New west facing fence cover

rachael.s.barber

Hello,

I have 11 juniperus trees, forming a hedge along a west facing fence that I am removing as I am allergic to them and they seem to be useless for wildlife.

Has anyone got some ideas of how best to plant it to encourage wildlife and year round interest?

I was considering a combination of small magnolia, camelia, 2 apple or pear trees interspersed with roses, jasmine and clematis. I'm a keen but novice gardener so any advice would be welcome! It is a long, thin garden so plants would need to stay close to the fence and not too tall.

Thanks, Rach

yorkshirerose

I have a mixed hedge planting which provides cover and food for wildlife. It includes the following plants;-
Pyracantha - Bees love the flowers, sparrows like the tips of unripe berries and blackbirds like the fruit. Good safety cover if predators are about too.
Chaenomeles - Bees to the flowers and birds to Autumn/Winter fruits
Cotoneaster (I have C. Lacteus which is quite large but there are smaller varieties which can be wall trained) - Bees and butterflies to the flowers and birds the fruit.
Escallonia - Bees and Moths like the flowers.
Holly- Bees and Birds
Honeysuckle - Bees, Moths, Birds for the Autumn fruit, little Jenny Wren likes to nest in it too!

These are just a few suggestions. If you wanted a tree - Crab apples are a good choice as the bees like the blossom and the later fruits help the birds through bad weather.