hedges to help birdlife

Hi all

I'm hoping to plant some hedge cuttings soon which will bear berries for birds to eat.

Am I right in thinking that birds will eat holly berries and yew berries (I know yews are poisonous for humans, but for birds??)

Are there any other common berry-bearing hedges I should look out for? I don't know the name of most plants, so a description would be v helpful.

Thanks very much,
TC

 

guelder rose is one of the best (Viburnum opulus). Basically you want native species shrubs/trees, as that's what our native birds like.
I used this firm to get my hedge - it has a very helpful catalogue with great pictures and advice about planting.
http://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/index.htm
then I added various evergreen shrubs, like holly and pyracanthus, and lots of fruit.

On the whole, nice thorny bushes are best, as they keep the birds safe from predators, and you may even find them nesting in your hedge soon! :D

 

Only thing wrong with prickly hedges is when you have to cut them Ouch. Ours are a mixture of hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, wild gooseberry and briar roses. Painful!

 

Hawthorn is one of the very best to include in a mixed native hedge. Alive with bees on the scented white flowers in early summer and then loads of haws for the birds in the autumn

 

hi, try this site, http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/wildlife.html
it full of useful info.

 

Yes - the red fruit is not poisonous but the seeds inside the fruit are.

 

What helpful replies - thanks very much to you all. Much obliged!

 

Might add that V.opulus in the S.E. is currently suffering a serious attack of Viburnum Beetle, that despite organic orthodoxy on my part (halo shining) has eradicated from some 70m of hedge in one of my gardens. It had previously thrived for some 20 years. Might be as well to avoid that plant for now desite it's legion of charms.

Incidentally there used to be available the V.opulus 'Compactum' that was as it says on the tin, and did as it said on the tin, and correspondingly was altogether wonderful for patios and pot cultivation. Naturally, being a fine top quality cultivar, I can no longer find it but I wonder if anyone has it rattling around in their gardens?

 

Cheers WOL, I will give them a bell.

 

Useful info, Jazid. Hadn't heard of the problem, or at least, not on that scale. The compactum sounds useful - must follow that up too.

 

Nor had I till disaster struck. Check out other sources but characters at the RHS reckon these pesky beetles are out and about.

'Compactum' is a stonker. Small, delicate, fine foliage, all the virtues of flower, fruit, autumn colour. No vices at all. You can cut it hard back, let it grow out. Brilliant. Opulus must be one of the best 'all season' plants native to the UK, and surely one of the most under-rated. Yes I am a bit of a fan of Viburnums...

 

My hedge, well small trees is a mixture of Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Witchhazel, Holly and amelancia - with a bit of pyracantha. Birds love it, and the rose hips of the Dog Rose make a wonderful splash of colour in the winter - tend to be the last berries to be eaten.