Visit or call us on 01993 850979

  • About
  • Hedging Tips & Advice
  • Hedge Guide
  • Delivery
  • Landscaping
  • Contact Us
  • Visit Our Shop
    • Hedging
      • Fast Growing Hedges
      • Root Ball
      • Smaller Hedging
      • Taller Hedging
    • Lavender
      • Lavandula Angustifolia (English)
      • Lavender Chaytoriae
      • Lavender Intermedia (Dutch)
      • Larger Lavender
    • Topiary
      • Decorative Box Hedges
    • Shrubs
      • Flowering Shrubs
    • Garden / Lawn Edging
    • Planting Packs
  • Hedges
    • Shop Hedges
  • Edging
    • Shop Edging
Hedge Xpress - Buy Online - Hedges and ShrubsHedge Xpress - Buy Online - Hedges and Shrubs
  • Lavender
    • Shop Lavender
    • Larger Lavender
    • Lavender Angustifolia (English)
    • Lavender Chaytoriae
    • Lavender Intermedia (Dutch)
  • Shrubs
    • Shop Shrubs
    • Fast Growing Shrubs
    • Flowering Shrubs
  • Topiary
    • Shop Topiary
    • Box Balls & Cones
    • Yew Box Balls & Cones

Hedges and Hedgehogs (Part 1 of 3)

Hedge Xpress
Nov 1, 2016 Hedging Plants 0 Comment

The Hedgehog, that iconic garden mammal is in trouble. Since 2005, numbers are down by c.25% – so now is the time to think about hedges and hedgehogs.

The reasons for the Hedgehog’s decline are many and familiar and generally down to us rather than to any natural phenomena – loss of habitat (especially hedgerows and the garden Hedge – hedges and Hedgehogs belong with each other); the impact of pesticides; traffic and how so many of us garden today.

HEDGES AND HEDGEHOGS – DOWN WITH THE FENCE!

If you would like to welcome hedgehogs into your garden, it must be accessible but if it is fenced, then it will be the Hedgehog equivalent of Fort Knox.

Hedgehogs will roam up to two miles a night in their quest for food, shelter or a mate and have to go round the perimeter of any obstacle they encounter. Not only does this mean they won’t make your garden an occasional, never mind regular, stomping ground, but they will be forced to travel much further.

So what to do? Ideally, as suggested by the RHS, replace your fences, especially those that separate your garden from a neighbour’s, with a hedge. Failing that, cut a few gaps (c.15cm) into the base of the fence and/or dig a few ‘tunnels’ underneath it (a length of drainage pipe is ideal) to give the hedgehogs a chance to come and visit.

Of course, if you currently deciding between building a fence or planting a Hedge, then choose the latter – not just for hedgehogs, but for wildlife in general, better protection (it’s harder to climb through a hedge than over a fence) and the simple pleasure of its presence. After all, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle is a hedgehog, not a fencehog!

NB: If your garden is delineated by a Hedge, then inspect it every so often and clear spaces where it meets the ground as necessary.

HEDGES AND HEDGEHOGS – BONFIRES & COMPOST HEAPS

To a Hedgehog an unlit bonfire (whether it’s a modest pile of autumn leaves or summer clippings or a far larger structure built for November 5th) is nothing less than the perfect nesting site, especially for hibernation. The best way, therefore, of avoiding turning it into a hedgehog pyre is to collect the material but only build the bonfire itself just before you intend to light it.

If you happen upon a hedgehog in the preparatory pile, gently remove it cupped in as many of the leaves as you can hold and re-place in a sheltered corner of the garden or under a Hedgeand re-cover with leaves and small twigs.

A compost heap makes an equally attractive des. res. so always check before you weigh in with the pitchfork.

View Our Recommended Hedges

Box Ball 55-60cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Box Balls, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£45.00 – £92.40 inc. VAT
Box cone 90-100cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Box Cones, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£52.32 – £79.98 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Common Box, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£11.94 – £19.19 inc. VAT
Elaeagnus ebbingei
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Elaeagnus ebbingei

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£16.74 inc. VAT
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Elaeagnus ebbingei Limelight 60-90cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£21.00 inc. VAT
Euonymus Fortunei Emerald n Gold 5L 25-35cm
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Euonymus Fortunei Emerald n Gold

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£16.80 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Euonymus Fortunei Emerald Gaiety, Various Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£7.49 – £14.34 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Beech, various sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£7.97 – £33.00 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Purple Copper Beech Various sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£9.60 – £47.94 inc. VAT
Griselinia Littoralis Variegata 10L 60-90cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Griselinia littoralis ‘Variegata’, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£19.74 – £39.54 inc. VAT
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Escallonia Macrantha 45-60cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£14.94 inc. VAT
Privet ligustrum ovalifolium
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Privet-Ligustrum ovalifilium 60-90cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£19.14 inc. VAT
BonfiresCompost HeapsHedgehogHedges and Hedgehogs
Hedge Xpress

Hedging Plants for Housing DevelopmentsPrevious post
Hedges and Hedgehogs (Part 2 of 3)Next post

Recent Posts

  • Pittosporum tenuifolium flower arangments
  • Why buy a hedge?
  • Bare Root, Rootball vs Container
  • Why Evergreens Are a Great Option for Hedges
  • Winter Hedges: Part 1

Archives

Categories

  • Evergreen Hedging Plants
  • Fragrant foliage
  • Gardens
  • Green management
  • Hedging Plants
  • Latin Horticulture Terminology
  • Native Hedging
  • News
  • Plant Containers
  • Uncategorized
  • Wildlife
  • Winter Weather Hedges
Hedge-Xpress-Logo
  • Buckland Road, Bampton,
    Oxfordshire, OX18 2AA
  • info@hedgexpress.co.uk
  • 01993 850979

SOCIAL CONNECT

facebookinstagrampinterest

OPENING TIMES

  • Monday-Friday 9am until 4pm
  • Closed Bank Holidays
  • The company will not be operating from 23rd December 2021 until 4th January 2022

COMPETITIVE PRICES AND VALUE FOR MONEY

Delivery options are available for orders over £180.00. For more information please click here. For orders under £180.00 a free click and collect service is available. 

Professional gardeners, landscapers and other trade customers are welcome.

TRADE ENQUIRIES

Professional gardeners, landscapers and other trade customers are welcome. Contact us at info@hedgexpress.co.uk or call 01993 850 979.

USEFUL INFORMATION

  • About
  • Landscaping
  • My Account
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map
©2021 Hedge Xpress. All Rights Reserved. Payment Method
Planting packs now available
Click here to order