In article ,
paghat wrote:

They don't hedge well if you mean hedges cut square, but deciduous shrubs
of this sort can be pleasing "natural" hedges. Blueberries are not the
best year-round hedges because of looking merely twiggy in winter & for
needing periodic cutting back, so I'd prefer them in a mixed hedge which
includes things with better winter appearance. Highbush cranberries would
look more exciting in winter as they have an interesting woody structure
even after leaf-fall. But a blueberry hedge could be very pleasing three
seasons out of four, beautiful in flower, then large fruits, then those
amazing fall colors. To get the best fruit, by the way, takes at least
two cultivars; even the allegedly self-fertile blueberries fruit better
with a second cultivar nearby. I think the minimum ideal is five to seven
bushes encompassing three varieties.

-paghat the ratgirl



I would prefer a natural hedge -- I have heard they are more wildlife
friendly. I would be using this to separate a more formal part of
the garden near the house from a semi-wild woody area, and mostly
using it as a sight barrier. As it stands right now, our house has
a good amount of privacy because the land between us and most of
our neighbors is in woods and brush. It's the brush and vines rather
than the tall pines that provide the sight barrier, though.

I like the brush but...

It is completely impassable. Even the game trails are too small
for a human. I don't know how the deer do it. It is so thick
with vines, briars, these wacky half-vine-half tree things I haven't
identified yet, poison ivy, oak and sumac that I am denied most
of my yard (it's about 5 acres). And my wife can't come within
30 feet of poison ivy without breaking out, so she's afraid to
take a walk through the woods. My neighbor, who is slowly renovating
an antebellum victorian on the next knoll over has the same problem.
We don't even have a path between our houses (and in this part
of the south, it seems that not having a direct path to your
neighbors is almost as offputting as expecting them to come
to your front door).

The vines, etc. are strangling some of the trees I really like
that are growing there. There are a number of magnolia, dogwood,
redbud, and other very pretty trees that are losing the fight
for sunlight. Some of the undergrowth I really like -- ferns,
worts, passion flowers, wild iris, wild rose -- are strangled.

So, I have begun slowly pulling the vines from the trees, cutting
the briars, getting rid of whatever the hell it is not-quite-tree
that seems to cover 90 percent of the forest edge and vacant
lots around here.

That makes the ground more passable and I've saved a nice
magnolia and some kind of broad leaved holly I've never seen
before.

This is removing the sight barrier, though, and I suspect
I'm making the place much less habitable for the wild turkey
and deer in the area. So I figured that a series of strategically
placed natural hedges would help in both respects. It wouldn't
be too hard. The houses here are placed on little bumps and
knolls here in town, so the roads mostly look up to the houses,
and it should be easy to create a privacy shield.

Since the hedges will thus be in the woods and at the
edge of the more formal yard, they will not be squared off.
A height of 6-7 feet, which is what I read for blueberries
is good. I'm happy for the fruit to be eaten by birds, et.
al. (I have another plot in the backyard for our personal
harvesting).

So, with all that, what would you mix with the blueberries
in such a hedge?


billo