As the season of Summer approaches, it is wise to think about ways to bring light into your garden.
Increasing the amount of light into your garden can help keep your plants, trees and hedges healthy for the coming months. Sunlight and air can help with disease prevention and growth.
Trees are a big culprit of blocking out light but you don’t need have them removed to let light in to your garden. The best way to bring some light through your trees is by thinning the crown.
Crown thinning is a general pruning, usually around the edges of the tree’s canopy, to reduce its shade density and the weight of foliage. A general thinning will improve air circulation, too, which helps to prevent fungal and pest problems.
Crown lifting is another way to let more light through a tree. A lift concentrates on the underside of the tree’s canopy, removing lower branches to allow for better light or access underneath, for example, to mow a lawn.
These types of works will allow the tree to keep strong and will allow appropriate light into your garden.
It’s also worth checking with your local authority to make sure that there are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) in force, particularly if you are planning drastic action.
If you would to read about some other light enhancing techniques then you might like our blog post 7 Ways to Get More Light Into Your Garden.
October is a good time to get your grounds or gardens sorted before the winter weather really hits. Although October will probably see the first frosts here in the south of England, temperatures can reach 16°C or more if you’re lucky enough to have a bright, sunny day.
The first job to think about when caring for trees and larger shrubs is to check that they are physically sound for the winter, as much as they can be. If they have ties or stakes, check they are still secure and replace them if required.
Check for any branches that didn’t produce leaves or where the leaves have died more quickly than the rest of the plant. This is probably a sign that the branch has died so you may want to consider removing it before it becomes a hazard. See if you can see why it might have died; it may be due to a pest, disease or fungus that could go on to affect the rest of the plant so some timely action could be required to prevent further damage. (The RHS website offers some great advice on what pests and diseases might be to blame.)
If you have deciduous hedges, now is a good time to give them one final tidy up before the winter. Evergreen hedges are not likely to grow much more either, with the weather getting cooler, so you can neaten them up if they need it too.
October is an ideal time for moving or planting new trees, hedges, shrubs and climbing plants – as long as the soil hasn’t become waterlogged and strong winds are not imminent! Look out for our next article about bare root plants to read more about this.
If you want to take hardwood cuttings of hedges or shrubs, October is a good time to do that.
Think about what you want to do with your fallen leaves. When fallen on open soil, dead leaves create a natural mulch that will help keep weeds down, retain moisture (if that’s relevant!) and create micro-environments for friendly garden insects and animals, so you might want to consider leaving them there. However, when fallen on paths or lawns, dead leaves can become a sludgy mess, that not only blocks light to your lawn and harbours nasty bugs, but which can be a slip hazard.
Think about adding unwanted leaves to your compost heap or create a leaf pile that will eventually break down to become leaf mould, a rich source of nutrients to dig back into your soil. (The BBC Gardeners World webpages have some advice on this).
Finally, think about being a friend to the wildlife in your area. If you haven’t already done so, clean out birdboxes, feeders and water troughs. Hedgehogs need a final good meal before they settle down to hibernate: the British Hedgehog Preservation Society has useful advice on what and when to feed.
And, of course, if you’ve built a bonfire, don’t forget to check it for sleeping creatures before you light it!
As the weather starts to feel autumnal, now is a good time to start thinking about clearing out nest boxes. Most birds should have stopped using them by now and, legally, from September any unhatched eggs can be removed. (It’s normal for a few eggs not to hatch and blue tits, for example, can lay up to 14 eggs in one brood to allow for this).
Old nests are likely to harbour fleas or other parasites, which could hang around to infest newly hatched birds next year. Clear out any old nesting material and use boiling water to kill any remaining parasites. (Don’t use insecticides or chemicals as they will probably harmful too). Leave the box to dry out thoroughly before replacing the lid. A small handful of clean wood shavings will help to make it homely, perhaps even for small mammals too.
We recommend the RSPB website if you want to read more.
Now is also a good time to put up new nesting boxes, giving birds places to roost and check out potential nesting sites for the spring. Again, the RSPB website has some great advice for where to locate them.
Make the most of the rest of the summer by letting light into outside spaces. We’ve got some tips below for thinning trees, shaping hedges and – if all else fails – what to plant in your shadiest spots!
Thinning Trees
Our first piece of advice is to think about the type of tree you want to tackle and how big a job it will be. Not all trees are suitable to be pruned and some are best left until later in the year, when they’re becoming dormant. But if you’re just intending to remove dead wood and do some light shaping, most trees will cope with a bit of a ‘hair cut’ at this time of year. (We’d recommend checking out the RHS website for some specific advice about your species of tree).
It’s also worth checking with your local authority to make sure that there are no Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) in force, particularly if you are planning drastic action.
There are several methods you can use to thin out a tree, typically:
Crown thinning – this is a general pruning, usually around the edges of the tree’s canopy, to reduce its shade density and the weight of foliage. A general thinning will improve air circulation, too, which helps to prevent fungal and pest problems.
Crown lifting – this is concentrating on the underside of the tree’s canopy, removing lower branches to allow for better access or light underneath, for example, to mow a lawn.
Pollarding/Coppicing – these are both extreme forms of pruning which take out all or part of the central trunk, either to set height (pollarding) or right to the ground (coppicing). Although they can be attractive, particularly on smaller trees, we wouldn’t recommend such drastic action at this time of year or without seeking specialist advice.
To thin a tree, concentrate on branches up to 4cm thick and look for any that are broken or crossing others. We suggest you take off a maximum of 15% of the branches. Take a step back every so often to check that you’re not getting carried away and are keeping a natural shape.
Interestingly, the RHS tree experts no longer recommend painting tree wounds with pruning or wound ‘paint’ as they appear to slow a tree’s recovery and may increase the likelihood of rotting.
Shaping Hedges
Now that young birds have left the nest, July is a good time to tidy up your hedges. Unless we get a longer, later summer, they are unlikely to put on much new growth before the winter, which saves you having to trim again. In fact, pruning a conifer hedge much later than this can encourage bare patches to develop.
With all hedges, try to make sure that the base is a little wider than the top (so the hedge is tapered; this is called a batter) so that light can reach it.
If You Have a Formal Hedge
Use a taut string tied between two stout canes to help you get a straight cut to the top of your hedge. Making a cardboard or plywood template can also help you get the shape you want.
If you’re using hand shears, keep the blades parallel to the surface of the hedge that you’re trimming in order to get a flat, even finish. If you’re using a hedge trimmer, keep the blade parallel and work upwards from the bottom, so the cut foliage will fall away.
If You Have Informal Hedges
This is more like pruning a shrub so judging by eye will usually give you a pleasing final result. In general, look for misplaced or crossing branches and cut back to a shoot or division. If your hedge has large leaves, secateurs or loppers (rather than a hedge trimmer) will help avoid ugly leaf cuts.
Planting for Shade
If you really can’t reduce the shade over your outside spaces, there are plenty of plants that will actually enjoy a shady spot.
Growing for Food
Believe it or not, lettuce, rocket, spinach and chard will all grow happily in shade. Herbs like sorrel, parsley and mint will also thrive (but avoid those Mediterranean herbs, which like to be thoroughly baked!). Other vegetables that don’t mind shade include peas and runner beans. Some fruit bushes – blackberry and gooseberry particularly – will be fine, as will fruit trees like plums, Morello cherry and cooking apples.
Growing for Beauty
Ferns are often the obvious choice for shady spots and some can cope with 100% shade and north facing spots. Hostas also work well (as long as you don’t mind a little slug damage). Astilbes and sedges will be happy with shade, as will camessias, primroses and hardy geraniums. In fact, think about the plants you see growing under trees in the wild and they will all be happy in shade.
Planting for Dry Shade
If your shady spot is under a tree, you may well find it also gets very dry. Any of the following flowering plants will be quite happy here: hellebores (Lenten Rose), astrantia, lily of the valley, ivy and Japanese anemone.
Planting for Damp Shade
If your shady is close to a pond or river, you may find the plants there always have ‘wet feet’. In which case, we’d recommend things like angelica, astilbe, solomon’s seal or bleeding hearts for flowers and, for foliage, hostas, ferns and grasses (particularly carex and deschampsia).
The Gardeners’ World website has lots more tips on planting for shade.
And finally…
At this time of year, it’s really important to make sure that any newly planted trees, hedges and shrubs don’t dry out. They often need much more water than you’d think. But, water is a precious resource so think about collecting rainwater in a butt (or even recycling your bath water!).
As with all garden activity, particularly if you’re using power tools, think safety first. Make sure you use gloves, goggles and any other appropriate protective equipment. If you’re using ladders, check they are in good repair and don’t reach too far off them. If in any doubt, call the experts.
When does a good screening plant become an unwelcome screening plant?
For one of our recent customers it was when they had grown so tall that they blocked all the sunlight to her greenhouse, caused surrounding plants and shrubs to suffer, and became impossible to maintain without hiring professionals.
There are two qualities that make the Leyland cypress, aka leylandii, an excellent screening plant:
- Its notoriously fast growth rate which means you get a tall hedge very quickly and economically.
- Its thick dense foliage that provides plenty of privacy.
These are the same two qualities that can also lead to problems. Huge problems.
- Leylandii can grow up to 3ft (90cm) a year. This means that within a decade you could have 30ft (9m) of tree to contend with, the equivalent of a three story house!
- The same thick dense foliage that provides plenty of privacy is also practically impenetrable to sunlight.
Our customer had a troublesome line of 8 leylandii trees in her garden that had grown to 50-60ft (15-18m) tall!
She wanted the sunlight back in her garden, particularly on her greenhouse.
This wasn’t a simple felling job though as just below the trees were decorative water features, delicate garden ornaments, and many shrubs that had been carefully grown over years.
We had to avoid any damage to this!
We weren’t worried though. Using the most up-to-date techniques and rigging we were able to carefully bring down the tree line piece by piece.
After the brash wood and timber had been removed we ground out the stumps. Just a fertile mulch was the only sign of the 8 giants that used to be there before.
8 problems removed, 1 introduced…
The problem now was that the missing trees left a direct sight line into our customer’s garden. She had the sunlight back but had lost the privacy given to her by the leylandii.
Before starting the removal we had anticipated this and talked some options through with the customer.
Together we chose to plant up a new laurel hedge which would provide the required privacy but at a much more manageable height.
We planted a straight line of 7ft shrubs, each 2ft apart.
When planting semi-mature plants you need the root plate to form properly. This requires keeping the plants stable and a great way to do this for a hedge is to use a series of stakes and taught wire along the planting line. The stems of the laurel plants were then attached to the wire with a rubber clip to avoid bark damage.
Privacy into the customer’s garden was preserved thanks to the instant screen provided by the new hedge. The height and slower growth-rate means the hedge will be easily controllable in the future compared to the old leylandii trees.
All problems solved!
Our customer had gone from a huge light-blocking tree line, which required annual maintenance by professionals, to a new self-maintainable cost-free, hedge.
She now gets the light back into her greenhouse to grow the plants she loves, with the added benefit of saving money every year as she can maintain the new hedge herself.
If you also have unmanageable trees or hedges in your garden or on your property then contact us today as we would love to be able to help you too.
