
I understand the basis of the garden centre owner's warnings, but, in my opinion, he majorly over-reacted and shouldn't have been so obnoxious. He may of course had his own reasons, perhaps a personal experience, but major injuries from hedges are I think, comparatively rare in relation to road accidents, dog attacks, school sports accidents and all the other million and one hazards that a parent might worry about.
Teach your children to be sensible, responsible and respectful of nature from an early age and there will less of a need to worry in general.
I have grown up in and still have a garden with a long hawthorn hedge on one side of the garden and a mixed hedge on the other, consisting of box, holly, privet, hawthorn, hazel and snowberry.
I am still (currently!) alive to tell the tale, which is that, in truth, the dead fallen skeleton holly leaves that you can't see until you put your hand on one of the prickles, hurt more than hawthorn!
Rose prickles hurt more too and wounds from roses go septic very quickly. Bet the garden centre bloke wouldn't dissuade your wife from buying his rose bushes though!
Blackthorn wounds are notorious for going septic, but as long as you have a pack of antiseptic wipes or similar to hand when in the garden, you'll be OK.
Both of our hedges are around 7 ft in height, but perfectly manageable with ladders and a petrol trimmer.
About now, in spring, I like to wander along the hedge and nip off the youngest hawthorn leaves to eat - they taste nice, a sort of sappy freshness with a slight nutty flavour.
Foraging in your own garden can be an adventure for a child and a good place to instruct which plants are dangerous and which are not.
I understand the basis of the garden centre owner's warnings, but, in my opinion, he majorly over-reacted and shouldn't have been so obnoxious. He may of course had his own reasons, perhaps a personal experience, but major injuries from hedges are I think, comparatively rare in relation to road accidents, dog attacks, school sports accidents and all the other million and one hazards that a parent might worry about.
Teach your children to be sensible, responsible and respectful of nature from an early age and there will less of a need to worry in general.
Well thank heavens that you're still alive with all those death traps in your garden!! But seriously you have all been wonderful and the garden is coming along nicely ...most of the native hedge has started to take apart from a few blackthorn whips.
Well i've been back to the store since and he just seems like a bitter old git ... so i won't go back unless im really desperate.
Oh and the OH has decided to pull the firethorn out ....we have a huge bush in the front garden that has gone into flower and it smells like wee! Nobody warned me about that !
Glad to hear you, your family and your hedge are all thriving.
I've never noticed the wee smell with pyracantha, and the neighbour at our last place had a hedge of it all alongside our front gardens ... maybe it's one of those pongs that some can smell and some don't.
There must be a garden centre or nursery somewhere near you where there are human beans on the staff rather than bitter old gits ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Be aware that Blackthorn does sucker aggressively and will do its best to become an expanding spiky thicket rather than a neat hedge, so isn't a particularly suitable plant for a garden.The GC man's reaction was excessive but not entirely unjustified in relation to this species. Hawthorn is also ferociously spiny but is non-suckering and makes a good hedge.
Firethorn isn't a UK native and Sea Buckthorn is only native along parts of the E coast, so neither are particularly appropriate choices for a native species hedge.
Hebe is an odd suggestion for a hedging plant though - good as a flowering shrub but I don't think it would mix well with the other species and has limited powers of regeneration from older wood i.e. if you cut it hard back it will more likely die than resprout.
Thanks for this.
What does "sucker" and "non-suckering" mean ? I've Googled but am non the wiser.
The firethorn we've placed in a far corner which is a fox entry point - so we don't mind about that. The Hawthorn is only going to be about 6m metres in length so i hope it won't be totally unmanageable.
Suckers grow out from the roots, sometimes from the base of the plant but sometimes popping up at some distance. They can be a real nuisance because they appear in all sorts of places and are hard to remove.
Tiny children should always be supervised when they play in a garden but they learn quickly to avoid spiky bushes, bees and wasps. I am sure they learn much more and enjoy much more in a proper garden than they suffer from a few scratches .
Very effective (and safe) way to teach children not to eat unfamiliar berries from hedges is to give them a nice ripe sloe to try. Takes the skin off your teeth
but not actually poisonous
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The point re suckering is a good one, they mow off when young if they come up in grass but a bit of a pain in a border.
In the sticks near Peterborough
The only thing wrong with a hedge full of plants with thorns and prickles is disposing of the bits when cutting the hedge. We have a 50 to 60 foot run of mixed Haw and Blackthorn hedging and trimming is a nightmare of extreme pain. Another word of warning, Blackthorn prickles go septic very quickly when they puncture the skin.
Having said that, Hebes are about the worst possible choice for a decent hedge. The vast majority of them are not even hardy. Here they die out in even a reasonably mild winter.
Garden safety is all about managing the risks. Our two kids were brought up in a garden with hawthorn hedging, a pond, stone steps, stone walls, foxgloves, aconitum and a whole host of other potentially nasty elements. They spent most of their early childhood happily playing in the garden without any mishap, aside from the compulsory bumps, bruises and scrapes that are a part of a normal childhood. However, they were supervised and taught which are the dangerous bits as soon as they could understand. It makes me smile now when I hear my daughter explaining to my grandson what is safe and what is not so safe. She isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a gardener but she has a sound understanding of garden safety.
Sorry to waffle but the gist of what I'm saying is, it's ok to have anything in your garden as long as you are prepared to manage the risk associated with it. The only thing I'd definitely advise against is triffids but I've not seen those at the garden centre lately.
I have grown up in and still have a garden with a long hawthorn hedge on one side of the garden and a mixed hedge on the other, consisting of box, holly, privet, hawthorn, hazel and snowberry.
I am still (currently!) alive to tell the tale, which is that, in truth, the dead fallen skeleton holly leaves that you can't see until you put your hand on one of the prickles, hurt more than hawthorn!
Rose prickles hurt more too and wounds from roses go septic very quickly. Bet the garden centre bloke wouldn't dissuade your wife from buying his rose bushes though!
Blackthorn wounds are notorious for going septic, but as long as you have a pack of antiseptic wipes or similar to hand when in the garden, you'll be OK.
Both of our hedges are around 7 ft in height, but perfectly manageable with ladders and a petrol trimmer.
About now, in spring, I like to wander along the hedge and nip off the youngest hawthorn leaves to eat - they taste nice, a sort of sappy freshness with a slight nutty flavour.
Foraging in your own garden can be an adventure for a child and a good place to instruct which plants are dangerous and which are not.
I understand the basis of the garden centre owner's warnings, but, in my opinion, he majorly over-reacted and shouldn't have been so obnoxious. He may of course had his own reasons, perhaps a personal experience, but major injuries from hedges are I think, comparatively rare in relation to road accidents, dog attacks, school sports accidents and all the other million and one hazards that a parent might worry about.
Teach your children to be sensible, responsible and respectful of nature from an early age and there will less of a need to worry in general.
Well thank heavens that you're still alive with all those death traps in your garden!! But seriously you have all been wonderful and the garden is coming along nicely ...most of the native hedge has started to take apart from a few blackthorn whips.
Well i've been back to the store since and he just seems like a bitter old git ... so i won't go back unless im really desperate.
Oh and the OH has decided to pull the firethorn out ....we have a huge bush in the front garden that has gone into flower and it smells like wee! Nobody warned me about that
!
Glad to hear you, your family and your hedge are all thriving.
I've never noticed the wee smell with pyracantha, and the neighbour at our last place had a hedge of it all alongside our front gardens ... maybe it's one of those pongs that some can smell and some don't.
There must be a garden centre or nursery somewhere near you where there are human beans on the staff rather than bitter old gits ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.