Hedges are a common sight in the garden. When planting them, emphasis is placed primarily on beauty and ease of care. Hardly anyone thinks about what they mean for our local birdlife. They are both a place of refuge and a source of food. However, not always!
How do you plant a bird hedge correctly?
To plant a bird hedge, you should use native, flowering and fruit-bearing shrubs such as:E.g. rowanberry, black elderberry, dog rose or hawthorn. The ideal planting time is October and November; a distance of 1.5 m between the plants and a sufficient minimum distance from the neighboring property should be maintained.
Native shrubs preferred
There are numerous native shrub species, each species supporting more than 30 different species of birds. And there are related shrubs that are located far away and which hardly any birds visit. No wonder, as the native flora and fauna have coordinated with each other over a long time.
If you want to plant a hedge to create an ecological niche for bird life, you should therefore approach the selection of hedge plants with the greatest care. Flowering and bearing fruit alone is not enough.
Sought after plant species
The plants listed below are particularly popular with birds, but are by no means the only ones:
- European Pfaffenhütchen
- rotten tree
- Common Juniper
- Dog Rose
- Red Dogwood
- Black Elderberry
- Elderberry
- Rowberry
- Hawthorns
- Wild Blackberry
The rowanberry and the black elderberry top the hit list, as their berries feed more than 60 species of birds. Even the bottom-ranking species, the European Parrot and the Red Dogwood, are visited by 24 different species of birds.
What speaks against some species
If a bird hedge is to be created in a private garden, it is sometimes necessary to forego some suitable plant varieties. For example, the buckthorn tree is poisonous to us humans and unsuitable for a family garden. Others, such as rowan berries, do not harmonize with some types of fruit trees.
Planting a bird hedge
The optimal time to plant a bird hedge is the months of October and November, as long as they are deciduous shrub species. Evergreen specimens, on the other hand, should be planted in the summer months of August or September. Make sure to maintain the minimum distances to neighboring property as regulated by state law.
- Dig up a planting hole twice the size of the root ball
- Enrich excavated material with compost (€43.00 on Amazon)
- leave a distance of 1.5 m between individual plants
- plant smaller shrubs at the end of the hedge
- water generously and press down the soil
Tip
You can set up a bird bath about 3 m away. This way the singing animals not only get delicious food, but also fresh water and a place to bathe.
